This month’s policy roundup aims to give you a flavour into what the policy and influencing team has been up to over the past month.
By Shareen Patel, policy and influencing officer at ACEVO.
General election 2024
Following the outcome of the general election, ACEVO CEO, Jane Ide commented:
“The Labour Government has been elected on a promise of change and national renewal. Civil society leaders will not only be vital partners in delivering that change, but also in making sure that the new government meets its commitment to govern in partnership with civil society.
We look forward to working with the new administration to reset the relationship between government and civil society – not for our sake, not for theirs, but for the sake of the people and causes we are all here to serve.”
We have also published a member briefing summarising what the main political parties said in their manifestos about civil society in the run-up to the election.
Reaching out to the new government
ACEVO has begun the process of reaching out to the new ministerial team, although at the time of writing we are still awaiting confirmation on the minister who will have the brief for civil society. In particular, we are making the case for the new government to take the opportunity to reset the relationship between government and civil society, and to develop a new charter to support that relationship, as we described in the joint ACEVO/NCVO manifesto document. We believe that a charter could be an early win for the new government, and should be developed in partnership with civil society leaders. We will keep you updated on any developments with this work.
Home Truths 2
We have held the first two sessions of our Race Equity Series, hosted alongside Voice4Change. Session 1 was on ‘Why we need to move beyond diversity’. If you missed it, you can watch the full recording, read the companion notes and the accompanying blog. Session 2 was held last week on ‘Reporting and responding to ethnic pay disparities’. You can view the session here and read the blog.
Session 3 ‘Inside Intersectionality’ will take place on Tuesday 24 September 10:30-11:30. In this session, we’ll dive into and demystify the issue of intersectionality – where overlapping identities, such as ‘race’, gender and class, combine to affect people’s experiences of disadvantage and privilege. The event will ask some crucial questions, such as what intersectionality means in practice for anti-racist and race equity efforts. In particular, how can we have an intersectional analysis of life and at the same time focus on racism head on? Book your place now!
In other news, the launch of the Further, Faster programme, as part of our Home Truths 2 programme of work is now taking place on Monday 16 September 10:00-13:00.
Charity Commission
ACEVO is hosting a member-only support session on Wednesday 24 July 14:00-15:00 on whistleblowing to the Charity Commission. In this meeting, alongside Christopher Sladen, Head of Proactive Regulation at the Commission, we’ll delve deeper into the workings of the Commission’s whistleblowing service, exploring its purpose, accessibility, and effective utilisation. Book your place now!
The policy and influencing team is here to help! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at policy@acevo.org.uk or with me directly at shareen.patel@acevo.org.uk.
