Draft sector manifesto for the 2010 Westminster election

As we move towards another election in Northern Ireland, this time for Westminster, NICVA and its members in the voluntary and community sector are seeking to influence the priorities of our political parties.  There are specific policies we would like to see, but what we think would benefit Northern Ireland most of all is stable and functional devolution in which voters can have trust and confidence. We'd like you to have your say on this draft document and in short it is calling on political parties to:

• Put in place a robust framework for relationships between government and the sector
• Standardise funding procedures for voluntary and community organisations across government departments to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and waste of public resources.
• Establish pilots for community planning which involve voluntary and community organisations as key partners.
• Produce a successor strategy to A Shared Future which sets out clearly how we will act to move Northern Ireland on from being a divided society plagued by low-level violence and mistrust. 
• Publish and implement an Anti-poverty Action Plan for Northern Ireland. 
• Increase the provision of Sure Start in NI to levels equivalent to GB. 
• Set ambitious targets for sustainability and carbon reduction, involving communities in energy reduction strategies – introduce a Green New Deal for NI. 
• Support community ownership and management of public assets. 
• Ensure 100% of good cause lottery funds always goes to voluntary and community organisations and does not substitute for statutory funding. 
• Address barriers to procurement for voluntary and community organisations, following the recent Finance and Personnel Committee Inquiry. 
• Support at Westminster the introduction of a Robin Hood or Tobin Tax. 
• Make tax work for charitable giving – reform and simplify Gift Aid.

Download the full draft manifesto below and please send your comments to Frances McCandless at NICVA by 10 March 2010.