The title above says it all and thats just life.
To start on a positive note we held interviews last week for the Project Manager for Business Supporting Communities project and I am pleased to say we had an excellent field of candidates and we chose a young lady who has a really good track record and I am sure will prove to be a real asset to the project and DVSC. Just going through the formalities and as soon as everything is signed off we will be announcing the name of the candidate.
So that's the good news. The not so good news is that for some time I have been working on securing a meeting with a leading businessman who will be known to many in the area as he developed his organisation significantly whilst in the County of Denbighshire. Now his company is massive namely a FTSE 100 equivalent and I just thought that he might be able to help us with our Business Supporting Communities project, after all there's nothing like a challenge.. Unfortunately late last week I was told by a very loyal and trusted intermediary that the businessman was in the midst of some pretty tricky business negotiations and would have to defer such a meeting. Maybe next year but meanwhile -who else do I have on my list as we are looking for a company with a similar Chairman & CEO to the one I referred to above that can help us develop the project to a level that all businesses across North Wales will be clamouring to work with us and the local communities - so no pressure then .
Monday, 23 April 2012
Friday, 13 April 2012
Homestart Denbighshire - where next? will they survive?
I have just been handed a press release which talks about Homestart , Denbighshire. - copy below
I am sure you have heard me write about Families First funding before and Yes I know we all have to move on and we cannot continue to talk about Homestart Denbighshire for example losing 80% of their funding overnight through failing to replace Cymorth funding with a new Families First contract. Yes of course I would like to move on but where does Homestart go now they have lost 80% of their money? - how do they continue to support their families and Yes whilst some families will elect to be supported by the new contractor which Denbighshire County will announce in the fullness of time there will still be families left who will choose to continue to be supported by Homestart and their volunteers. Why do they want stay with Homestart - simple because they believe the level of support provided by Homestart meets their needs and aids the development and support that their family requires. If we for once asked the clients would they opt for Homestart or would they prefer the new contractor - the answer would be loud and clear Homestart every time so why where the families not involved in the final decision making?. I appreciate guidance on the Families First guidance came from Welsh Government and therefore the ability for the local County Council to exercise discretion was limited. I only mention the issue of client involvement because another document I am reading talks about community empowerment , local decision making etc . If community involvement is seen by Welsh Government as a good thing why didnt we see it play out with regard the selection of Families First contractors by the families themselves because after all it is those families that will be the recipients of the service.
So I leave you with this thought - what next for Homestart , Denbighshire? . Well its not rocket science , they have no choice - they have lost 80% of their money and so they have to plan an orderly closure that means NO more Homestart unless they come up on the Lottery. Do we as a community want to lose / give up on Homestart? Perhaps a petition to the decision makers is the answer - what do we all think?
ISSUED: 13/04/2012
Local family support charity Home-Start is working with increasing numbers of families reaching 'tipping point'.
A sharp increase in the number of families coming forward for Home-Start's support was the subject of a Channel 4 News special report broadcast at Easter 2012.
Their report, 'Britain's working families at 'tipping point'’ was broadcast on 9 April 2012. It showed what Home-Start has become increasingly aware of, that "money worries are just the start of people's problems. Until recently a family might be able to weather a shock like unemployment. But with incomes stretched, people are now a lot less resilient. And when the financial problems can't be fixed, other ones pile up on top - depression, housing problems and ill-health. Families approach a "tipping point", barely able to keep things together, and on the brink of tumbling into crisis".
Scheme manager of Home-Start Denbighshire said: “In Denbighshire we have seen an increase in the number of families coming forward for help. Either parents referring themselves to Home-Start or being referred by another agency, such as a health or social services. For the last 12 years our volunteers have provided that lifeline to families who are struggling to cope, but we are living in unprecedented times, and the need for Home-Start support is greater than ever for some local families.” In the last year alone, Home-Start Denbighshire has supported 90 families with 226 children.
The Channel 4 report also linked to the latest research to emerge from the Millennium Cohort Study which looked at families struggling with multiple risk factors - things like worklessness, young parenthood, overcrowded housing and financial stress. Results show that where two or more of those factors are present in a family, there are measurable threats to children's development. The researchers were surprised that the threshold for risk was so low. By their calculations, some 28 per cent of families in Britain are already over that threshold.
