Voluntary Action North Somerset

Working Together - A Local Compact for North Somerset

Compacts were introduced by the Government in 1998 in order to improve the relationship between Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector. There is a national Compact for national organisations and Regional and Local Compacts are being drawn up across the country.

A Compact is an agreement between voluntary and community groups and the local or county council and other public bodies. Its purpose is to -

* Set standards for communication, consultation and support
* Provide a practical tool to help work together in formal partnerships and on the ground
* Establish undertakings on both sides and mechanisms to make sure it works

The Compact is supported by a series of Codes of Practice which specific areas of work.

A properly established and implemented Local Compact agreement should enable groups and organisations to:

* Contribute to the development of services needed by the community
* Further their cause
* Improve relationships with local authorities
* Make best use of external funding
* Become involved in best value and community planning

The Local Compact in Somerset

The Local Compact was developed in North SOmerset through joint working between those organisations and officially launched at the North Somerset Partnership Stakeholder event in November 2005. Its purpose is to -

* Set standars for communication, consultation and support
* Provide a practical tool to help work together in formal partnerships and on the ground

* Establish undertakings on both sides and mechanisms to make sure it works

The Local Compact is supporterd by a series of Codes of Practice which cover:

* Funding
* Consultation and policy appraisal
* Equalities and diversity
* Volunteering
* Community groups

The aim of the Funding Code of Practice is to establish and effective funding framework

* To provide clear guidelines to those groups seeking funding
* To provide a framework to learn what other groups are doing and planning
* To provide knowledge about sources of funding
* To ensure the voluntary and community sector is aware of the expectations of statutory organisations and the requirement to achieve outcomes that will be monitored and evaluated

It sets our principles of good practice including

* Recognising the value of services provided through the voluntary and community sector
* Acknowledging that statutory agencies face significant financial pressures and have to prioritise resources and ensure best practice is achieved in the delivery of services
* Developing a clear, transparent and open funding process that is accessible to all groups and is supported by clear, simple guidelines, consistently applied across statutory agencies, and that recognises that different groups and communities may need different methods of support
* Providing stability of funding that addresses the requirements for core funding
* Establishing monitoring and evaluation that is ongoing and supportive, with the emphasis on making the project work

Codes of Practice and Working Together, an outline of the North Somerset Compact can be viewed frm the LInks section of this website or are available from

Linda Shaw
Voluntary Action North Somerset
The Badger Centre
Wadham Street
Weston super Mare
BS23 1JY

Click here to download Working Together, an introduction to North Somerset’s Compact