Government funding for voluntary and community programmes

The Department for Education has published details of its VCSE National Prospectus grants. 72 applications secured funding for 2013-15, worth just over £50m in total over the next two years, to implement projects and services to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.

Communities Minister Don Foster has announced up to £1 million to support single homeless people. Foster allocated up to £800,000 for homelessness charity Crisis to fund schemes to set up new shared tenancies for single homeless people in privately rented accommodation. He also announced a further £230,000 for the charity to continue its Private Rented Sector Access Programme, which works with local landlords to help vulnerable people find the homes they need in privately rented accommodation.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport has announced the winner of £1.8m of National Lottery and Sport England funding focused on changing the sporting habits of women and girls. The funding was won by Bury, who will now pilot a scheme that will evolve based on local feedback.

Voluntary and community sector funding

Figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government given in answering a written parliamentary question suggest that the value of grants given by local authorities to voluntary sector organisations were £2.627bn in 2011/12 compared with £1.693bn in 2008/09. In response NAVCA said no one really believed local government funding for charities was rising and suggested that ‘changes in the way figures are calculated may have caused this odd figure’.

NCVO has published Counting the Cuts: The impact of spending cuts on the UK voluntary and community sector -2013 update. This analysis, based on Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts of public spending, estimates that public funding for charities could be £1.7bn (12%) lower by 2017/18. It noted that future reductions in public spending are likely to be concentrated among departments which are key sources of income for charities – with local government expected to be particularly hard hit.

NCVO has also published the results of the 2011/12 Annual Return for Volunteer Centres, a survey of volunteer centres’ income and activities. It shows that 40% of volunteer centres for whom there is data for both years lost over a quarter of their income compared to the previous year. 1 in 5 (21%) had cuts of 50% or more of their income. A smaller number of volunteer centres saw an increase in their income – 26% of respondents who replied to the survey in both years said their organisation’s income had increased compared to 2010/11.

NAVCA has published the findings of its fourth quarterly survey of members. The latest survey shows that more members feel that the prospects for the local voluntary and community sector will get slightly worse over the next three months, with nearly half reducing staff levels.

Further education

A TES article has said that the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has been contacted by a number of the FE providers in their membership about their allocations from the Education Funding Agency (EFA) being at least 20-30 per cent lower than anticipated. “The AELP has warned that the confusion, which has led to some providers being told that they will receive more than £1 million less than expected for 2013-14, could jeopardise the raising of the participation age to 17 this summer in some areas.” The Department for Education is in the process of changing 16-19 funding, which will result in institutions being funded per learner rather than by qualification.

NCVYS Strategic Information Service Bulletin No. 634

NCVYS Strategic Information Service Bulletin No. 634

15 March 2013

NCVYS UPDATE

Temperature of the Sector Survey launched by CYPNow
CYPNow have now launched their ‘Temperature of the Sector Survey 2013′. The survey asks questions about your organisation which will inform and allow CYPNow to draw a wider picture of the sector’s health. The deadline for submissions is 17:00 on Thursday 21 March.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8MYNXCY

GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Apprenticeships
Prime Minister David Cameron has marked National Apprenticeship Week by setting out a vision for it to become the new norm for young people to either go to university or start an apprenticeship. David Cameron called on employers, schools and colleges, and ministers to expand apprenticeship opportunities for young people, which he says are “at the heart” of the Government’s vision for the economy.

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock announced that the first postgraduate apprenticeships will start this year. They will enable school-leavers to become accountants, airline pilots and join other professions without a university degree.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) has published a study that predicts apprenticeship completions over the next decade could contribute up to £3.4 billion a year to the economy through productivity gains by 2022. It concluded that “the average person completing an Apprenticeship increases business productivity by £214 a week “ and that such productivity gains are passed on to workers in the form of higher wages
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-apprenticships-week-2013

The Government has also appointed two new government apprenticeship ambassadors. Apprenticeship Ambassador to Business, Gordon Birtwistle MP, will engage with employers of all sizes advocating the benefits of high quality apprenticeships and will have a particular focus on promoting apprenticeships for young people aged 16-24. Apprenticeship Ambassador to Parliament, Andrew Jones MP, will be responsible for encouraging MPs to get involved in promoting apprenticeships in their constituencies.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-government-ambassadors-created-to-promote-apprenticeships

