General Introduction

Our vision

Our vision is of a society where all citizens are treated as equals, where sectarianism and discrimination are not tolerated, and where respect for human rights is regarded as the norm. We want to see a society that is developed sustainably and that is active and engaged with its democratic structures. We want to see a prosperous society where the benefi ts of prosperity are felt by all. The voluntary and community sector enshrines the principles of participation and inclusion which should also form the basis of good policy making and governance. We believe that the proposals made in this manifesto can contribute to the achievement of this vision. The voluntary and community sector is a major force for change in Northern Ireland. What the sector has to offer is a profound experience of civic life - of a world where everyone is equally valued as an individual, where individuals come together for the common good, and where the everyday concerns of ‘normal' politics are to the fore.

A vibrant civic culture is critical to a well-functioning, inclusive society. Civic associations have the capacity to achieve virtuous circles of growing trust, confi dence and cohesion. Government increasingly depends on NGOs (non-governmental organisations) in complex societies where it can neither know nor do everything. Research shows that NGOs enjoy greater trust on the part of citizens than governments or the private sector.

If supports are not put in place to enable excluded groups to participate in democracy, then inequalities are exacerbated. The voluntary and community sector fulfi ls this role through providing such supports. The not-for-profi t ethos of the sector means that it actively seeks to build collective or community profi t (capital) within economically and socially deprived communities when it is delivering services. The sector's ethos - treating everyone as an individual, involving users and constantly evaluating - can offset the dangers of one-size-fits-all bureaucracy and stagnation that many big state organisations suffer.

The voluntary and community sector also has a role to play in reconciling Northern Ireland's divided society. Strong civic networks can offset sectarian divisions and work at community level has the potential to encourage outward-looking and outward-reaching development rather than inward-looking competitive communities.

Background - state of the sector

The voluntary and community sector is a large and diverse body of organisations in Northern Ireland. There are around 4,500 voluntary organisations here with a paid workforce which extends to almost 29,000 people or 4.4% of the Northern Ireland workforce. The voluntary and community sector employs more people than are respectively employed in construction, transport or the fi nancial sector. There are over 75,000 active volunteers engaged in added value, unpaid work on behalf of their organisations. The income of the voluntary and community sector in 2004 was around £614 million. The sector's assets stand in the region of £756 million (housing associations' assets would be additional to this).

Voluntary and community groups contribute to almost every aspect of life in Northern Ireland. It is generally accepted that three out of every fi ve adults in Northern Ireland have an association with some form of voluntary or community organisation. As individuals, many people play a small or large part in the life and activities of those organisations. Underpinning all of the issues in the manifesto is this commitment of people to voluntary action, whether this is in a governance role, providing a local voice or in the delivery of local services. Voluntary participation is a strong indicator of an inclusive and thriving civil society. Much of the work of these organisations has taken place on the edge of society. In putting the
manifesto together, a recurring theme was the demand to see the services and activities which have been funded piecemeal brought into the mainstream. The sector has since our last manifesto been seeking a strategic approach to resourcing community development, community work, and a broad range of services to those experiencing poverty and exclusion. We are hopeful that government's response to these issues, articulated in Positive Steps, will begin to move us in the right direction. Local political parties should also recognise the value of voluntary action and make commitments to removing barriers to volunteering and to supporting a strong volunteering infrastructure. This manifesto encourages Northern Ireland's political parties to take up the issues which count with ordinary people here and to make a difference with the opportunities of devolution.

Devolution

This manifesto was developed and produced during a period of suspension of devolution. This has caused great uncertainty in many policy areas in which voluntary and community need to ensure that important decisions affecting the future of Northern Ireland are not made in the absence of informed public debate. The unaccountable legislative process under direct rule has been of particular concern.

Voluntary and community organisations began to see great benefi ts under devolution in Northern Ireland. Access to local politicians, greater closeness to the decision-making process, the opportunity of greater legislative scrutiny and a sense of real accountability are among the changes that were beginning to become evident.

