- Conference
- 2005 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 24 February 2005
- Decision
- Carried
Conference acknowledges that a key issue for the community and voluntary sector is funding, which affects the quality of services and the pay and rewards for staff who deliver them. In particular, community and voluntary sector organisations with short term funding arrangements are likely to experience cuts or even closure when funding stops.
Conference notes that UNISON has consistently campaigned for more secure and stable funding for the sector so that it can continue to play a complementary, but important role to the public sector in providing services.
However, Conference is concerned that Government supports an expanding role for the sector in delivering public services, following the Treasury’s Cross-Cutting Review of the role of the sector in public service delivery. The sector should not be a substitute for directly provided public services, accessible to all. Conference is also concerned that use of the community and voluntary sector may drive down the pay and conditions of staff.
Conference believes that the issue of funding in the sector needs to be urgently addressed and calls on the Service Group Executive to:
1)Work with the LGA and the UK community and voluntary sector umbrella organisations to campaign for more stable and secure funding for the sector
2)Urge UK Governments to recognise that the role of the community and voluntary sector in public service delivery should not be at the cost of directly provided public services
3)Ensure that the Code of Practice on the Two-Tier Workforce applies to all transfers to the community and voluntary sector
4)Call on branches to campaign at local level on cuts in funding and report back to the union at regional and national level