Big Society plans need a helping hand
Volunteers say West Berkshire Council will need to offer step-by-step assistance for community-led services
WEST Berkshire's voluntary and community sectors have said they will need a hand holding process to help put the coalition Government's 'Big Society' concept into action locally.
Last night (Monday), dozens of charities and organisations were represented at a voluntary sector assembly held at the West Berkshire Council offices in Market Street, Newbury, where the concepts of localism and the Big Society were discussed to see how they could work within the district.
A strong theme that emerged from the discussion was a need for West Berkshire Council to assist the voluntary and community sector, to help them to run essential local services, such as libraries and adult and social care.
The chief executive officer of the Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young People (BACYP), David Seward, said he was concerned that if commissioning of services was not regulated, statutory services, such as the National Health Service, would not give local independent organisations and volunteers a fair crack of the whip.
Similarly, Martin Parsons, of the Bradfield Youth Group, said he felt there needed to be a complete change in mindset and that a lot of smaller organisations would need to be led through the processes.
Verity Murricane, of the Eight Bells for Mental Health charity, added that although she was excited about the concept of a Big Society, she felt it was also very complicated for small organisations.
She said: “If it is really going to work, everyone is expecting a sea change from the voluntary sector, but the statutory sector has to meet us halfway to discuss how we can make this work.
“Otherwise, it will be larger national organisations doing it and the people that know what local needs are will miss out.”
The notion of having a localism champion was suggested as a way of giving organisations a skills and knowledge base to tap into, while the chief executive of West Berkshire Council, Nick Carter, acknowledged that the council would have a role to play in assisting the voluntary and community sector to make the concept work.
However, no decisions on the funding of such services have yet been made and a number of legislative bills and white papers surrounding the Big Society agenda are currently working their way through Parliament, including the Localism Bill, which is due to reach the Committee Stage in the House of Commons today (Tuesday).
In concluding the discussion, the leader of West Berkshire Council, Graham Jones, said he felt the voluntary and community sector had shown a support for both localism and the Big Society idea and he said he felt the council's role was to help make it as easy as possible.