One of the most tangible benefi ts of devolution was the annual Programme for Government. For the first time, the people of Northern Ireland could see clearly set out what government policies would be and what actions would be undertaken. The process was obviously a developing one, with changes being made each year to improve both consistency of content and quality of consultation prior to fi nal agreement. The voluntary and community sector could see itself starting to play a real role in the formation of policy at this level and felt itself being heard by politicians. This process has been rolled back somewhat in the more limited consultations round the Priorities and Budget documents produced by direct rule  administrations in the past three years and we would very much like to see the socially progressive agenda that was developing take centre stage once more.

Charity finance

Irrecoverable VAT is estimated to cost charities in the UK somewhere in the region of £500
million. NICVA and other organisations have long been calling for this situation to be remedied.
The UK Government recently urged charities to abandon campaigns to reduce the rate of
irrecoverable VAT. However, NICVA believes government should introduce further reductions
and exemptions in VAT for charitable activity and seek a solution to the issue at European level.
In particular, Ministers should take action to defend zero-rate reliefs which could be abolished
under new European Commission proposals. The Charities Tax Reform Group estimates that in
future UK charities could be paying £1 billion a year in VAT and associated compliance costs.
will not go unmade which would leave their work in a state of limbo. There is, however, also a
organisations operate. Organisations have expressed the hope that important decisions