To find out how you can support Home-Start by either volunteering, donating or fundraising, please contact Meira Owen 01745 814819
I am sure you have heard me write about Families First funding before and Yes I know we all have to move on and we cannot continue to talk about Homestart Denbighshire for example losing 80% of their funding overnight through failing to replace Cymorth funding with a new Families First contract. Yes of course I would like to move on but where does Homestart go now they have lost 80% of their money? - how do they continue to support their families and Yes whilst some families will elect to be supported by the new contractor which Denbighshire County will announce in the fullness of time there will still be families left who will choose to continue to be supported by Homestart and their volunteers. Why do they want stay with Homestart - simple because they believe the level of support provided by Homestart meets their needs and aids the development and support that their family requires. If we for once asked the clients would they opt for Homestart or would they prefer the new contractor - the answer would be loud and clear Homestart every time so why where the families not involved in the final decision making?. I appreciate guidance on the Families First guidance came from Welsh Government and therefore the ability for the local County Council to exercise discretion was limited. I only mention the issue of client involvement because another document I am reading talks about community empowerment , local decision making etc . If community involvement is seen by Welsh Government as a good thing why didnt we see it play out with regard the selection of Families First contractors by the families themselves because after all it is those families that will be the recipients of the service.
So I leave you with this thought - what next for Homestart , Denbighshire? . Well its not rocket science , they have no choice - they have lost 80% of their money and so they have to plan an orderly closure that means NO more Homestart unless they come up on the Lottery. Do we as a community want to lose / give up on Homestart? Perhaps a petition to the decision makers is the answer - what do we all think?
Here is the press release:
ISSUED: 13/04/2012
Local family support charity Home-Start is working with increasing numbers of families reaching 'tipping point'.
A sharp increase in the number of families coming forward for Home-Start's support was the subject of a Channel 4 News special report broadcast at Easter 2012.
Their report, 'Britain's working families at 'tipping point'’ was broadcast on 9 April 2012. It showed what Home-Start has become increasingly aware of, that "money worries are just the start of people's problems. Until recently a family might be able to weather a shock like unemployment. But with incomes stretched, people are now a lot less resilient. And when the financial problems can't be fixed, other ones pile up on top - depression, housing problems and ill-health. Families approach a "tipping point", barely able to keep things together, and on the brink of tumbling into crisis".
Scheme manager of Home-Start Denbighshire said: “In Denbighshire we have seen an increase in the number of families coming forward for help. Either parents referring themselves to Home-Start or being referred by another agency, such as a health or social services. For the last 12 years our volunteers have provided that lifeline to families who are struggling to cope, but we are living in unprecedented times, and the need for Home-Start support is greater than ever for some local families.” In the last year alone, Home-Start Denbighshire has supported 90 families with 226 children.
The Channel 4 report also linked to the latest research to emerge from the Millennium Cohort Study which looked at families struggling with multiple risk factors - things like worklessness, young parenthood, overcrowded housing and financial stress. Results show that where two or more of those factors are present in a family, there are measurable threats to children's development. The researchers were surprised that the threshold for risk was so low. By their calculations, some 28 per cent of families in Britain are already over that threshold.
To find out how you can support Home-Start by either volunteering, donating or fundraising, please contact Meira Owen 01745 814819
Monday, 26 March 2012
Corwen Healthy Living Centre - a future that is now inviting and exciting
Received a telephone call from Welsh Government last Friday to confirm the bid that we developed and submitted in partnership with South Denbighshire Community Partnership has been approved for £249,520. As you can imagine we were over the moon as previous attempts had failed and so there is a motto there - never give up. I remember once when I was in Flintshire we only succeeded on our fourth attempt for £300,000 for a village/memorial hall and so it does pay to persevere where you believe you have a strong case backed by the community. The Corwen Healthy Living Centre will now be subject to a significant transformation and I am sure will go from strength to strength. As they say the work starts from here.
At times like this you do look around to thank those that have contributed to the success and to be honest there is always the danger that by naming individuals you will always miss one or more out by accident and so I am not going to fall into that trap. However its fair to say that this project would not have happened without the enthusiasm and commitment of the Trustees/Directors of the SDCP, the Corwen Town Council, Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board , Local Councillors and the Denbighshire County Council. Denbighshire County Council support has been significant in that they have offered to transfer the freehold to SDCP at NIL cost, they are supporting the building by renting rooms, they produced the architectural drawings and all other associated survey work to make this bid happen and succeed .
