- Conference
- 2007 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 20 February 2007
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the increase in provision of public services by the community and voluntary sector in recent years, and the government’s determination to increase the scope and speed of transfers to the sector. The Treasury’s Third Sector Review Interim Report and the Cabinet Office’s Third Sector Action Plan (both December 2006) set out a range of measures for improving the sector’s ability to bid successfully for services.
Conference also notes the publication this year of False Economy? The Costs of Contracting and Workforce Insecurity in the Voluntary Sector, a major piece of research carried out by Ian Cunningham into the effects of the cycle of short-term funding arrangements for community and voluntary sector providers of public services. The report:
1Points out the tightening of EU public procurement regulations, a tighter funding environment in areas like Supporting People, and the slow progress towards ‘full cost recovery’.
2Finds evidence of various workforce problems arising out of funding problems: redundancy, insecurity in pay and conditions, health and safety problems, changing job roles, changing working hours, training deficits, high levels of stress, and poor work-life balance.
3Finds that there are adverse effects for the quality of the service provided, arising out of competing on the basis of lowest cost.
Conference therefore calls on the SGE to ensure further lobbying of government, to draw greater attention to the current problems surrounding the structure and operation of contracting in the social care area in respect of service quality, and the health, terms and conditions, workloads, training and development and job security of staff, and to obtain reforms aimed at addressing them.