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published its response to the Richard Review. The Richard Review of Apprenticeships, published in November 2012, looked at how apprenticeships in England can meet the needs of the changing economy. The BIS response said that employers “will be empowered to design and develop their own Apprenticeship standards and qualifications”. The Government’s plans include for every apprenticeship to be targeted at a skilled job and for all Apprentices to work towards a level 2 qualification in English and maths, from August 2014, if they have not already achieved this.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employers-to-design-their-own-apprenticeships

BIS has also launched a consultation on these plans. The deadline for responding to the consultation is 22 May 2013.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-apprenticeships-in-england-richard-review-next-steps

Summary of  news from National Apprenticeship Week
The Pearson Think Tank has produced a useful summary of the news from National Apprenticeship Week
http://thepearsonthinktank.com/2013/pocket-watch-what-have-we-learned-from-this-years-national-apprenticeship-week/

Spending Review date announced
Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne has announced that the next Spending Review will take place on Wednesday 26 June. The Spending Review will cover government expenditure from April 2015 onwards, with the “spending envelope” for the review being set in the Budget next Wednesday.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debate/?id=2013-03-12b.152.9

Further funding for social action projects
Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd has announced that four projects, which have received support from the Social Action Fund and have demonstrated particular effectiveness, will receive more funding. The four projects, including County Sports Partnership Network in partnership with YMCA and Play England, hosted by the National Children’s Bureau, will receive over £3.1m all together.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/minister-for-civil-society-announces-further-funding-for-successful-social-action-projects

Sexual health services framework
The Department of Health has published A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England. It sets out the government’s ambitions for improving sexual health and is designed to be used by local organisations when they are looking at how best to provide sexual health services in their area. It says services should maintain the decline in teenage pregnancy rates, prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and should include STI testing and treatment services. It says that children and young people should receive good-quality sex and relationship education at home, at school and in the community.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2013/03/sex-health-framework/

Children’s mental health services
Norman Lamb, Care and Support Minister has announced £2million for new handheld computers to boost children’s mental health services in 42 sites across England. Children and young people will be able to use tablet computers in their therapy sessions to give them and their therapist instant access to information that details how close they are to achieving treatment goals.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2013/03/tech-childrens-mental-health/

Start-Up Loan scheme update
The Government has announced that the Start-Up Loan scheme has exceeded expectations as 2,000 aspirational young entrepreneurs have now received support. A £5.5 million injection  of funding has been approved to fulfil its pipeline of young businesses until the end of the month. The government has made £117.5 million available to fund the Start-Up Loans scheme up to 2015.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/start-up-loans-exceed-expectations-as-2-000-young-entrepreneurs-get-their-business-dreams-backed

Troubled Families programme evaluation
The Department for Communities and Local Government and the Local Government Association have announced that the impact of councils’ troubled families programmes will be independently assessed. An evaluation contract has been awarded to a consortium of independent research groups, led by Ecorys.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/study-to-assess-impact-of-troubled-families-work

Funding to help development of neighbourhood plans
Communities Minister Don Foster has announced a £9.5million, 2-year fund to support people in in creating neighbourhood plans to shape development in their area. Groups of residents seeking to create a neighbourhood plan will be able to bid for up to £7,000 each to contribute to the costs of preparing their proposal. The contract to deliver the new programme has been awarded to a partnership led by Locality.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/9-5-million-to-support-hundreds-of-communities-to-create-neighbourhood-plans

School sports
The BBC has said that Prime Minister David Cameron will unveil the government’s new school sports policy on Saturday. The report suggests that between £100m and £150m per year of ring-fenced funding will go directly to schools. Ofsted will inspect PE in schools, with guidance to inspectors now being updated.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/21799669

Housing Benefit reforms changes
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has announced the government’s intention to publish amending regulations to Housing Benefit reforms. The changes will ensure that approved foster carers would be allowed to receive the same level of housing benefit in the future if they had an additional room and adult children who are in the armed forces but who continue to live with parents will be treated as continuing to live at home, even when deployed on operations. Duncan Smith also issued guidance to local authorities emphasising that discretionary housing payments remain available for other priority groups.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wms/?id=2013-03-12a.9WS.1

Violence against women and girls action plan
The Home Office has published a revised action plan for delivering its strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/call-end-violence-women-girls/vawg-action-plan-2013?view=Binary

