Background to the Compact
The Compact is underpinned by codes of good practice on:
-
funding and procurement
-
consultation and policy appraisal
-
ethnic minority voluntary and community organisations
-
volunteering
-
community groups
The Compact and codes together set out a shared vision and principles,
along with undertakings for both sides of the relationship. It applies to
central government departments, government offices for the regions,
executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, and to the range of
organisations in the voluntary and community sector.
Local Compacts, informed by the national Compact and Codes, are local level
agreements for partnership working between voluntary and community sector
organisations and public sector bodies at the local level. All local
authority areas have, or are developing, a Local Compact.
For more information or to download the Compact, Codes of Good Practice,
and the Local Compact Implementation Workbook visit the Compact
website [External website].
Strengthening the Compact
An independent Commission for the Compact has been set up to promote best
practice in partnership working and to oversee the operation of the
relationship between government and the sector.
This followed from the response to the Government's consultation
Strengthening Partnerships: Next steps for Compact,
published in March 2005:
Following joint analysis of the results of the consultation with the
Compact Working Group (now Compact Voice), the sixth annual meeting to
review the Compact agreed that a new Commissioner's office should
be created to oversee the operation of the Compact and to strengthen
partnership working between public sector bodies and the voluntary and
community sector, ensuring better implementation of the Compact.
The Office of the Third Sector worked together with Compact
Voice [External website], which represents the
third sector at the strategic level on the Compact, to set up the
Commission. The Commission launched its business plan in April 2007, and
there is now a permanent team in place at the Commissioner's
office in Birmingham.