News

Funded by the government following consultation with the VCS, Skills Third Sector is developing LINKS, a new interactive tool that allows sector organisations to search online for formal and informal training opportunities. The tool will aim to:

The Cabinet Office has announced a £16.8million fund for free advice services in England, to be delivered by the Big Fund, the non-lottery arm of the Big Lottery Fund.

The fund will open for applications by the end of November and will provide grants to organisations providing debt, welfare benefits, employment and housing advice services. Applicants will have to provide advice in at least one of the four areas and be able to evidence public funding cuts of at least 10 per cent for those advice service areas from central and local government sources in 2011/12.

The first audit of Big Society, and the effectiveness of policies to shift power from government to civil society, has been launched and is expected to be published early in 2012. Think tank Civil Exchange, research organisation Democratic Audit and social policy communications group DHA, will conduct the audit after consulting with government, academics and others about how to gauge the effectiveness or achievements of the social policy.