Candidates in Stevenage [Region: East]
Ms Julia Davies
1. How important is the charity and voluntary sector to your constituency?
Very important. I have met up with people involved in volunteering in Stevenage and I recognise that they are the unsung heros providing essential support for many people who are in some kind of need that is not met by the private or public sector.
The work of charities and the voluntary sector in my constituency is hugely important to those many people who are supported by it currently and will call on its help in the future. I recognise the part the sector plays in building a strong community.
The work of charities and the voluntary sector in my constituency is hugely important to those many people who are supported by it currently and will call on its help in the future. I recognise the part the sector plays in building a strong community.
2. What efforts will you make - if elected - to work with local charities and voluntary sector organisations in your constituency?
I will promote positive messages about volunteering. I will encourage more people to volunteer and try to free them from 'red tape'. I will support organisations such as SVC which provide vital liaison between different voluntary organisations. If elected I should make every effort to promote the work of the charities and voluntary sector to ensure that it had the funding it needed and that people were aware of the help available and the help they could offer. I would try to free up any red tape that might make obstacles for people wanting to volunteer and find ways to celebrate what many do quietly and often in an unacknowledged way.
3. Will you champion the Compact in your constituency, to encourage better partnership working between the local public sector and the voluntary and community sector?
Yes. I have discussed issues with one group in particular that is feeling that the local council is sometimes obstructive. I would like to improve this situation as a matter of urgency. I should certainly champion the Compact in my constituency and use feedback from volunteer organisations - and particularly support groups for volunteer organisations - to contribute to a new policy white paper which my party is planning to produce next year. I believe it is vital that in every area of the community the work done by the voluntary sector needs to be seen as an equal adjunct to that done by the public sector: too often in multi-agency involvement in particular cases there is a lack of communication which can lead to unintended consequences rather than them all working for the best result for clients.
4. Additional comments:
-- No Answer Provided --
Mr Stephen McPartland
1. How important is the charity and voluntary sector to your constituency?
-- No Answer Provided --
2. What efforts will you make - if elected - to work with local charities and voluntary sector organisations in your constituency?
-- No Answer Provided --
3. Will you champion the Compact in your constituency, to encourage better partnership working between the local public sector and the voluntary and community sector?
-- No Answer Provided --
4. Additional comments:
As you know, I have been impressed with the work of Stevenage CVS.
I support the aims of the campaign and believe that the Compact for effective partnership working between government and the third sector has an important role to play in enabling Government to engage with and support the voluntary sector.
It is clear that supporting the Compact, and the work of the voluntary sector more generally, is a good way for MPs to serve the interests of their constituents. However, while I support the Compact, I do not think it is not achieving all that it could, or should.
Under Labour, the Compact has sometimes risked becoming just another bureaucratic exercise, ignored by Government when it does not suit its interests. Conservatives strongly criticised the Government for recently breaching the Compact by abruptly withdrawing funding from agreed projects. We see a robust and properly enforced Compact as an essential component of our vision for a strong and independent voluntary sector.
In our 2008 green paper, Voluntary Action in the 21st Century, we proposed editing the Compact to improve enforcement and put more pressure on Government departments to honour it. We would seek to amend the Compact so it includes more practical measures – such as model contracts and standardised multi-year funding agreements – aimed at designing Compact compliance into the everyday workings of the public sector. We would seek to strengthen the role of the Compact Commissioner to ensure they can remain a strong advocate for the third sector in Whitehall. We would also amend the Compact to make it clear that the norm should be that when public services are commissioned from the voluntary sector, they will be paid in line with commercial practice; letting charities earn a profit on public service delivery in the same way that private providers already do.
David Cameron recently confirmed that a Conservative Government would put the voluntary sector at the heart of our plans for building a Big Society – see http://www.conservatives.com/News/Speeches/2010/03/David_Cameron_Our_Big_Society_plan.aspx .
Further details of Conservative policies to support the voluntary sector are available at: http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Where_we_stand/Big_Society.aspx .
I support the aims of the campaign and believe that the Compact for effective partnership working between government and the third sector has an important role to play in enabling Government to engage with and support the voluntary sector.
It is clear that supporting the Compact, and the work of the voluntary sector more generally, is a good way for MPs to serve the interests of their constituents. However, while I support the Compact, I do not think it is not achieving all that it could, or should.
Under Labour, the Compact has sometimes risked becoming just another bureaucratic exercise, ignored by Government when it does not suit its interests. Conservatives strongly criticised the Government for recently breaching the Compact by abruptly withdrawing funding from agreed projects. We see a robust and properly enforced Compact as an essential component of our vision for a strong and independent voluntary sector.
In our 2008 green paper, Voluntary Action in the 21st Century, we proposed editing the Compact to improve enforcement and put more pressure on Government departments to honour it. We would seek to amend the Compact so it includes more practical measures – such as model contracts and standardised multi-year funding agreements – aimed at designing Compact compliance into the everyday workings of the public sector. We would seek to strengthen the role of the Compact Commissioner to ensure they can remain a strong advocate for the third sector in Whitehall. We would also amend the Compact to make it clear that the norm should be that when public services are commissioned from the voluntary sector, they will be paid in line with commercial practice; letting charities earn a profit on public service delivery in the same way that private providers already do.
David Cameron recently confirmed that a Conservative Government would put the voluntary sector at the heart of our plans for building a Big Society – see http://www.conservatives.com/News/Speeches/2010/03/David_Cameron_Our_Big_Society_plan.aspx .
Further details of Conservative policies to support the voluntary sector are available at: http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Where_we_stand/Big_Society.aspx .
Ms Sharon Taylor
1. How important is the charity and voluntary sector to your constituency?
It is at the heart of what makes our community strong and vibrant.
2. What efforts will you make - if elected - to work with local charities and voluntary sector organisations in your constituency?
I will make every effort, as I have as Leader of the Council and Chair of the So Stevenage Partnership to support the work of local charities and the voluntary sector.
3. Will you champion the Compact in your constituency, to encourage better partnership working between the local public sector and the voluntary and community sector?
Absolutely, it is vital that we continue to improve partnership working and as funding becomes harder to find, it is the only way forward.
4. Additional comments:
-- No Answer Provided --
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