Policy round-up: October 2024

This month’s policy roundup aims to give you a taste into what the policy and influencing team has been up to over the past month.

By?Shareen Patel, policy and influencing officer.

Engaging with the new government

ACEVO and NCVO are working with DCMS to develop a framework for the Civil Society Covenant to reset the relationship between civil society and government to create lasting, positive change. This was an ask in our Voluntary Sector Manifesto , at that point referred to as a ‘Charter’, and builds upon earlier initiatives such as the Compact.

The Covenant consists of principles that could define this new two-way relationship and support collaboration and respect for the different roles played by government and civil society. It is proposed it will apply to support all public bodies and civil society organisations, it aims to build on and support existing agreements in place at a local level, and it will focus on England, and complement other arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. You can read more background information here .

Last week, No 10 launched the engagement period on the framework for the covenant by a roundtable hosted by Secretary of State Lisa Nandy and a reception hosted by the Prime Minister. The roundtable discussion touched upon how the relationship between government and civil society can be reset to work in partnership effectively, experiences of what has previously worked well and what hasn’t, and principles and lessons that should be taken forward. The reception brought together around 100 sector leaders to discuss resetting the relationship further. ACEVO CEO Jane Ide shared her thoughts following attending these events. The No 10 press release also featured a comment from her.

The Secretary of State made an announcement in the House of Commons Oral PQs on Thursday 17 October at 10:01:15 – “Later today I’ll be launching a new Covenant at Downing Street with our civil society partners to reset what has become a needlessly antagonistic relationship under the last Government and we look forward to working with those across the country in order to help fulfil this country’s enormous potential.”

Sector leaders’ voices are crucial to developing a new relationship with government and a new Civil Society Covenant to underpin it. We need to hear from leaders of civil society organisations of all shapes and sizes, operating across the breadth of causes, communities, missions and localities. Please join us in this opportunity to shape what has the potential to re-set the policy environment that civil society leaders and their organisations operate in, for the benefit of the people and causes we exist to serve. Please fill out the consultation form hosted on NCVO’s website before the 12 December. We’ll also be hosting open online events during November so please keep an eye out for dates. ?

Climate crisis

Our next climate crisis member meeting is taking place on Wednesday 29 January 2025 14:00-15:00. We’ll hear from Gill Perkins, CEO of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. Gill will talk about her experience in leading the Trust and share her insights around being part of Rethink Nature . She will talk about how it was developed, its role in catalysing action across the UK, and how the partner organisations work in coalition to increase impact and aid organisational sustainability. Book your place now!

Home Truths 2

Session four is taking place on 12 November 10:30-11:30 on the topic of mission-driven race equity. The discussion, led by Sanjiv Lingayah, Director of Reframing Race and the Home Truths 2 Race Equity Lead and Mandeep Rupra , Director of equity and belonging at Citizens Advice will surround how mainstream civil society can transition towards a deeper and irreversible commitment to race equity and explore important issues such as why anti-racist action is so reliant on there being visible crises (e.g. Covid-19, the murder of George Floyd and xenophobic and racist riots) and how some civil society organisations are attempting to make anti-racism central to why they get out of bed in the morning. You can also have a quick and helpful read of a recent blog posted by Sanjiv which introduces this session. Spaces are getting filled quickly so book now to secure your place!

On the horizon

• The Autumn Budget is taking place on Wednesday 30 October. Whilst what will be announced is speculative, there are some changes that have been confirmed for example, as Labour’s commitment to increasing public revenue, VAT will be applied to private school fees starting from 1 January 2025.
• Ministers have unveiled the Employment Rights Bill to help deliver economic security and growth to businesses, workers and communities across the UK. The Bill is due to progress through UK Parliament and includes proposed changes in 28 different areas, for example it will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, end fire and rehire and introduce basic employment rights from day one.
• The annual ACEVO Pay and Equalities Survey will be published next month.

The policy and influencing team is here to help! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at [email protected] .