Commissioning

Today We Are Angry, Tomorrow We Must Talk

A lot of people in the local voluntary sector are going to be very angry today. They’re going to feel threatened, undervalued, rejected and hopeless. The Council’s budget proposals will make horrible reading for many people who’ve been working very hard for a long time to make a difference in the city. For some groups this will mean cuts to services and activities. For many it will mean many job losses – the sector is an employer too, after all. For some this may be the last straw and we may see the end of a number of organisations that have made a great contribution to the city.

Extending Shared Lives Services in Manchester

Manchester City Council (MCC) is holding an event on 17th Sept from 11-1pm at Manchester Town Hall to discuss the extension of Shared Lives services. MCC is seeking an organisation to deliver services for adults with a learning disability and adults with mental health support needs.

Consultation on Advocacy Services in Manchester

Manchester City Council is holding meetings on Tuesday 2 September 2014 and Friday 26 September 2014 to consult on proposals for a new Advocacy Hub.

The Care Act 2014 requires the City Council to provide independent advocacy for those who may have difficulty understanding and participating in the assessment process. An advocate provides support to an individual to help them express their needs and wishes, secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain the care and support they need

Introducing the Spirit of Manchester Festival

One of the things I love most about working in the voluntary sector is that if you have a really good idea you can generally find a way to make it happen. It might take a while – things like our State of the Sector and Civil Economy work were on my wishlist for years before we were finally able to publish the finished work. But sometimes you can be taken by surprise at how fast you can go from the idea to it actually happening.

Changes in EU Procurement Rules

The 2014 EU Procurement Directives were adopted by the EU on 28 March 2014 and the UK government is intending to put them into operation in the UK as quickly as possible. Manchester City Council and other public bodies are beginning to assess their impact. The new rules remove the distinction between Part A and Part B procurement and are intended, on the whole, to open up the market, especially to small and medium enterprises.

Rewarding the Good and Punishing the Bad (Part 2)

Nigel Rose, Strategic Lead (Commissioning) has published the second part of his two-part blog which proposes a solution to the thorny problem of including evidence of past performance in decision-making about funding. How can we ensure that organisations that perform well continue to be funded and those that are perform badly are decommissioned?