Social Enterprise shorts - 09/09/10

Acevo calls for fairness in cuts and pensions

Chief executive representatives Acevo is calling on government to set up a ‘fairness panel’ to ensure vulnerable people are protected among massive public spending cuts.

It has sent letter signed by 370 civil society leaders to chancellor George Osborne and chief secretary to the treasury Francis Maude, and published a report on the cuts. It has also released the findings of a poll, which found that four out of five members of the public are concerned about how the cuts will affect vulnerable people.

The fairness panel would hold government to account and explore ways in which government and the civil society sector could ensure that they work together in partnership.

Acevo CEO Stephen Bubb has also written to Lord John Hutton, calling on government to scrap pension rules for civil society organisations taking over public services. Current guidance states that when a service is outsourced from the public sector, staff that transfer with that service are guaranteed a pension equivalent to that received under their employer in the public sector. But Bubb said that was detrimental to civil society organisations.

‘Staff delivering public services should have access to a decent pension, but not at the expense of public service users, many of whom are extremely vulnerable at a time of public spending cuts. Nor should it be at the expense of other staff working in the same organisations,' Bubb said.

Find out more about the report and both letters at www.acevo.org.uk

Free events brings commissioners and social entrepreneurs together

Social entrepreneurs and commissioners will come face-to-face in a half-day conference organised by business advisors Red Ochre.

The free event, held in partnership with Business Links London, takes place on Friday 17 September.

Speakers include Mo Girach, special advisor to the NHS Alliance and Associate Consultant at the Kings Fund and Michael Stokes, head of strategic procurement at the London Development Agency, as well as Social Enterprise columnist June O'Sullivan, CEO of London Early Years Foundation.

Find out more here.

Government’s communities plans outlines at DTA event next week

The government will outline its plans for communties at the Development Trusts Association conference next week, it has been announced.

David Prout, director general for communities at the government’s Communities and Local Government department, will attend Communities Assets Enterprise – Inspiring places: the art of the possible on 14 September in Derby.

Social Enterprise will be reporting from the event.

Find out more at www.dta.org.uk/conference

School pupils get their own social enterprise qualification

The Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) has launch an international Social Enterprise Qualification (SEQ) pilot, which will run in more than 50 schools.

The pilot claims to be the first social enterprise qualification for schools and aims to help ‘a generation of young social entrepreneurs realise their ideas for a better future’.

RIO has developed the qualification over three years and hopes to grow with the help of social enterprises.

Find out more here.