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Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel
Redesign of the Health and Social Services Governance Model Written Submission
Voluntary and Community Sector (Third Sector) – 8th September 2017
Information on the lack of a representational voice for the Voluntary and Community Sector (Third Sector) in Jersey. Under separate cover I will forward the basis of our last full Agreement between the JVCS Ltd and our Chief Minister's Department along with the two year work plan agreed in the autumn of 2014 which gives a full flavour of the scope, objectives and involvements of the organisation as it evolved.
What eventually evolved into the Jersey Voluntary and Community Sector Partnership Ltd was born in late 2011 into 2012 when it was realised that there was no overarching body to speak on behalf of the totality of the NPO Sector let alone Charities existing in the island. At the time we were in the early stages of the "Child Enquiry" and this was perceived as a significant weakness. Initial funding was found from a Health underspend and initial reporting tended to be to HSS. This eventually gravitated to Chief Minister's where it should have been located all along but the organisation remained heavily involved in the Health environment for obvious reasons.
The "Company" once created operated with a representative (of the sector) Honorary Board and one fulltime paid CEO and worked closely with the Association of Jersey Charities, an unofficial registration and fund dispersing (lottery monies) body with some responsibility from legacy funding for training and capacity building in the sector. The initial and on-going Board drew on the significant experience and input of a number of the "big hitters" from the Third Sector in the island. The above mentioned documents will give a good flavour of the scope and objectives of the organisation.
As one of the key objectives was to act as a "critical friend" to Government and wherever possible to influence policy (reference to the Third Sector in the current overarching States strategy was only included when we pointed out this huge omission) this is what we consistently attempted to do. Perhaps because we were a little too critical and perhaps because we wouldn't simply do exactly what we were told funding was withdrawn in 2016 and despite some temporary monies being located from a trust through the efforts of our then LG money ran out in early 2017 and the organisation is just about to formally wind-up.
This leaves the island without a formal representative body to talk for the sector although there is some talk about eventually creating a compact between the VCS and the States. The AJC remains what it has always been and its role will change as the new Charities Commission and regulations evolve. The only other body dedicated to building resource and capacity in the sector is the Jersey Community Partnership which represents major funders and looks to improve the effectiveness of the utilisation of their monies.
Spinning out of the JVCS and in part as a result of the importance in recent time of the whole HSS system development and aspiration to limit the size of the proposed new hospital and to back services into the community (private and voluntary providers) we created the Jersey Disability Partnership (I continue to chair and the ex JVCS CEO is just standing down as secretary). This organisation representing a multitude of service users, their carers and representational bodies (charities etc.) along with statutory providers, politicians, private organisations etc. continues as an unincorporated association with no real funding / officer at this time. There is NO real VCS Forum as alluded to in the proposed Governance review to represent / appoint Board members at this time although the key participants including myself from the sector are trying to pull together something to achieve this aim. I will forward some information on the JDP to give you a flavour of this organisation also.
One interesting additional spin-off was that the JDP has established and will soon revive is a joint training organisation with the intention of procuring not only training but other services and perhaps goods on a consolidated basis going forward.