Higher education financing
The Government has announced the student finance arrangements for higher education in the 2014 to 2015 academic year. This includes the levels for tuition fee charges, loans, maintenance grants and other specialist loans and allowances.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/student-finance-arrangements-for-the-2014-to-2015-academic-year

Health procurement
The Department of Health has announced revised regulations on procurement guidelines. It says they “put beyond doubt the Government’s strong commitment to putting doctors and nurses in charge of local health services and make it clear that they will not be forced to use competition against the best interests of patients.”
http://mediacentre.dh.gov.uk/2013/03/11/new-regulations-laid-in-parliament-on-choice-and-competition/

PARLIAMENT NEWS

Youth justice system report
The Justice Select Committee has published a report on the youth justice system. It welcomes the substantial decrease in the number of young people entering the criminal justice system for the first time, but expresses disappointment that the Government does not plan a significant shift in resources towards early intervention. It calls for a legal limit on the use of custody and alternatives to custody to help cut reoffending as well as raising serious concerns about the increasing use of force to restrain young offenders in detention. It concludes that the system is currently failing children in care and care leavers and there should be more effort to prevent the unnecessary criminalisation of these vulnerable young people.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/justice-committee/news/youth-justice1/

Votes at 16 in Scotland
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has brought forward proposed legislation to let 16 and 17-year-olds vote in the Scottish independence referendum. The Scottish Referendum (Franchise) Bill will ensure that everyone aged 16 and above on the day of the 2014 referendum will be able to participate in the vote
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-21741448

Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Bill
The Department for Work and Pensions has introduced the Jobseekers (Back to Work Schemes) Bill. http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2012-13/jobseekersbacktoworkschemes.html

The Guardian says that it is emergency legislation “to reverse the outcome of a court of appeal decision [that unpaid work schemes are legally flawed] and ‘protect the national economy’ from a £130m payout to jobseekers deemed to have been unlawfully punished.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/15/dwp-law-change-jobseekers-poundland

Parliamentary debates
The House of Lords has debated the Justice Select Committee report on the youth justice system (see above)
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2013-03-14a.508.1

Gordon Marsden (Blackpool South, Labour) has introduced a debate calling on the Government to require firms winning public contracts worth over £1 million to offer apprenticeship opportunities.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2013-03-12b.225.0

Following a statement from the Government the House of Lords has debated apprenticeships.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2013-03-14a.399.0

Parliamentary questions
Tony Baldry (Second Church Estates Commissioner; Banbury, Conservative) has asked about provisions relating to special educational needs and education, health and care plans.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2013-03-14a.146016.h

Baroness Howe of Idlicote (Crossbench) has asked about brain injury in children and young people in custodial settings.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2013-03-13a.69.3

David Lammy (Tottenham, Labour) has asked about the support a young offender receives when their case is transferred from youth offending to adult probation teams.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2013-03-13a.146829.h

Stephen McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak, Labour) has asked how many young people have been supported by the Youth Contract.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2013-03-12a.146355.h

David Lammy (Tottenham, Labour) has asked about raising the employer subsidy for businesses that offer apprenticeships in the areas with the highest levels of youth unemployment.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2013-03-11a.146828.h

Chris Skidmore (Kingswood, Conservative) has asked how many young people have received support through the Get Britain Working programme.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2013-03-11a.1.3

Menzies Campbell (North East Fife, Liberal Democrat) has asked about research and data on sport and physical activity amongst young people.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2013-03-11a.146624.h

Jim Cunningham (Coventry South, Labour) has asked how many young people and how many third sector organisations were involved in the National Citizen Service.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2013-03-11a.147702.h

Andrew McDonald (Middlesbrough, Labour) has asked about the effect on child poverty of changes to the uprating of tax credits and other payments announced in the autumn statement.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2013-03-12b.144.6

OTHER NEWS

Youth social action
The Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR), along with the Young Foundation, has been commissioned by the Cabinet Office to complete a piece of work to inform its work on the Decade of Social Action. Over the next two months they will be exploring what people and organisations understand by the term ‘youth social action’, helping to develop good practice principles, and highlighting examples of interesting and effective youth social action.  They are also looking at existing quality assurance frameworks for youth social action programmes, and will be publishing their work in the spring. The work is being undertaken with Generation Change, a coalition of organisations “that support, inspire and challenge young people to make society better”. Email Nick Ockenden at nick.ockenden@ivr.org.uk for further details.