Clearly a huge thank you to Welsh Government for the cheque for £249,520 and I am sure that whenever the Ministers visit the Centre there will always be a warm welcome together with a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits. I also know that the local Assembly Member Ken Skates has been very supportive of the Healthy Living Centre and I am sure his influence down in Cardiff will have played a key role in this award.
So as you can see a lot of people and organisations have helped which I am sure will prove inspirational to other communities elsewhere in Denbighshire who may have redundant , tired buildings just waiting to be revived and brought to use for the local community.
The next step is to secure revenue funding to continue to have a full time presence at the Centre because unfortunately the funding has been reduced by 50% which means we can only employ a co-ordinator to look after the centre for 20 hours a week from 1.4.12 although we are working on this to see if we can get the funding reinstated.
I just hope I haven't forgotten anyone in my list above - if I have my apologies - it was not deliberate.
At times like this you do look around to thank those that have contributed to the success and to be honest there is always the danger that by naming individuals you will always miss one or more out by accident and so I am not going to fall into that trap. However its fair to say that this project would not have happened without the enthusiasm and commitment of the Trustees/Directors of the SDCP, the Corwen Town Council, Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board , Local Councillors and the Denbighshire County Council. Denbighshire County Council support has been significant in that they have offered to transfer the freehold to SDCP at NIL cost, they are supporting the building by renting rooms, they produced the architectural drawings and all other associated survey work to make this bid happen and succeed .
Clearly a huge thank you to Welsh Government for the cheque for £249,520 and I am sure that whenever the Ministers visit the Centre there will always be a warm welcome together with a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits. I also know that the local Assembly Member Ken Skates has been very supportive of the Healthy Living Centre and I am sure his influence down in Cardiff will have played a key role in this award.
So as you can see a lot of people and organisations have helped which I am sure will prove inspirational to other communities elsewhere in Denbighshire who may have redundant , tired buildings just waiting to be revived and brought to use for the local community.
The next step is to secure revenue funding to continue to have a full time presence at the Centre because unfortunately the funding has been reduced by 50% which means we can only employ a co-ordinator to look after the centre for 20 hours a week from 1.4.12 although we are working on this to see if we can get the funding reinstated.
I just hope I haven't forgotten anyone in my list above - if I have my apologies - it was not deliberate.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Families First - the results of the tender submissions
I am sure by now everyone who submitted a tender will know the result. Firstly can I extend congratulations to those third sector organisations who successfully secured a contract with Denbighshire County Council.
In every competitive contest there will be winners and there will be losers. I am not going to comment on the procurement process as clearly the time for that debate has now elapsed in the sense that the Council made a decision many months ago about commissioning in this fashion and whilst I expressed concern at the time as to the possible outcome it was difficult to set out a feasible alternative. This is due to the fact that my fears relating to the new system were simply that - fears rather than concrete evidence. Well those fears have materialised as I have had organisations telling me they failed to secure the contracts and therefore the funding. These organisations will be known to many families, volunteers and third sector organisations and as such are highly regarded and valued with excellent services. Well no matter how highly valued they are in the community those organisations are now faced with the prospect of approximately 80% of their funding vanishing overnight i.e. gone by 1.4.12 - just under a month left.
Those organisations I imagine will battle on to the end probably living off their reserves, perhaps making staff redundant or reducing their hours, moving possibly to smaller and cheaper premises and possibly cutting back on volunteers as they won't have the staff time to supervise them. Whatever they do is simply putting off the inevitable because without funding they cannot survive to deliver services that families access and while we are talking about families these are families with young children who for whatever reason turn in the first instance to those respected voluntary organisations. So who do they turn to in the future after having built a strong, caring relationship with the volunteers and staff of the voluntary organisations?.
What are DVSC doing , well we are helping organisations with funding applications to bodies such as Big Lottery but given the Lottery have a turnaround period of about 9 months it is likely that for many of the voluntary organisations their reserves won't last that long and so their future is bleak to say the least. The funding demand placed on Big Lottery and similar will increase as many organisations I imagine in Denbighshire and beyond will be applying as I know of one other Authority who went the same way as Denbighshire and that Council is in South Wales and there too there have been casualties involving at least one highly valued voluntary organisation which I was told about three weeks ago.
