Professor Tony Chapman presented the latest findings from the Northern Rock Foundation Third Sector Trends study at Cumbria CVS’s Annual General Meeting and Compact Conference at the Forum, Barrow in Furness on 5th November 2015.   The research, funded by Northern Rock Foundation and Cumbria Community Foundation demonstrates that the third sector in the county is in good shape, in spite of a long period of austerity. There are over 4,500 organisations and groups in Cumbria employing over 9,000 staff.  But there are many more volunteers, estimated at 52,000 in 2008 but rising to 53,700 in 2014. Volunteers  provide almost 4 million hours of voluntary support in the county – valued at £25m if the work were to be paid at the national minimum wage.

While the research shows that there is a good deal of financial stability in the sector, especially amongst smaller organisations – medium sized charities are feeling the pinch.  In fact, 29% of charities in the poorest areas of Cumbria have seen their income fall significantly in the last year compared with just 7% in the richest areas.  So it is not surprising that 13% of charities have had to draw heavily on their reserves to meet essential costs.

The sector remains positive about the future. Perhaps ‘too’ positive, Professor Chapman argued in his speech. He argued that fewer charities are likely to see the number of employees and volunteers increase as much as is expected – which may well produce a feeling of disappointment.  But neither is the sky falling in – many charities can expect to do well. The worry is that charities and groups in the poorest areas are less well placed to win grants from big national foundations than their counterparts in the richer areas. So foundations need to think of new ways to rectify the situation by being more sympathetic to charities which bid for funds which might not look so exciting on the surface but nevertheless produce real social value.

The report, including a data summary, is available here: Third Sector Trends in Cumbria (November 2015).

Who cares for the carers? Tackling the challenges facing carers in Northern England in an environment of deepening austerity: A seminar organised by the Institute for Local Governance. Middlesbrough Football Club, Riverside Stadium, Friday 27th November 2015, 9.30 – 1.00

The challenges facing carers almost always come second place, economically, politically and emotionally to those in need of care. This seminar aims closely to examine how society can better respond to the needs of individual carers and to those organisations that provide care services in a period of increasing need and deepening economic austerity in Northern England.

The half day seminar will focus on the situation of a range of individual carers who give support to those in need, including neighbours and friends; young carers; older people providing care to spouses; people providing informal dementia care, amongst others. It must be recognised that such carers often achieve what they do with help from the many charities and community organisations which deliver support to carers.

Often such groups and organisations are funded by non-governmental sources, such as community foundations or big national foundations which have stepped in to give financial support where government does not. Other private sector or Third Sector organisations deliver professional care services on behalf of local authorities or health organisations – but how well do these arrangements work for paid carers where the marginal costs of caring are continuously being eroded?

The spatial context within which caring takes place is an important consideration. Consequently, the seminar will also explore the built environment within which care is given by focusing on the idea of designing “lifetime neighbourhoods” to ensure that people’s lives are not disrupted spatially when they become in need of care or gain responsibility to care for others. The seminar asks whether the co-production of caring amongst individuals, charities and public sector organisations could be more achievable in such environments – especially in the context of dementia care.

Speakers include:

Julia Bracknall: Chief Executive, Carers Together (on the delivery of social care services by third sector organisations)

Natalie Gordon, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (on the Dementia Without Walls programme)

Colin Haylock, Visiting Professor, Newcastle University (on lifetime neighbourhoods)

Lawrence McAnelly, Chief Executive, The Junction Foundation, Redcar (on young carers)

Dennis Reed: Director, Silver Voices (on advocacy for older people who provide care)

Erik Scollay, Assistant Director, Middlesbrough Council (on the challenges of co-production)

This is the sixth seminar in the current season which has covered a variety of topics including: Asset transfer (held in Durham); young people and skills (held in Redcar), demographic ageing (held in Newcastle), rural deprivation (held in Northumberland), Japanese inward investment (held in Durham), and public sector/third sector relationships (held in Darlington).

The seminar is free to attend, but places are limited and they tend to book up quickly, so please register your attendance via: Janet Atkinson, Institute for Local Governance, Durham University janet.atkinson@durham.ac.uk.

The Institute for Local Governance is a North East Research and Knowledge Exchange Partnership established in 2009 comprising the North East region’s Universities, Local Authorities, Police and Fire and Rescue Services. Further information about the content of the event can be obtained by contacting:- tony.chapman@durham.ac.uk or john.mawson@durham.ac.uk.

The PowerPoint slides from speakers who presented at the seminar can be accessed below: Colin Haylock; Dennis Reed Erik Scollay; Julia Bracknall; Lawrence McAnelly

The Northern Rock Foundation Third Sector Trends study has been running since 2008.  A new report has been published on the situation of Third Sector organisations in Cumbria.  The report considers the size of the sector, the scope of its work and the benefit brought to the area over the last six years. The research underpinning this report was jointly funded by Cumbria Community Foundation.

The report also considers the extent to which the sector has responded to challenges produced by a long period of austerity.  For many charities, the report shows, a measure of stability has been enjoyed in spite of government austerity programmes.  However, small to medium sized charities operating in the poorest areas of Cumbria have been much more likely to suffer loss of income  due to cuts in government spending at national, regional and local level.  The report can be read here: Third Sector Trends in Cumbria (November 2015)

Headline findings from the report will be presented at The Forum, Barrow in Furness on 5th November by Professor Tony Chapman at the Cumbria Council for Voluntary Services Annual General Meeting.