Welcome to    

Third Sector Warrington

This site provides you with information about the Third Sector in Warrington and the way it works with local partners. The Third Sector (voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise) in Warrington is made up of long existing associations of networks that are brought together to improve communication across the sector, to grow in its ability to influence and to improve relationships with the public sector.

On this website you can get access to information about the partnership work taking place in Warrington. You can see what role the Third Sector Partnership Team has in promoting partnership working and how they can help you.

You can use this site to stay up to date with what work is being undertaken within the Third Sector in Warrington.

5 Boroughs Partnership - Acute Care Pathway Engagement Event

South Area - Network Event for Young People's Groups

If you run a group for young people, for example an after school club, guide/scouts group or youth club, then meet others and share your experiences at Lymm Youth & Community Centre, 1 Bridgewater Street, Lymm, WA13 0AB on Thursday 17th November 2012 at 7.30pm.  Coffee will be served from 7pm.

Powerful People, Responsible Society - Big Society

The Commission on Big Society has just produced a report entitled 'Powerful people, responsible society' which examines the Big Society agenda and looks at the roles everyone needs to play in order to get it up and running.  To read this report, please follow this link.

Have Your Say - Warrington Borough Council Consultations

To find out which Warrington Borough Council consultations are currently in progress please click here.

Volunteers under review?

Since the Terms of Reference for the Vetting and Barring Scheme and Criminal Records Reviews were announced, the Government have received a number of queries from customers about the CRB’s continuing commitment to providing free-of-charge checks for volunteers. They would like to reassure customers that while the reviews may have an impact on the requirements to undertake CRB checks, the Terms of Reference for the Criminal Records review do not outline any consideration of the waived fee for volunteers.

The Government remains committed to reducing the barriers to volunteering and can confirm that the provision of free checks for volunteers remains Government policy. It is important that if you are submitting applications for volunteers, that you complete the relevant section of the application form correctly. This remains high on the list of top reasons for forms being rejected by the CRB, currently accounting for 10% of all errors made.

As the Registered Body, it is your responsibility to ensure that the application form is completed correctly. If the application is for a volunteer position, you must cross (X) the ‘Yes’ box in Section X68 of the application form. If you do not indicate that the check is for a volunteer, you will be charged for the application. It is also as important to cross (X) the ‘No’ box in Section X68 if the application is not for a volunteer. Assumptions cannot be made about the position in question so failure to complete this section and cross either box will cause the application to be rejected and returned to you for clarification, which could delay the application.

Warrington Borough Council is an umbrella body for processing CRB checks.  The administration fee for this service is £14.  Please contact Amy Monks on 01925 442943 for more information.

Volunteering Bill

There is currently a Volunteering Bill being passed through Parliament which proposes a 'fit and proper person' certificate for volunteers.  It proposes that anyone wishing to volunteer need only to sign a declaration to the effect that they do not have a criminal record in order to reduce bureaucracy and costs, and promote volunteering.  Volunteering England has chosen not to support the Bill due to concerns around safeguarding.  Chief Executive Justin Davis Smith said "whilst we welcome the move to reduce the red tape surrounding volunteering, we do not believe the proposals in Mr Chope’s Private Member's Bill are the answer. Safeguarding is an important issue, and we hope that reforms to the current CRB system within the Protection of Freedoms Bill will strike the appropriate balance - ensuring vulnerable people are protected whilst making sure volunteers aren’t put off'. 

We will keep you updated with further developments.

Doric

DORIC is the Data Observatory and Research & Intelligence Collaborative for Cheshire, Halton and Warrington, and this is the Data Observatory homepage. For more information about the project and the DORIC partners, see About DORIC and Who we are. The Data Observatory is a portal giving access to information sources on external websites. Links are arranged into ten themes, plus a Quick Links menu. Extra help with navigation and a glossary of terms can be found in the User guide. 

Public Spending Cuts in the Voluntary and Community Sector 

As the coalition government begins to cut public spending to reduce the deficit, the third sector is facing difficult times.  Difficult choices are ahead for many local support and development organisations, and the way these organisations have operated in the past may have to change in the future.  NAVCA have developed pages of resources to help local support and development organisations and development workers navigate the cuts and continue to provide the best service possible.  Vists NAVCAs resource pages at www.navca.org.uk/localvs/cuts/. 

Warrington Community Radio

Radio Warrington is a community radio station which is located at Cinnamon Brow Farm Community Centre.  The service is currently only available on the internet but they have an excellent website with information covering local topics, sports and events.

Website last updated 27th October 2011