We did submit a proposal to the Welsh Government in July last year , as we could see how events were unfolding, suggesting that a 12 month safety net be established for those voluntary organisations who failed to secure a contract and during that 12 month period the organisations could then apply and hopefully obtain alternative funding . Our suggestion was not taken up. Maybe the key decision makers couldn't see what we were forecasting. Well they certainly will see it now as organisations begin to unravel as their reserves diminish. "I told you so" is not in my vocabulary although I have to say I am sorely tempted.
In every competitive contest there will be winners and there will be losers. I am not going to comment on the procurement process as clearly the time for that debate has now elapsed in the sense that the Council made a decision many months ago about commissioning in this fashion and whilst I expressed concern at the time as to the possible outcome it was difficult to set out a feasible alternative. This is due to the fact that my fears relating to the new system were simply that - fears rather than concrete evidence. Well those fears have materialised as I have had organisations telling me they failed to secure the contracts and therefore the funding. These organisations will be known to many families, volunteers and third sector organisations and as such are highly regarded and valued with excellent services. Well no matter how highly valued they are in the community those organisations are now faced with the prospect of approximately 80% of their funding vanishing overnight i.e. gone by 1.4.12 - just under a month left.
Those organisations I imagine will battle on to the end probably living off their reserves, perhaps making staff redundant or reducing their hours, moving possibly to smaller and cheaper premises and possibly cutting back on volunteers as they won't have the staff time to supervise them. Whatever they do is simply putting off the inevitable because without funding they cannot survive to deliver services that families access and while we are talking about families these are families with young children who for whatever reason turn in the first instance to those respected voluntary organisations. So who do they turn to in the future after having built a strong, caring relationship with the volunteers and staff of the voluntary organisations?.
What are DVSC doing , well we are helping organisations with funding applications to bodies such as Big Lottery but given the Lottery have a turnaround period of about 9 months it is likely that for many of the voluntary organisations their reserves won't last that long and so their future is bleak to say the least. The funding demand placed on Big Lottery and similar will increase as many organisations I imagine in Denbighshire and beyond will be applying as I know of one other Authority who went the same way as Denbighshire and that Council is in South Wales and there too there have been casualties involving at least one highly valued voluntary organisation which I was told about three weeks ago.
We did submit a proposal to the Welsh Government in July last year , as we could see how events were unfolding, suggesting that a 12 month safety net be established for those voluntary organisations who failed to secure a contract and during that 12 month period the organisations could then apply and hopefully obtain alternative funding . Our suggestion was not taken up. Maybe the key decision makers couldn't see what we were forecasting. Well they certainly will see it now as organisations begin to unravel as their reserves diminish. "I told you so" is not in my vocabulary although I have to say I am sorely tempted.
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Families First and the 29th February
Just one day left before the letters are sent out by Denbighshire County Council confirming the identity of the successful organisations in the recent round of contracts ( 9 in total).
I just hope that there won't be too many disappointed Third Sector organisations as clearly the lack of funding at this stage could well have dire consequences for some and may well result in closing their doors and where will that leave the vulnerable clients who over the years have built up a solid relationship with the third sector organisation.
A consequence of procuring services in this way is to allow all organisations both third sector, public and private to bid and given the private sector resources , at their disposal, are huge then it really does place the smaller, local third sector organisations at a disadvantage when bidding or at least that's how I see it from where I am standing. I was asked by WCVA a week ago if I would like to join a national procurement group - absolutely as we need to make sure that the issues confronting the third sector are drawn to the attention of the politicians so that we really do have a genuine level playing field as currently we don't.There is no doubt that the private sector sees real business opportunities as local government and central government throw open up the doors of procurement and from an article I read today the businesses are targeting the health and social care sector as they see opportunities for growth in those areas. Growth in private sector language means increased profits and market share much to the delight of their shareholders and investors. Growth to the third sector organisations mean added value to the local communities with any surpluses reinvested in local services - a virtuous circle.
Of course whilst contracts are awarded for a limited period there is always the argument that third sector organisations can bid again in the future but the reality is those third sector organisations won't be around in 3 years time due to lack of funds and so the local infrastructure is slowly dismantled and therefore future contract opportunities inevitably favour the stronger organisations such as the private sector who will undoubtedly have a portfolio of contracts stretching across the UK let alone Wales or Denbighshire.
I suspect we are all going to be subject to a wake up call after the 29th and we will all have to redouble our efforts to win future contracts if we want to continue to deliver a much needed and valued LOCAL service .
I just hope that there won't be too many disappointed Third Sector organisations as clearly the lack of funding at this stage could well have dire consequences for some and may well result in closing their doors and where will that leave the vulnerable clients who over the years have built up a solid relationship with the third sector organisation.
