Update from Ian Piper, Chief Executive,
Well what an unexpected start to the New Year – snow! I have heard many stories of how organisations in the sector helped out in our communities to ensure the most vulnerable continued to receive the services they needed. Many thanks to those that helped out.
The Local Strategic Partnership (LSP), which is very relevant to us all, highlights a new, multi agency partnership programme called the Portsmouth Partnership Improvement Programme (PPIP).
The key theme that has dominated the LSP agenda for the last 18 months has been how we collectively manage the impact of the economic recession locally. The VCS has played a key role in this in a number of ways:
1. We have facilitated the establishment of a Volunteering Task Force with partners from the statutory and private sector aimed at strengthening the quality and increasing the availability of volunteering opportunities in the City.
2. Following discussions with Portsmouth City Council, agreement has been reached for VCS organisations and community centres to access the prices for goods and services negotiated by PCC. A future meeting will help to move this project forward.
3. The VCS has prepared a set of principles to help guide commissioners’ decisions during the tough financial climate ahead and these have been accepted by the LSP. The principles are that decisions need to be:
· Made openly
· Fully informed of implications
· Inclusive
· Transparent
· Timely
· Compact compliant
· Accountable
4. The VCS will also play a full part in the development of the city’s Regeneration and Anti Poverty strategies.
If you want to be part of any of these initiatives please contact me. The PPIP is a series of 4 facilitated workshops bringing together 10 leaders from the VCS community in the city with 10 leaders from
the statutory sector i.e. City Council, Primary Care Trust, Police, with the aim
of strengthening partnerships and developing an action plan to tackle the highest
priority partnership issues facing us. The PPIP will meet 4 times during January
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Finally I want to urge everyone in the sector to join in and ensure that the VCS plays its part in supporting improvements in our city, especially in this national and local election year. We are planning an event or two with local politicians to establish their views and sense of priorities for the VCS in the run up to an election and will need you to be part of this! Please take part and make your voice heard.