Posts tagged: government

The real test of the Big Society

It’s been an interesting week in the world of the Big Society.  Last week representative from the North East’s third sector meet with Ian Leete from the Office of the Civil Society.  At that meeting a question was raised whether there would be such animosity to the Big Society, and whether we would embrae the [...]

Blink! Did you miss it?

Here’s hoping you had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year. Although the way the Government have been publish consultations etc, you would be forgiven for thinking they hadn’t realised it was supposed to be a holiday. So in case you had a long and enjoyable break here’s a quick jog through a few of the [...]

New Welfare proposals we want your views

Government launched a white paper with their plans to reform the welfare system, but what’s your views?

Work Activity – a raise in benefits?

If you want people to “experience of the habits and routines of working life” then pay forms a large part of that.

Going, going, gone…

It was fairly sad news that greeted me this morning, that HMS Ark Royal is to be scrapped ahead of it’s original decommission date of 2014. In case you don’t know it was built in Wallsend (my home town) at the Swan Hunters’ shipyard.  It is, or was, a surviving legacy of the North East’s industrial heritage.  [...]

Embracing a Big Society spirit.

To get out of the mess we are in…we need to change the way we think about ourselves and our role in society.”  David Cameron, Conservative Party conference, 6th October 2010.  The above came from David Cameron’s speech calling for people to develop and foster a ‘Big Society’ spirit.  He was calling on citizens to [...]

Protect our safety net!

My greatest fear around the public sector spending cuts are to our society’s safety net- welfare benefits. The closure of the Independent Living Fund for new applicants, and the further threats to it from the spending review, mean that many severely disabled people will not be able to work or live independently (which ironically may [...]

The mark of a civilized society…..

The vast majority of people access the welfare system because they need it, not because they want it.

Telling ‘BIG’ tales

It may surprise you to learn that part of my role at VONNE is to tell stories.  Not the fairytale or ghost story type, (although sometimes it can feel like that) but the true, non-fictional stories of the work of the VCS in the North East.  Sometimes those stories are sad, sometimes funny, sometimes depressing [...]

Public Sector cuts: More unintentional consequences?

Life was a lot easier when I was younger and the only double-dip I had heard of was the sweet.  However nowadays double-dip is the economic watchword accompanying any piece of negative economic news.  As there is still a lot of concern that the UK will enter a double-dip recession. So it was perhaps no [...]