A consequence of procuring services in this way is to allow all organisations both third sector, public and private to bid and given the private sector resources , at their disposal, are huge then it really does place the smaller, local third sector organisations at a disadvantage when bidding or at least that's how I see it from where I am standing. I was asked by WCVA a week ago if I would like to join a national procurement group - absolutely as we need to make sure that the issues confronting the third sector are drawn to the attention of the politicians so that we really do have a genuine level playing field as currently we don't.There is no doubt that the private sector sees real business opportunities as local government and central government throw open up the doors of procurement and from an article I read today the businesses are targeting the health and social care sector as they see opportunities for growth in those areas. Growth in private sector language means increased profits and market share much to the delight of their shareholders and investors. Growth to the third sector organisations mean added value to the local communities with any surpluses reinvested in local services - a virtuous circle.
Of course whilst contracts are awarded for a limited period there is always the argument that third sector organisations can bid again in the future but the reality is those third sector organisations won't be around in 3 years time due to lack of funds and so the local infrastructure is slowly dismantled and therefore future contract opportunities inevitably favour the stronger organisations such as the private sector who will undoubtedly have a portfolio of contracts stretching across the UK let alone Wales or Denbighshire.
I suspect we are all going to be subject to a wake up call after the 29th and we will all have to redouble our efforts to win future contracts if we want to continue to deliver a much needed and valued LOCAL service .
Monday, 27 February 2012
Interviews and Communities First
Interesting times the last week or so. Firstly have attended two meetings to discuss the formation of the new Communities First cluster and its great to see so many organisations round the table all pulling together to ensure the cluster gets off to a flying start. Loads of good ideas and I have no doubt that the new Communities First partnership will be a huge success embracing Rhyl and Upper Denbigh. It is particularly pleasing for me to see Upper Denbigh recognised following the lobbying we started some years ago. That lobbying looks like paying off now and the Upper Denbigh community will be the beneficiaries. That's great because it is from here on in that the real outcomes for Upper Denbigh and surrounding areas will start to pay off. I feel now is the time for us at DVSC to look to other geographical areas in Denbighshire and see how we can nurture further pockets of community involvement ans so that brings our focus to the Community Voice programme . I am hoping our stage 2 bid will be successful in order that we can progress with 6 new projects across the County from the North to the South.
In terms of Communities First I will leave you with just one thought that I am unable to comprehend namely the new guidance from Welsh Government states that the new Lead Delivery Body i.e. the old grant recipient body will be paid retrospectively for all costs incurred with Communities First . That intrigues me because the presumption within the Welsh Government's Third Sector Funding Policy was one of paying third sector organisations in advance unless there was evidence where the organisation demonstrated that it had sufficient cash reserves to manage retrospective payments. Clearly this suggests to me that Welsh Government have decided that the new LDB's will probably be non Third Sector otherwise to suggest that Third Sector bodies are eligible would in essence sit uncomfortably when viewing the WG Third Sector funding policy. Thankfully we are not an LDB and so the prospect of a restricted cash flow will not hurt us or impact on our various services.
Turning to interviews, we have had quite a few over the last 3 weeks in that 8 vacancies have been filled involving the screening of over 200 job applications and shortlisting and interviewing of 39 candidates. Quite a task for a small organisation such as ours and I know the senior staff will be pleased, as will our HR adviser, when the work is fully complete and the new staff have taken up their positions. In times of rising unemployment I had expected that the candidates would have adopted a competitive approach to the task to ensure success . However it was clear that not all candidates had made what I thought was the best of their application for example I was taught at a very early age to make sure the prospective employer sees the skills sets and experience you have and that means making sure that in the personal statement or CV, attached to the job application, that every essential item in the person specification is addressed and if you are really serious at making an impression to map all the desirable elements as well. In addition , if you are fortunate to gain an interview, that you research the organisation thoroughly so you have a very good idea of their current activities, current links and partnerships to local and regional structures which means googling the web for all the information and looking at their own web site for a copy of their business plan etc. If the candidate is not connected to the web then a quick trip to the local library will unearth a fair amount of information. This preparation will aid the questions on the day of the interview and quite likely help with the task and will demonstrate to the organisation that you are seriously interested and want the job. So why is it we have individuals who are unable to answer some of the most fundamental of questions that should be known simply by carrying out the basic research? As it happened we did have some really good candidates that ticked all the right boxes and so we were more than happy to make job offers. However the ultimate is surely to have all candidates at a level where they have produced a well written and informative job application and attend interviews thoroughly versed in the work of the organisation and the challenges ahead. Too much to expect? - I don't think so.
