Compact powers to be reviewed
On 7 July Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, asked the Compact Commissioner
Sir Bert Massie to lead a debate on whether the Compact should be supported by statutory
powers.
Established in 1998, the Compact is an agreement between Government and the third
sector in England. It recognises shared values, principles and commitments and sets
out guidelines for working together.
In a letter to Sir Bert, the Minister asks the Commission for the Compact to conduct
a wide and thorough debate across the third sector on whether the Commissioner should
have legal powers to punish bodies that breach the Compact. This will form part
of an ongoing root and branch review of the Compact and all its Codes of Practice.
The Minister's call comes after Sir Bert warned that the Compact cannot survive
in its current form. Third sector organisations have complained that the Compact
and the Commission ‘lack teeth’, leaving them unprotected in disputes with local
authorities.
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said:
“Ten years after its inception, it is time to look again at the Compact and how
the third sector and local government can work together effectively to deliver first
rate public services.
“The Compact has helped to promote good practice in relations between councils and
voluntary groups. Since 1998 however, there has been exceptional growth in the third sector, and its involvement in the market for public services contracts has become
increasingly sophisticated.
“For this reason, I have asked Sir Bert Massie to review the Compact and its Codes
from top to bottom and ask third sector organisations and local government for their
views on the Commission's statutory status. If the debate responses suggest there
is a need for the Commission and Commissioner to be given legal powers to enforce
the Compact, the Government is prepared to start work immediately towards making
it happen.”
A three-month debate will be undertaken by the Commission in close co-operation
with the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office and Compact Voice, which
represents the views of the voluntary and community sector. Input is invited from
all bodies that use or are affected by the Compact.
The Commission is already conducting a broader root and branch review of the Compact
and its Codes in order
to make it more relevant to the new environment in which
the third sector now operates.
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For More Information Contact:
Mark Johnson
The Projects Partnership Limited
53 Great Suffolk Street
London SE1 ODB
t 020 7620 0888
f 020 7620 0778
e info@tpplaw.co.uk
Email:
Mark
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