Charity fi nance is characterised by short-term funding. This leads to insecurity for organisations,
staff and services. Three-year funding terms as a minimum should be the norm among grantmaking
bodies. We await the outworking of Positive Steps and its focus on longer term, outcome
focused funding as this is what the sector has long been requesting. Added to short termism, the
boom and bust scenario of European funding in Northern Ireland plus the downturn in investment
income which some charities have faced, compounds the problems of a sector struggling to
recruit, retain and train high quality staff to carry out vital work.
We very much welcome the opportunity of Peace III and the programme for Competitiveness and
Employment that will accompany it. Although the size of the funding for Peace will be reduced,
both the Peace II extension and the third peace programme were by no means guaranteed. We
welcome the recognition that these funds are badly needed and that the job of building peace
and promoting reconciliation is a long-term and probably costly one. In the new context of A
Shared Future, we look forward to the Peace III money being spent in a very focused way on
delivering peace and reconciliation outcomes.
Relationships between the charitable and business sectors are steadily developing in Northern
Ireland, but changes in the way that corporate donors claim back tax on donations to charity
have caused confusion. Some companies do not realise that they have to pay the donation gross
to charities, claiming the tax back directly, as opposed to the previous system where the charity
claimed the tax back for them. Government should raise awareness of this change within the
business community.
Northern Ireland should also put in place legislation to recover assets in dormant charity bank
accounts. In situations where funds cannot be accessed due to the death of trustees, banks
currently hold on to the money which was intended for charitable purposes. This should be
remedied as soon as possible. We welcome the UK announcement that a dormant accounts
fund is being established and the consultation on how money should be used, but would like to
see a Northern Ireland version with monies from Northern Ireland fi nancial institutions going to
charitable causes in this region.
Volunteering
Volunteering is ‘the commitment of time and energy for the benefi t of the community,
environment or individuals outside one's immediate family. It is undertaken freely and by choice
without concern for fi nancial gain.' Volunteers are the backbone of the voluntary and community
sector and volunteering also occurs in the statutory and private sectors. Volunteers are not the
same as employees and in its dealings with volunteering government must be clear about this
distinction.
The promotion of good practice in the management of volunteers is a key priority. The Investing
in Volunteers quality standard is one example of how organisations in all three sectors can
achieve excellence in volunteer management. Organisations should be encouraged to implement
the standard. Many parts of the statutory sector have developed good practice for involving
volunteers and this must be expanded in new structures arising from the Review of Public
Administration (RPA).
The RPA provides an opportunity to enhance active citizenship. Government and political parties
in Northern Ireland must ensure their support for volunteering throughout the RPA process by
supporting a strong volunteering infrastructure including the Volunteer Centres network in both
rural and urban areas, as it is estimated that up to 90% of rural organisations rely on volunteers.
page 10 : NICVA Policy Manifesto 2006
The contribution of volunteers often goes unrecognised. We need to develop a culture that
values volunteering and views it as an activity for everyone. Politicians and political parties
should lead the way by championing volunteering and recognising volunteers in the communities
they represent.
The present government has publicly recognised the value of volunteering through programmes
like the Year of the Volunteer 2005. Yet funding programmes to support volunteering in the UK are
often not implemented in Northern Ireland. Involving young people as volunteers is an important
way of encouraging a culture of active citizenship. However recent developments in the UK
to support youth volunteering have not been replicated in Northern Ireland. Government must
explore ways of sustaining and developing volunteering by young people in Northern Ireland.
Everyone who lives in Northern Ireland should be able to volunteer. Government and political
parties can help overcome existing barriers to volunteering by recognising all of the costs
associated with volunteering as legitimate expenses in funding applications, including paying
another person to support volunteers with additional needs. People in receipt of social security
benefi ts or seeking asylum should be able to volunteer without incurring fi nancial penalties.
The protection of children and vulnerable adults is an important issue. Northern Ireland has been
leading the way in implementing accessible methods of assessing the suitability of volunteers for
certain roles. Resources should be made available to enable small, local groups to ensure they
comply with the law. Changes to the present police record checking system are inevitable but
government and political parties should ensure that any changes conserve best practice already
developed and do not create an additional barrier for volunteers and organisations eg police
checks should remain free.
Positive Steps
NICVA welcomed the focus being placed on the long-term future of the voluntary and community
sector through the establishment of the Taskforce on Resourcing the Voluntary and Community
Sector and government's response to its work in Positive Steps. The sector urgently needs a
strategic approach to its long-term funding. Destructive cycles of short-term funding have led
to very uneven development and loss of skills and experience. As yet the impacts of proposed
changes remain to be felt.
The fact that the implementation of Positive Steps is being driven by the Social Development
Minister is very important. However, the sector is concerned at the low level of awareness
of the policy across government departments and the slow speed at which change is being
implemented. Expectations were raised by the process of consulting on the work of the
Taskforce and many organisations have been optimistic that Positive Steps will bring real change.