In terms of Communities First I will leave you with just one thought that I am unable to comprehend namely the new guidance from Welsh Government states that the new Lead Delivery Body i.e. the old grant recipient body will be paid retrospectively for all costs incurred with Communities First . That intrigues me because the presumption within the Welsh Government's Third Sector Funding Policy was one of paying third sector organisations in advance unless there was evidence where the organisation demonstrated that it had sufficient cash reserves to manage retrospective payments. Clearly this suggests to me that Welsh Government have decided that the new LDB's will probably be non Third Sector otherwise to suggest that Third Sector bodies are eligible would in essence sit uncomfortably when viewing the WG Third Sector funding policy. Thankfully we are not an LDB and so the prospect of a restricted cash flow will not hurt us or impact on our various services.
Turning to interviews, we have had quite a few over the last 3 weeks in that 8 vacancies have been filled involving the screening of over 200 job applications and shortlisting and interviewing of 39 candidates. Quite a task for a small organisation such as ours and I know the senior staff will be pleased, as will our HR adviser, when the work is fully complete and the new staff have taken up their positions. In times of rising unemployment I had expected that the candidates would have adopted a competitive approach to the task to ensure success . However it was clear that not all candidates had made what I thought was the best of their application for example I was taught at a very early age to make sure the prospective employer sees the skills sets and experience you have and that means making sure that in the personal statement or CV, attached to the job application, that every essential item in the person specification is addressed and if you are really serious at making an impression to map all the desirable elements as well. In addition , if you are fortunate to gain an interview, that you research the organisation thoroughly so you have a very good idea of their current activities, current links and partnerships to local and regional structures which means googling the web for all the information and looking at their own web site for a copy of their business plan etc. If the candidate is not connected to the web then a quick trip to the local library will unearth a fair amount of information. This preparation will aid the questions on the day of the interview and quite likely help with the task and will demonstrate to the organisation that you are seriously interested and want the job. So why is it we have individuals who are unable to answer some of the most fundamental of questions that should be known simply by carrying out the basic research? As it happened we did have some really good candidates that ticked all the right boxes and so we were more than happy to make job offers. However the ultimate is surely to have all candidates at a level where they have produced a well written and informative job application and attend interviews thoroughly versed in the work of the organisation and the challenges ahead. Too much to expect? - I don't think so.
Thursday, 23 February 2012
DVSC audit inspection
Just completed the audit with a young lady from WCVA. Its always good to talk and listen to other people's opinions and ideas. Plenty of food for thought as to how we can develop to provide an even better service to the Third Sector organisations in Denbighshire.
Audit is quite topical at present as I have been involved in recent weeks with one or two organisations locally over governance matters around audit and I have always found that absolute transparency is the best policy not only to reassure funders but also to reassure the local community who look to voluntary and community organisations to be transparent and open in their dealings.
As to our audit , yes we need to make sure that our numbers in the outputs section relate to the narrative part of the report and also celebrate some of our achievements as I guess that most of us in the third sector fail on this as we are so focused on the delivery of the services and supporting the vulnerable we omit to celebrate the impact we make.
My attention now turns to Families First as I am told decisions will be posted out on the tenders next week which could possibly mean some organisations being disappointed which in turn could well result in redundancies or reduced hours for staff. As we constantly hear in the press the financial climate is difficult . Only time will tell and fingers crossed.
Audit is quite topical at present as I have been involved in recent weeks with one or two organisations locally over governance matters around audit and I have always found that absolute transparency is the best policy not only to reassure funders but also to reassure the local community who look to voluntary and community organisations to be transparent and open in their dealings.
As to our audit , yes we need to make sure that our numbers in the outputs section relate to the narrative part of the report and also celebrate some of our achievements as I guess that most of us in the third sector fail on this as we are so focused on the delivery of the services and supporting the vulnerable we omit to celebrate the impact we make.
My attention now turns to Families First as I am told decisions will be posted out on the tenders next week which could possibly mean some organisations being disappointed which in turn could well result in redundancies or reduced hours for staff. As we constantly hear in the press the financial climate is difficult . Only time will tell and fingers crossed.
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