Choose Youth campaign
The Choose Youth campaign has announced that its new manifesto Our Vision for a New Youth Service was debated and adopted by partners attending the Choose Youth AGM meeting. A workplan has been agreed for the coming year which includes a launch in Parliament of the Manifesto and a conference. Work will also be started towards a national lobby of Parliament in 2014.
http://www.chooseyouth.org/news/latest-news/new-choose-youth-manifesto-adopted-at-agm/9

Sex inside prison commission
The Howard League for Penal Reform has established an independent Commission on Sex in Prison to undertake the first ever review of sex inside prison. Throughout 2013 and 2014, Commissioners will focus on three broad themes:

• consensual sex in prison;
• coercive sex in prison;
• healthy sexual development among young people in prison.

The study’s focus will be on adults in 2013 and children in 2014. http://www.commissiononsexinprison.org/

Creative employment programme
Creative & Cultural Skills has launched the Creative employment programme. The £15 million, National Lottery funded programme will provide funding for 6,500 new traineeships, apprenticeships and paid internship opportunities to help young unemployed people aged 16 to 24 enter the arts and cultural workforce.
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding/our-investment/funding-programmes/creative-employment-programme/

Mental health outcomes for children and young people
MindEd, which is funded by the Department of Health, will deliver the CYP Mental Health e-Learning curriculum and an associated e-learning resource to speed up the diagnosis of mental health issues in children. It is hoped the portal will that all professionals working with children and young people, including NHS staff, early years’ professionals, teachers, social workers and police, know the signs to look for. It will also ensure the messages given to children and young people by these professionals are concise and consistent. Professionals are being encouraged to complete a survey to help select the content for the portal.
http://www.bps.org.uk/news/help-develop-new-web-resource-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health

European Youth Guarantee
EU national ministers have agreed that young people without a job will be guaranteed the offer of employment, training or further education. The new scheme, to be introduced by each EU country according to its individual need, will apply to young people who are out of work for more than four months. It aims to give them a real chance to further their education, or get a job, apprenticeship or traineeship. A €6 billion pot in the EU budget for 2014-2020 has already been set aside to tackle youth employment in regions with high levels of unemployment.
http://www.euractiv.com/socialeurope/eu-ministers-give-green-light-yo-news-518157

VCSE NEWS

Online volunteering service Do-it
NCVYS member YouthNet has announces plans to handover its online volunteering service Do-it (www.do-it.org.uk) to a new owner by the end of the year. Interested groups will be invited to submit proposals via an open process to be led by YouthNet, in conjunction with the Office for Civil Society. YouthNet, which is an online charity for young people, masterminded the launch of Do-it back in 2001 with the aim of putting young people in touch with volunteering opportunities using the ease of online. Do-it, which is now recognised in the sector as the leading online volunteer service, will be passed to a new owner, along with its software services and database of volunteers.
http://www.youthnet.org/2013/03/youthnet-invites-proposals-for-do-it/

Health and social care and volunteering report
The King’s Fund has published Volunteering in health and care: Securing a sustainable future. The report considers the role and value of the 3 million volunteers in health and social care and calls for a strategic approach to volunteering. It looks at the important part that volunteers play in improving patient experience, addressing health inequalities, and building a closer relationship between services and communities. It also outlines the changing nature of volunteering, why this can cause tensions, and why volunteering does not always reach its full potential.
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/volunteering-health-and-care

Volunteering campaign
NCVO has launched a new campaign, Where volunteering begins. It aims to harness the volunteer spirit that lifted London 2012 and use it to boost support for charities and voluntary organisations. A number of short films highlight the diverse range of volunteering opportunities available, and the different people who give their time.
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/news/ncvo/where-volunteering-begins-campaign-launched

Letter to local authorities about VCSE funding
NAVCA has joined with ACEVO, NAVCA and Compact Voice to write to local authorities asking that they consider the value of voluntary and community organisations in delivering services and support to their local communities. They have also urged them to continue to support this vital work. The letter reminds them of their duties under Best Value Guidance and the Compact.
http://www.navca.org.uk/downloads/generate/3448

