Becon

BECON is currently working on specific policy areas in the region representing the views of the BME voluntary and community sector in the North East. These are: Policy News Communities Economic Regeneration Equalities Infrastructure Research & Reports Consultations Briefings Further details on specific areas for each policy priority area are below.

Voice4Change England is a new partnership of eighteen regional and national Black Minority Ethnic (BME) organisations and networks. The partnership speaks for the interests of the BME Voluntary and Community Sector at the local, regional and the national level. The partnership was established in 2006 and is based in London. For further information, please visit the website http://www.voice4change-england.co.uk/ A declaration of intent from Voice4Change England explains the organisation's direction for the next two years.								Voice4Change England has recently released a mapping research of the BME Third Sector in England. Further information on the research is available in the attached document
The Northern Conference Against Racism BECON participated in the Northern Conference Against Racism organised by the Tyneside Community Action for Refugees in Newcastle. The conference was organised on 21 June and included a wide range of speakers, including Arun Kundnani from the Institute of Race Relations. Daljeet Arora, BECON's Regional Policy Officer, represented the organisation in the conference and presented a paper on racism in contemporary Britain. Race and Racism in contemporary Britain
Policy News Single Equality Scheme (SES) Review 2008 The LSC have appointed ECOTEC to carry out the 2008 national review of the Single Equality Scheme (SES). The review will take a three phase approach. Phase 1 will consist of a paper trail audit, to establish the progress made towards achieving our objectives under the SES. Phase 2 will be in the form of qualitative research (focus groups and one-to-one interviews) with LSC staff, providers and learners. Phase 3 will look to make recommendations for the equality transition and legacy for the new organisations post-2010. The final report is due to be published in February 2009, with an interim report to satisfy the LSC legal obligations under the Disability Equality Duty due at the end of December 2008. The first steering group meeting to inform the review took place on 2 September, and regular monthly meetings of the steering group will be taking place throughout the project. The steering group members are Dan Simons, Claire Douglas, Simon Lindsay, Jamilah Shah, Esther Cook and Sharon Smith. Single Equality Scheme consultation NHS North East commissioned the North East VCS Equalities Coalition to consult on its Single Equality Scheme. BECON, as a member of the Coalition, organised consultation event with BECON network members on 26 August 2008. The event was well attended and important information and questions were raised with regards to the scheme. A final, combined response to the scheme was developed by the Coalition. The response to the Single Equality Scheme For further information please contact Daljeet Singh at daljeet@becon.org.uk 0191 209 4747

In 2001, BECON was established to support the development of the BME VCS and its participation in local and regional decision making. Since then BECON has engaged with government policy on empowerment, partnerships and civil renewal representing the experiences of BME communities in the region. Over the years, debate and research on community empowerment, engagement and partnerships has developed considerably and the current challenge is to transform practice from evidence emerging from debates and research. BECON is involved in North East Empowerment Partnership which began earlier this year. This partnership is currently reviewing existing structures and practice in community engagement and will develop an action plan for years 2008-9. The three areas BECON is specifically working on regionally under this section are: (a) Community Empowerment (b) Local government and partnerships/compacts (c) Community Cohesion and Civil Renewal								LAA Briefing Note LAA Event Nov 07 PSA 15 and 21_Briefing

Employability is the new all explaining phrase with some recent government programmes, whether these relate to review of the welfare system, a shift from right based welfare to need based (or means tested welfare), to skills and adult learning or to businesses and charities. There are dramatic shifts occurring in the global economy and the British economy is not untouched from global trends. It is important for BECON to understand these global trends to support the BME VCS and public agencies in addressing their impact on local people and communities. While there are challenges for public services from increased movement of people across national and regional borders, opportunities for the BME VCS are beginning to open up to participate and strengthen the infrastructure to support communities better. BECON is engaging in the following areas regionally: (a) BME Voluntary and Community sector engagement with Regional Economic Strategy (b) Learning and Skills (c) Employability (d) Social Enterprise

The demise of the Commission for Racial Equality and of NECDARE has sharpened the importance of a regional voice on race equality. BECON is continuing to work in the region with other regional agencies in ensuring that the practice within public services and services from private and voluntary and community sector are equitable and conform to race relations legislation. BECON’s regional work on equality encompasses the following areas: (a) Regional VCS Equalities coalition (b) North East Equality and Diversity Board (c) Regional Equality and Diversity Strategy

If the BME voluntary and community sector wishes to influence how local services are shaped for BME communities and/or wants to provide services on behalf of other government agencies like Primary Care Trusts, Learning and Skills Council or local authorities, the sector must have appropriate skills, knowledge and the ability to do so. BECON works in the region to raise awareness about development needs of the BME VCS and for further investment in the sector to overcome the historical marginalisation. BECON is therefore focussing on the following areas: (a) Infrastructure funding (b) Governance and Quality (c) Sustainability VCS funding (d) Procurement and commissioning