Swift action is now needed to make the commitments a reality.
Core funding
The issue of core costs is of critical importance and is recognised in Positive Steps.
Organisations that don't exist can't run projects, so pure project funding is the least sustainable
way of resourcing the voluntary and community sector. The UK Treasury's Cross-cutting Review
of the role of the sector in service delivery recognised that "there is no reason why service
providers should not include the relevant proportion of overhead costs within their bids for
service contracts. These are part of the total costs of delivering a service."
NICVA Policy Manifesto 2006 : page 11
Infrastructure
Voluntary and community sector infrastructure is not about bricks and mortar. A strong
infrastructure not only allows new work and new organisations to develop, it supports and
resources those already there and facilitates networking which encourages sharing. Good
infrastructure builds social capital, reinforcing networks and developing a resource that is not
depleted but strengthened by use. Positive Steps has recognised this and the Department for
Social Development's review of support services for the sector is expected to provide a clear
framework that will make the sector's infrastructure robust and sustainable.
The sectoral infrastructure within the voluntary and community sector allows for an overall
strategic view to be developed, which individual organisations would have no capacity to do.
An effective infrastructure is also a system of structures for democratic accountability and
shared learning. Economies of scale can be achieved with regard to innovation through the
development and delivery of programmes by region-wide agencies that can be sensitised to local
needs via the local group or networking infrastructure.
The outworkings of the Review of Public Administration make the issue of infrastructure even
more crucial. New council areas producing community plans will require organisations to work
in a more joined up and collaborative way than they ever have before within and across new
boundaries. Robust support structures for the sector will enable equal participation in the new
community planning structures and allow a strong voice to be captured. Support and investment
will be required to allow the sector to get to this point and capacity building will be required
as much for voluntary and community organisations as it is for local councils in coming to terms
with the new processes and structures.
Policy development and consultation
The voluntary and community sector has a wealth of experience to contribute to the policy
development process. Under devolution, the sector hoped to use its knowledge to enrich and
help provide a sound evidential base for policy making. Government in Northern Ireland appears
to be recognising that a proactive partnership approach to policy, involving stakeholders at
as early a stage as possible, is the best route to effective policy making. Consultation which
involves producing a fi nished piece of work, usually in printed form and circulated to a huge
number of organisations, inspires more cynicism than enthusiasm.
There are good models of participative policy making across a range of government
departments, where voluntary and community organisations and others have been involved
before a consultation document was fi nalised. This, however, does place considerable burdens
on organisations, especially smaller organisations with project funding whose resources are just
suffi cient to deliver their core work. Policy for them is an added luxury and yet they have much
to contribute through their practical experience of working in communities.
Government must fi nd ways of making consultation more targeted and effective and more
accessible to communities which will never respond in writing. The range of potential methods
of public involvement should be recognised, along with a willingness to be innovative. Voluntary
and community organisations must also be supported in developing the capacity to fulfi l their
role in the policy making process. The sector was disappointed that Positive Steps did not offer
additional resources to improve the policy capacity of organisations, instead leaving this as a job
for the sector itself.
page 12 : NICVA Policy Manifesto 2006
Audit/monitoring
Voluntary and community organisations across Northern Ireland are still struggling under the
burden of audit and monitoring requirements imposed by funders. Not only are huge amounts
of time spent on chasing short-term funding, but equal amounts are spent accounting for every
penny and providing original receipts - sometimes to several different funders at once. The
Audit Offi ce report published in 2002, Investing in Partnership: Government Grants to Voluntary
and Community Bodies, sets out good practice for payment and accounting by public bodies.
However, the recommendations of this report still do not seem to have fi ltered down to those
actually administering government grants where procedures seem to become ever more petty,
restrictive and with questionable effect in terms of proper accountability. There is even the
possibility with economic appraisals that the cost of the appraisal can exceed the cost of the
project. Positive Steps has recognised this problem but as yet, aside from a risk management
system introduced by DSD, the burden of audit does not seem to be lightening.
The voluntary and community sector is very conscious that it is spending public money, whether
this comes from the public directly in donations or whether it comes through trusts, foundations
or statutory funders. Organisations thus recognise the need for monitoring and evaluation.
The challenge of accountability leads many organisations to jump through hoops to justify
their spending of very small amounts of money, often to the detriment of the work itself.
The voluntary and community sector is treated differently from the private when it comes to
accounting for work done.
While no-one in the voluntary and community sector would argue for lack of transparency
or accountability, there must be some degree of proportionality between the amounts under
consideration and the audit regime which accompanies them. Audit and monitoring should be
equal to the job but not consume astronomical resources that really should be targeted on the
primary activity.
All of this also means that funders, especially government, are becoming more and more risk
averse. This makes it increasingly diffi cult to secure funding for anything innovative or new - the
very things at which this sector excels.
