Policy - influencing decision makers

The General Election and establishment of a coalition government have changed the policy landscape dramatically. The voluntary and community sector (VCS) now has to adapt to a period of upheaval when government policy announcements will be rapid, sometimes lacking in detail, and open to interpretation.

Yorkshire & the Humber Forum will continue to play a key role in ensuring that the VCS is connected into policy developments. We will do this by keeping the sector informed, of significant changes, and by consulting, with it about issues and concerns. We will communicate, these concerns to policy makers by providing a distinctive Yorkshire and the Humber voice for the sector.

The Forum is currently focussing on a number of issues, including;

Helping the sector to make sense of the post election landscape by holding a series of seminars across the region.
Organising a major conference for 11th November 'Big Society Unplugged', to be attended by Nick Hurd MP, Minister for Civil Society. The Minister will also be visiting some VCS and Empowerment Partnership projects on this day so we want to make the most of this opportunity to influence.
Collating case studies to demonstrate sector impact before 11th November.
Monitoring developments, and looking for opportunities to influence, 'regional' power structures; including Local Enterprise Partnerships and local authorities.
Responding to Government consultations on Local Enterprise Partnerships, the Lottery, the future of sector infrastructure, and Public Health.

Click here for more on the Coalition Policy update news, important post election links and Changing power structures

** UKPolicy Update - The Forum has decided to close its policy website UKPolicy. Details of all the policy work conducted by the Forum will now be accessible from the main Forum website. **

Stephen Fox is the Development Officer for Policy and Engagement at the Forum. He can be contacted on 0113 394 2300, or email: Stephen Fox

Latest News

Commissioning and procurement: great ideas from a buzzing conference
The Forum is coordinating the way forward for a number of ideas on commissioning and procurement from its conference at Goole on 16th June. Eleven participants, from all sectors, volunteered to be pa...

Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS
The Government has published a White Paper setting out the Government’s vision for the NHS – Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS. Click on the links below for a letter from the Secretary of S...

VCS quarterly confidence survey for Yorkshire and the Humber - June
The Regional Forum has published its latest VCS quarterly confidence survey. Respondents are still gloomy about prospects for the sector, although there has been a slight increase in confidence abo...

Upcoming Events

06/09/2010: Big Society - consultation
Venue: St George's Centre, Leeds Time: 10.00am - 12.00pm Yorkshire & the Humber Forum is organising a conference - 'Big Society Unplugged' - in Sheffield on 11 November, at which Nick Hurd MP, Min...

14/10/2010: "How Yorkshire works" - Yorkshire & the Humber Forum information session
Venue: Octagon Centre, Hull Time: 1.00pm - 4.00pm Come to this inter-active session in Hull to help demystify the jargon, find out about the new governance arrangements, and track the implications...

11/11/2010: Big Society Unplugged
Venue: St Mary's Centre, Sheffield An unmissable conference! Big Society may be the defining idea of the Coalition government. It looks certain to affect the way the voluntary and community sec...