An Action Plan for Community Empowerment Communities and Local Government published this document in 2007. The document provides information on the actions the department is taking to generate greater opportunities for civic engagement for people in their localities. Further information about the programme and the action plan can be found at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/communityempowermentactionplan Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities, Statutory Guidance This document is available for consultation and the last date to submit responses is 12 February 2008. BECON is involved in discussing the document with its membership and a response to Communities and Local Government department will be submitted. The document provides guidance to local authorities and their partners on how they can involve local communities and work in partnership in building safe and strong local communities. Further information is available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/statutoryguidance Negotiating New Local Area Agreements Local Area Agreements will provide the foundation to the relationship between a local authority and its partners and the central government from April 2008. This process will also change how the central government will fund local authorities. The attached document was published by Communities and Local Government in 2007 and discusses the process of negotiations in detail with examples from across the country. Further information is available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/negotiatingnewlaas Principles of Representation A Framework for Effective Third Sector Representation in LSPs This document is available for consultation and the responses to CLG should reach by 12 February 2008. The document discusses the guiding principles for an effective third sector representation in local strategic partnerships. BECON is involved in discussing the document with its membership. BECON has also worked with other regional and national partners in responding to the document and facilitated a consultation workshop in Leeds in December 2007. Further information is available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/principlesofrepresentation Working Neighbourhoods Fund Report Communities and Local Government has recently released information on Working Neighbourhoods Fund which will replace the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund from April 2008. This fund incorporates the Department for Work and Pension's Deprived Area Fund to create a single fund. The fund will address issues of employability in the most deprived neighbourhoods across the country using community led approaches Please click on the image for the report An Independent report to Government The Government's response to the REACH report was announced by Hazel Blears on 5 December 2007. The response explains how the government intends to take forward recommendations made in the report which identified the need to raise aspirations and attainment of black boys and young black men. Please click on the image for the report The state of the BME VCS in the North East In 2004, BECON commissioned a research to identify state of the BME voluntary and community sector in the North East. The research was carried out by researchers at the Sustainable Cities Research Institute at Northumbria University a report was released in 2005. A priced hard copy the report is available from BECON Head Office in Newcastle. For a copy, please contact Richard McLeod (Information Officer). BECON's Research on the state of the BME VCS in the North East (Executive Summary) Please click on the image to download the file Bridge the Gap report Voice4Change England is a national partnership of 18 regional and national BME voluntary and community sector organisations. In 2007, the partnership collated evidence about the BME VCS nationally and produced a mapping report Bridge the Gap: What is Known About the BME Third Sector in England. Executive summary of the report is available here and on Voice4Change England website. For further details about the report, please contact Voice4Change England office. Please click on the image to download the Executive Summary of the research The HM Treasury published a cross cutting review In 2002, the HM Treasury published a cross cutting review as part of its spending review for 2002. The report looked at the role of the voluntary and community sector in service delivery and how this role could be supported by Central and Local Government. The chapter 4 of the report looks at the capacity constraints, discrimination and disadvantaged faced by the BME voluntary and community sector nationally. The report is made available on BECON website. More information on the 2002 spending review and the cross cutting review is available on HM Treasury website by clicking on the icon. Government's Cross Cutting Review, 2002 (Web Link) Please click on the image to go to the website The state of the BME VCS in 2000-01 in England Joseph Rowntree Foundation commissioned research to identify the state of the BME VCS in 2000-01 in England. The report was later published by the Policy Studies Institute. Further information about the report is available on the Joseph Rowntree website. Black and Minority Ethnic Voluntary and Community Organisations: Their Role and Future Development in England and Wales. London: Policy Studies Institute, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, McLeod, M, Owen, D and Khamis, C. 2001. (Web Link) Please click on the image to go to the website

Feb 2008 BECON submitted its responses to two Communities and Local Government (CLG) public consultations which closed on 12 February 2008. The two documents available for public consultation were: (a) Principles of Representation: A Framework for Effective Third Sector Participation in Local Strategic Partnerships (b) Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities: Statutory Guidance The consultation documents are available on BECON website. BECON responses to CLG were also endorsed by the Voice4Change England, a national partnership of 18 national and regional BME organisation. BECON responses to CLG are available in pdf files Response_Principles Response_Duty to Involve Position Paper BECON has submitted a Position Paper to the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills consultation on The Role of Further Education Providers in Promoting Community Cohesion, Fostering Shared Values and Preventing Extremism. BECON Position Statement Voice4Change England, a national partnership of the regional and national BME organisations in England, has responded to the Communities and Local Government consultation document 'Cohesion Guidance for Funders'. The consultation was opened in February earlier this year and ended in May. BECON is a partner organisation in Voice4Change and has been actively involved in the development of the national response to the guidance. Please contact Daljeet Singh at daljeet@becon.org.uk if you wish to discuss the response further Cohesion Guidance Responses Feb 2008 BECON responded to the Defra consultation document "Towards a Defra Third Sector Strategy". BECON's comments will be part of a regional response of Mentoring and Befriending Foundation North East advisory group. In 2007, the government consulted on the Discrimination Law Reivew with an intent to develop a single equality duty for the six broad strands of equality. The government has now published a response to the consultation with detailed information on the content of the Single Equality Bill. The document was published in July 2008. You can read the document by clicking on the link below. The Equality Bill-Government response to the Consultation



BECON’s ethos and emphasis on Black and Anti-Racist perspectives in policy development.