As you may be aware, earlier this year the City Council launched a competitive tendering process for the contract to provide support to the city's voluntary and community sector for the next three years.
We are delighted to announce that Macc has been awarded this contract.
The Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd, is looking for independent members for the Audit and Accounts Committee and Human Resources Governance Panel.
The Audit and Accounts Committee meets at least four times a year to scrutinise the Commissioner’s and GMP’s finances.
The Human Resources Governance Panel advises the Commissioner on employment and appeals issues.
The government has commissioned six centres (the What Works Network, https://www.gov.uk/what-works-network) to summarise and share research with local decision-makers including commissioners, head teachers, police and crime commissioners.
The Ministry of Justice has launched the first stage of a tendering process for Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) with an intention to get them in place in 2015. CRCs are a mechanism to move a significant proportion of probation services out of the public sector.
Tier 1 providers, the organisations who wish to run the CRCs have to register before 31 October.
Manchester City Council is shortly intending to put out to competitive tender the following services:
1. Advocacy Services
2. Carer Support Services
3. Employment Support Services
4. Dementia Support Services
The judges, including the Lord Mayor of Manchester, have now met and decided on the shortlisted candidates for the first Spirit of Manchester Award! The nominations reflected all the exciting and diverse work happening in Manchester's voluntary and community sector. We will be making films of all the shortlisted applicants which will be voted on at the awards ceremony to determine the winner.
We are excited that the awards will be presented at the new NOMA building, thank you to the Co-operative who kindly donated the room.
Shortlisted organisations
There is a move by some commissioners to purchase health and welfare services through “spot” purchasing rather than “block contracts”, using “investment frameworks” and “shopping websites for personal care”. Payments are made for each client or group of clients worked with.
During the recent bout of hot weather, I somehow managed to come down with a cold. I not only felt ill, I also felt ridiculous: I mean who gets a cold in the middle of a heatwave? As I write this, figures have just been released showing that the country’s economy is slowly starting to grow again after the recession. It’s a similar feeling: I’m being told it’s lovely out there but it feels dreadful. No matter what the economic analysis says, when I look around I see incomes reducing, prices rising, services closing and life generally becoming more difficult.
Manchester City Council have just gone live on their new commissioning structure and Macc is in discussion with them about putting on an event for the Voluntary and Community Sector to explain how it will work. The new structure is very different from the old one one which was organised around commissioners having responsibility for themes such as Youth and Play, Mental Wellbeing, Immigration Advice etc.
Procurement laws, or rather the poor application of them, can make a major difference in the ability of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to win and keep contracts. There has been continual criticism of the level of bureaucracy and inflexibility in EU procurement laws and as a result new laws are to be announced soon.