Sustainable development
One issue the sector is keen to see pursued across all government departments is sustainable
development - integrating environmental, social, economic and cultural considerations as laid
out in the Sustainable Development Strategy for Northern Ireland. The sector recognises the
importance of taking into account the immediate and long-term impacts of decisions to ensure
that today's development is not taking place at the expense of future generations.
It is crucial that sustainable development is not ghettoised as an environmental issue, but that
the Sustainable Development Strategy is owned and implemented right across every government
department so that the social, economic, political and environmental can proceed hand in hand
without any one damaging the long-term interests of the others.
Sustainable development is in keeping with the principles of social inclusion and equality as
it ensures that resources are not squandered by the few at the expense of the many in future
generations. The sector has a key role to play here as the sustainable development strategy
cannot be delivered by government alone. Behavioural change is required if we are to live
genuinely sustainable lives and voluntary and community organisations can play a part in
NICVA Policy Manifesto 2006 : page 13
educating and encouraging the public to change attitudes and lifestyle choices so that we can
learn to live within the resources available to us on a more equitable basis.
Anti-poverty policy
NICVA looks forward to the implementation of a proper, co-ordinated strategy for social inclusion
in Northern Ireland. Voluntary and community organisations have in the past expressed their
disappointment at the lack of clear targets and policies for the eradication of poverty and social
exclusion.
The sector calls on government and political parties to provide political leadership through
the new Anti-poverty Strategy and to set out clearly what must be achieved with timeframes
and measurements. We also call for a realistic budget for the Anti-poverty Strategy as part of
the Comprehensive Spending Review. Implementation of the strategy must be monitored and
reported on clearly and transparently. This is a vital strategy that must not be consigned to
the shelf.
Review of Public Administration
The Review of Public Administration will have a major impact on the voluntary and community
sector. The sector plays an important role in identifying local needs, delivering services,
providing expertise about reaching the marginalised and providing information and advice. The
number, shape and role of local councils, the health and education structures and resulting new
models of service delivery open up real opportunities for new working relationships and service
provision. They also offer the potential of joining up services for the citizen so that those with
whom our sector works can be faced with a no-wrong-door policy for accessing public services,
rather than a bewildering array of organisations with different responsibilities.
The voluntary and community sector sees particular potential in the new community planning
proposals. These offer a unique opportunity to take a holistic view of local needs and plan
accordingly with key decision makers and the voluntary and community sector at the table.
As mentioned above under Infrastructure, organisations in the sector face the challenge of
organising themselves and devising structures to capture the diverse voices of the sector. We
welcome the potential to streamline partnership structures to improve communication and
sharing of information and make best use of the time of the voluntary and community sector
representatives who put a great deal of voluntary effort into attending partnerships which often
seem to have no impact on each others' work.
There are, however, fears about the future at a time of such change and reorganisation. As the
focus of many public bodies turns inwards, voluntary and community organisations could slip
down the list of priorities. Funding relationships will change and current funders will disappear.
This will require the build up of new relationships and underscores the centrality of the Compact
to all relationships between the sector and the various parts of government. It should also be
ensured that the new structures incorporate key cross-cutting strategies which already have
implementation structures of their own.
The sector is also embarking upon an era of new relationships with councils, as the bodies that
will have responsibility for community development, community relations, rural and urban
development and many other functions that affect the sector. We look forward to constructive
and creative working links with the new councils, education and health and social services bodies.
page 14 : NICVA Policy Manifesto 2006
Joined-up government
The problems real people face rarely fall conveniently into the structure of government departments
and agencies. ‘Joined-up government' is now a buzz phrase. But it is far more diffi cult to practise
than preach. Paradoxically, joined-up action on the ground is often best achieved by a voluntary
organisation brokering a partnership which engages a range of statutory bodies.
Organisations working fl exibly on the ground in identifi ed areas of need have a much greater
capacity to respond to the challenges of exclusion and division. As a recent Audit Offi ce
report recognises, "NIAO considers that aspects of government's support for the voluntary and
community sector, including partnerships, lend themselves to cross-cutting targets, to help
departments to focus on shared priorities."
The voluntary and community sector calls on government to recognise and to capitalise on
the value of working with the sector to deliver ‘joined up' end results, especially in delivering
cross-cutting strategies such as A Shared Future and Sustainable Development. We have seen
examples where lack of joining up has meant that vital policy areas can slip through the net, for
example in the development of the Children and Young People's Strategy children's organisations
were told that child poverty would be dealt with in the forthcoming anti-poverty strategy - in
the initial development of the anti-poverty strategy they were told the other strategy would
deal with it.
The sector also calls on departments and agencies to fi nd ways of working to provide a more
holistic service to end users, rather than a complicated picture of government where needs
can fall between stools or be passed from one place to another without responsibility resting