Giving inquiry
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has launched a new inquiry into giving, chaired by Rt Hon David Blunkett MP. The cross-party investigation will examine how to harness young people’s natural enthusiasm to help others and create a culture of giving in Britain. It has also published Growing up Giving – Insights into how young people feel about charity, which explores young people’s general attitudes towards charity and charitable giving.
https://www.cafonline.org/media-office/press-releases/2013/1303-growing-giving.aspx

Project engagement survey
Kaizen are delivering an action research project, funded by two of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, into how engagement activity can be improved in order to make a bigger impact and achieve better results. They believe that this is the first research of its kind looking specifically at this aspect of engagement. The first phase involves getting the views of practitioners and organisations across the community sector and you can give your view by completing a short survey (5-7minutes). Completing the survey will also give you the chance to be selected to be part of phase 2 of the research when you would receive free engagement training and support for your organisation and you will be entered into a draw where you could win a £50 amazon voucher or 2 hours of coaching. If you have any questions about the project please do contact Jonny Zander, Kaizen Director, on jzander@kzpartnership.com or 07791 831103.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CSQ6FWW

Healthwatch
Healthwatch-Communities Involved, a partnership of four national charities is calling on people and communities to make their mark by getting involved and adding their voice to how health and social care services are run in their area. Healthwatch-Communities Involved supported NHS Change Day on March 13 by raising awareness amongst local people and community groups and volunteers about how they can play a greater role in shaping their services.
http://healthwatch-ci.co.uk/charities-champion-greater-people-power-in-local-health-and-social-care-in-support-of-nhs-change-day/

FINANCIAL MONITORING

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
YoungMinds has published its 2013 CAMHS cuts briefing on local authorities. YoungMinds asked all ‘top tier’ local authorities in England using Freedom of Information requests what their Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services CAMHS budget was for 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013.  34 of the 51 local authorities which responded had reduced their CAMHS budget since 2010. One council reported a drop of 76% in their CAMHS budget.
http://www.youngminds.org.uk/assets/0000/6845/CAMHS_2012.13_briefing_local_authorities.doc

FUNDING

Sign up for future Funding Updates
To receive monthly funding updates by email please enter your details in this form.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dENKYk5fYVFMY3ZtdEdDRkJFQmNwX3c6MQ

Funding Update
NCVYS has produced a Funding Update for March, which brings together the funding opportunities mentioned during the last month in the bulletin. It also includes local funding opportunities and highlights funding with a focus on workforce development.
http://tiny.cc/FundingMar13

Whole family initiatives
The Kelly Family Charitable Trust supports activities which involve the whole family in initiatives that seek to tackle problematical issues that face one or more of its members, and whose aims include the strengthening of family bonds by helping all elements of the family unit to grow together and support each other. Grants will typically be between £1,000 and £5,000. Applications must be submitted by 1st March and 1st September to be considered at the subsequent meeting.
http://www.kfct.org.uk/apply.html

Food
The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has launched a new Food Strandof its grant making. It is making £5m available over a period of three years for projects focused on understanding and investigating the critical role that food plays in wellbeing and the interplay between food, sustainability and poverty. The Strand seeks to bring about more sustainable food production and consumption policies and practices and is open to both large-scale strategic interventions and innovative local work.
http://esmeefairbairn.org.uk/what-we-fund/sectors/food

Participation in sport
The Inspired Facilities scheme, part of Sport England’s Places People Play programme, is opening its penultimate round on 11 March 2013. The scheme is part of Sport England’s goal to deliver a London 2012 legacy of increased mass participation in sport, and it will have invested £50 million of National Lottery funding in around 1,000 community sports projects between 2011 and 2014. Community and voluntary organisations can apply for grants worth between £20,000 and £50,000. The deadline for applications in round 4 is 29 April 2013.
http://inspiredfacilities.sportengland.org/about

Mental health stigma and discrimination
The Time to Change grants fund round 3 is now open. Applications are currently being accepted to support projects in England that address mental health stigma and discrimination by bringing people with and without mental health problems together. Grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 are available with most grants between £10,000 to £40,000. 25% of the grants fund will go to projects run by and for people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, and 20% will go to projects working with children and young people in the South East with a focus on Kent. The deadline for applications is 30 April 2013 (2pm).
http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/grants

Development of social impact reports
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has launched the Kick-Starter fund to support organisations wishing to showcase the impact of their innovative projects to potential social investors. As of May 2013, England-based social businesses and those behind social investment products such as charitable bonds will be able to apply to BIG’s £299,975 Kick-Starter fund to pay for the development of a social impact report.
http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/global-content/press-releases/england/120313_eng_sse_big-lottery-fund-kick-start

