Recently I had a very nice letter inviting me to write for a publication (quite high status) and a follow-up phone conversation to explore further. In the course of this, the London-based publisher emphasised that wanting to reach outside their heavily London-focused circle was a big priority for them. Who can guess the next bit of the conversation?
In The Greater Manchester Poverty Action Newsletter there is information about the Good Employment Charter, an update from Salford City Council on their ‘No-one Left Behind’ campaign at the end of their second year, information about a food poverty event and an update on our food providers map. 
The Big Lunch is about millions of people getting together to share food, have fun and get to know each other better. It's a simple idea - that for a few glorious hours, cars stop, shyness stops and neighbours come together in the street to meet, greet, share, swap, sing, plan and laugh. 
The Office for Civil Society, with support from the Cabinet Office has written a guide for voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations considering selling to central and local government or becoming part of the supply chain for delivering public services. 
Greater Manchester’s inaugural Co-operative Commission has issued a rallying call to keep driving the movement forward and help build a stronger, fairer city-region where new co-ops and social enterprises can thrive. 
After the successful launch of the GM Food Poverty Action Plan, there are a number of articles in the newsletter reporting on the event and the Plan. Over 50 pledges have already been made.
There is also information about the joint IGAU and GMPA ‘From Poverty to Prosperity’ Conference on 2 April 2019 and a number of other events as well as information about two job opportunities.
Sandy Adirondack has released some useful updates on Brexit to try and keep you up to date with the latest developments: 
To help them understand what the region thinks about suicide and therefore how they can develop a campaign to encourage people to talk about it, a short survey has been created. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and NHS in Greater Manchester would like to talk to you about suicide. 
In the latest Greater Manchester Poverty Action newsletter the editorial is a piece by GMPA Director Graham Whitham looking at Greater Manchester’s Prosperity Review and other current activities designed to tackle poverty in the city region.
There is information on future training courses and the important launch of the GM Food Poverty Alliance’s Action Plan next month.
Manchester City Council are consulting with the public on a city centre Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to address a number of issues that are being reported to the Council and the Police. Proposals have been drawn up following evidence-gathering and listening to the concerns of people and businesses about their experiences in the city centre. 