Third sector review final report – July 2007

Third sector review final report

Cabinet office and UK Treasury

July 2007

(excerpt from the introduction)

The Government’s final report of its review of the third sector sets out a strategy to work with third sector organisations over the next ten years to promote social and economic regeneration.

The review was carried out by the Office of the Third Sector and HM Treasury’s Charity and Third Sector Finance Unit. It followed the Government’s largest ever consultation with the third sector and built on previous investments in third sector organisations.

The report sets out plans to promote the partnership between the Government and the third sector. Most of the measures will be led by the Office of the Third Sector, which will invest more than £515 million in third sector programmes to support thousands of community organisations across the country.

The main aims outlined in the report are to help give third sector organisations a greater voice and to work with the sector to strengthen communities, transform public services, encourage social enterprise and support the conditions for the sector to thrive.

Helping to give third sector organisations a voice

The Government will give third sector organisations more of a voice and ensure that third sector organisations are able to speak out and represent their communities.

The Government will develop innovative approaches to consultation, work to protect the rights of organisations to campaign and mechanisms to ensure ministers hear the views of third sector organisations on policy.

Strengthening communities

The Government will also work with third sector organisations to bring people from different backgrounds together to improve life in their communities.

The Government will invest £50 million in endowments for community foundations to make sure they can provide grants in the future for community groups, and at least £10 million of new investment in community anchor organisations and community asset and enterprise development. In addition, the Government will provide £117 million of new resources for youth volunteering.

Transforming public services

The report recognises the vital role of some organisations in helping to deliver public services, and contains a commitment to improve public services by fully drawing on the understanding and experience of the sector in designing, developing and delivering services.

The Government will build the capacity of third sector organisations to improve public services, though the Futurebuilders Fund, which provides loans and grants to organisations looking to deliver public services, training for public sector commissioners and work to build the evidence on opportunities for the third sector.

Encouraging social enterprise

The Government will also encourage ‘social enterprises’ – businesses with social and environmental aims.

The Government will promote awareness of the social enterprise business model, and support its departments to investigate areas for social enterprise delivery, including getting social enterprise into the Key Stage 3 and 4 of the curriculum framework from 2008.

Supporting the conditions for a thriving third sector

Finally, the Government wants to improve the environment in which all third sector organisations work.

The Government will improve funding arrangements for the third sector, and make three–year funding the norm, rather than the exception; create a new national research centre as part of a programme to build the third sector evidence base; and implement a new third sector skills strategy.

The full document can be downloaded here: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third%5Fsector/third%5Fsector%5Freview/