anywhere. The potential of the Review of Public Administration to produce more user-focused,
joined-up services must not be missed.
Implementation of strategies
A view raised again and again in the production of this manifesto is that, while we have many
fi ne strategies on paper, we have yet to see real implementation that will bring change on the
ground. The Children and Young People's Strategy, A Shared Future, Positive Steps, Investing
for Health, The Bamford Review, The Racial Equality Strategy, the Domestic Violence Strategy
and many more must be more than words on a page. They need focused action plans which
fl ow from their strategic aims (not vice versa) with measurable and time bound targets and
appropriate budgets. Without these they remain merely statements of good intentions and will
never bring about change.
Consideration of specifi c policy issues now follows this general introduction.
NICVA Policy Manifesto 2006 : page 15
A sample of the policy recommendations contained in this manifesto:
✤ Stop economic discrimination against young workers by raising the National Minimum
Wage for young people to the same level as other workers and abolish the lower age limit
and allow 16-17 year olds who are living independently access to social security benefi ts
in their own right and at the same level of those over 25. (Young people)
✤ Ensure that high quality, affordable, age appropriate and accessible childcare is available
to all children in Northern Ireland regardless of their age or where they live. (Women)
✤ Develop integrated stakeholder neighbourhood plans in local areas which can integrate
into a wider community plan. (Urban regeneration)
✤ Put in place a new ambitious target which ensures that 80% of all households in Northern
Ireland live within ten minutes of a public transport stop. (Transport)
✤ Review how the allocation of resources using the Noble Index of Deprivation is made and
ensure a complementary measure that takes account of the rural assets is developed.
(Rural development)
✤ Ensure political parties designate spokespeople on race equality and develop action plans
to tackle racism, including institutional racism, based on the vision, principles and shared
aims of the racial equality strategy. (Race/ethnicity)
✤ The new community planning mechanisms to be introduced under the Review of Public
Administration should be obliged to demonstrate how each plan will combat poverty. An
obligation to do this should be included in the statutory guidance. (Poverty)
✤ Resource and deliver a targeted education programme to support key health and social
care professionals to identify and appropriately respond to issues of elder abuse in care
settings and in the community. (Older people)
✤ Develop a Men's Health Strategy for Northern Ireland similar to the process followed in
the Republic of Ireland. (Men)
✤ Commit to legislating for a Bill of Rights, including socio-economic rights, substantive
equality and enforcement provisions. This must include facilitating the Roundtable on
the Bill of Rights to encourage agreement between political parties, the voluntary and
community sector and other social partners and encouraging all political parties to
engage actively in the Bill of Rights process. (Human rights)
✤ Fundamentally review the House Sales Scheme (commonly known as the Right to Buy
Scheme) to ensure an adequate supply of social housing lettings over the long term.
(Housing and homelessness)
✤ Investment in healthy living options should be substantially increased (eg promoting sport
and exercise, ‘walking buses' to school, open play areas and green space). Emphasis
should be given to physical activity such as walking and cycling that is integrated into
people's everyday lives. (Health)
✤ By 2009, establish an independent Environmental Protection Agency with the power to
enforce environmental legislation. (Environment)
page 16 : NICVA Policy Manifesto 2006
✤ Commit to sustainable procurement to ensure that equality and New Targeting Social
Need considerations are built into investment and development programmes from
specifi cations and design to location of buildings, pricing strategies and recruitment
policies. (Equality)
✤ End the discrimination against children with special needs, whose education must be
properly resourced whether in a special or mainstream school. Pre-school children with
special education needs in the voluntary and independent sectors should receive the
same fi nancial and personal support as is available to those in statutory nursery places.
(Education)
✤ Polling stations and election literature should be made fully accessible to people with
disabilities. (Disability)
✤ As part of the implementation of the Review of Public Administration, partnerships should
be streamlined, perhaps as sub or themed partnerships within the community planning
partnership, to ensure that work on community safety, policing, domestic violence
and other areas is connected, integrated and making use of the same information.
(Community safety)
✤ An effective community development strategy across the seven new local authorities
should be developed and resourced. This strategy should build on existing local
provision, develop and expand it, and build greater social capital in each area.
(Community development)
✤ The government's forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review (2007) must redress
the gross under-funding of child and family services in Northern Ireland, compared to
spending levels elsewhere in the UK. (Children and families)
✤ Implement the proposal in the draft Work and Families (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 to
give carers the right to ask employers for fl exible working hours. (Carers)
✤ Ensure that changes in education move us closer to integrated education, rather
than peripheral sharing of facilities, and that teacher training includes anti-sectarian
awareness techniques, diversity and confl ict management - both for new teachers and
those already in post. There is also an urgent need to incorporate these elements into the
school curriculum. (A Shared Future)
✤ Move the level of arts funding closer to that in Britain and the Republic by establishing
a genuine cross-party movement to raise public per capita spend on the arts to £9.00 by
2009. (Arts)
✤ Ensure that a level playing fi eld exists for the contracting of advice services from
government departments and their agencies. Departments should embrace the full cost
recovery model if a quality and professional advice service is to be delivered. (Advice
services)