Community projects
ITV and the Big Lottery Fund are offering 76 grants of between £20,000 and £50,000 to local community projects in this year’s The People’s Millions. The public will get to vote on which projects win funding. This year the Big Lottery Fund will be making grants of £3.8 million in total. The People’s Millions is inviting applications from new projects that will improve local places and the lives of people in those communities. Applicants will need to demonstrate that there is active local interest and support for the project. The winners will be determined by a public vote via ITV coverage. The deadline for applications is 13 May 2013.
http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/

International youth projects
Youth in Action – Youth in the World aims to support projects promoting cooperation in the youth sector between EU Member States and eligible countries other than the neighbouring countries of the European Union. Financial assistance may not be granted for more than 80% of a project’s total eligible expenses and the maximum grant may not exceed €100,000 per project. The 2013 Call has a total budget of €3 million. The deadline for applications is 14 May 2013.
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/youth/funding/2013/call_action_3_2_en.php

The European Youth Foundation supports European youth activities which serve the promotion of peace, understanding and co-operation in a spirit of respect for the Council of Europe’s fundamental values such as human rights, democracy, tolerance and solidarity. The programme has an annual budget of €3,000,000 and the maximum grant available is €50,000. The deadline for applications is 10 April 2013.
http://www.eyf.coe.int/fej/

This bulletin is prepared by the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services. Please contact Dom Weinberg at NCVYS for more details, or email dominic@ncvys.org.uk. If you forward the bulletin to other people or use information from it in your own publications, please make sure that NCVYS is credited.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

YoungMinds has published its 2013 CAMHS cuts briefing on local authorities. YoungMinds asked all ‘top tier’ local authorities in England using Freedom of Information requests what their Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services CAMHS budget was for 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013.  34 of the 51 local authorities which responded had reduced their CAMHS budget since 2010. One council reported a drop of 76% in their CAMHS budget.

Youth justice system

The Youth Justice Board has given Youth Offending Teams across England and Wales an early indication of their Youth Justice Grant funding for 2013/14. It is estimated each YOT will receive an 8.8 per cent reduction in the level of Ministry of Justice funding received as part of the Youth Justice Grant, than was given in 2012/13.  The YJ Grant no longer includes any contribution from the Home Office, as local Police and Crime Commissioners will now receive this money directly from the Home Office, which is to be spent on a wide range of local priorities, including youth crime prevention.

The Ministry of Justice has published its response to a consultation on the new remand framework for children. It reveals that local authorities will get £20.2m to cover the cost of remand places and treating children on remand as looked-after. They had previously been told they would receive £24.6m. The Ministry of Justice said the reduction accounts for falling numbers of under-18s being remanded to custody. London Councils has said they are “extremely concerned that this financial burden will have a hugely detrimental impact on the level of support that boroughs are able to provide”.

Youth Offending Teams (2013)

The Youth Justice Board / Ministry of Justice statistical bulletin Youth Justice Statistics 2011/12 England and Wales has revealed that between 2010/11 and 2011/12 “there was a reduction in the overall level of funding available to YOTs from £373m to £330m, a reduction of 12 per cent. This is the lowest level of funding YOTs received since 2006/07.” The YJB Grant was reduced by 20 per cent, with other sources of YOT funding (including police, probation, health services and Local Authorities) also being reduced.

The bulletin also noted that in June 2011 15,955 people were recorded as working for YOTs in some capacity, a reduction of 15 per cent on the staffing levels in YOTs in 2010/11. In September 2012, Minister for Prisons and Rehabilitation Jeremy Wright said that between 2009/10 and 2010/11 there were 835 fewer posts in youth offending teams (YOTs) in England and Wales, including volunteers, part-time and temporary staff, which was a 4% reduction.

A Parliamentary Question has also revealed details of funding received by each YOT in 2011-12, showing that Trafford YOT had the largest reduction in 2011-12 in funding from statutory partners and the YJB: from £3.22 million in 2010-11 to £1.59 million in 2011-12, a decline of 50.4%.

During this period there have also been reductions in the number of young people entering the system for the first time, as well as reductions in those receiving disposals in and out of court, including those receiving custodial sentences.