Governmental Policies in the United Kingdom

Summary:

Links to discussions of governmental policies about nonprofits and similar organizations in Britain, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Karl Wilding wrote to ISTR-L (a service of The International Society for Third-sector Research (http://www.istr.org) on November 7, 2007:
For those familiar with the UK I shall state the blindingly obvious by saying that there are in fact a multitude of national policies in relation to the voluntary sector. Although The Compact framework and document are perhaps perceived as the rules of engagement, policy development has been advanced by the development of an institutional framework whereby everyone is now a policy maker.

Govt policy in the UK is now led by the Office of the Third Sector (OTS), though the Department of Communities and Local Governments also is an important player in relation to the sector. The main policy doc to google is the OTS/Treasury Third Sector Review, which stemmed from this year's Treasury Comprehensive Spending Review. There are, however, many other national policies that relate to particular areas such as commissioning and procurement, regulation, etc.

Its also worth noting that there is perhaps a presumption that policy is only made by government. The Conservatives Centre for Social Justice wrote a report called Breakthrough Britain, which has a substantive report on the voluntary sector, with many recommendations. Its interesting to compare with the Third Sector Review.

Google should easily locate all of these.

[Here are some links -- Ed.:

"Breakthrough Britain" announced

http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/default.asp?pageRef=184

Breakthrough Britain for sale from Amazon.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breakthrough-Britain-Ending-Social-Breakdown/dp/0955699908

The Compact — "The Compact is the agreement between government and the voluntary and community sector to improve their relationship for mutual advantage and community gain."

http://www.thecompact.org.uk

Office of the Third Sector

www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector.aspx