The First Decade List According to Key Subject Areas

Children

 

 

 

Youth & Lifelong Learning

Older People

The Economy

Health and Social Care

Social Justice

Equality and Human Rights

Rural


 

Environment


 

Sport and Culture


 Volunteering

The Welsh Language

Welsh Law

Wales and the World

Introduction to the 'What They've Done For Us'  list  ►
 

 

 

Volunteering

The First Decade

Welcome to Aled Edwards' "What They've Done For Us" Volunteering list. Written a little in the style of Monty Python's Life of Brian "What have the Romans done for us?"  the list aims to provide a reliable record of the distinctive Welsh policies brought about by devolution (1999-2009). Beyond underlining the distinctiveness of Welsh policies no substantive attempt is made here to evaluate the performance of Welsh Assembly Governments or to list the policies brought about by other UK legislatures but not adopted in Wales. The dates in brackets normally indicate when the development was announced by the Welsh Assembly Government through a press release.

Third Assembly 2007 - 2009

bullet Completed a consultation on a compact between the Welsh Language Board, Welsh Assembly Government and the Third Sector. (January 2009).
bullet Signed a distinctive agreement aimed at strengthening the Welsh Assembly Government’s relationship with the Third Sector (June 2008).
bullet Announced funding of £555,000 through the Russell Commission to help increase youth volunteering in Wales. (March 2008).

Second Assembly 2003 - 2007

bullet Completed a consultation on A Strategic Action Plan for the Voluntary Sector Scheme. (April 2007).
bullet Announced that the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) was succeeding the Prince’s Trust Cymru as the Administrative Core Partner for the Welsh Assembly Government’s Environment Wales Initiative. (March 2006).
bullet Announced continuous funding of almost £3 million for three years to further strengthen links between Health and Social Care and the voluntary sector in Wales. (December 2005).
bullet Took a lead in providing long term security for the voluntary sector. An agreement that ensured longer term funding and more security for the key organisations that support the voluntary sector in Wales was signed between the Welsh Assembly Government and the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA). The partnership agreement provides a five year core funding commitment rather than the current three year arrangement. (September 2005).
bullet Revealed a positive approach to the voluntary sector by announcing the transfer of Responsibility for Criminal Records Bureau Checks on Daycare Staff, from Care Standards Inspectorate Wales to Welsh Council for Voluntary Action. (March 2005).
bullet Established a Funding and Compliance Sub-committee, comprising a representative mix of Voluntary Sector Partnership Council  members. (March 2005).
bullet Announced the release of a total of £186,000 for the Capacity Fund for 2004-5.  (November 2004).
bullet Implemented Supporting People in Wales, increasing the investment in housing related support threefold to £125 million in 2005/2006
bullet Announced that ten national voluntary organisations will receive a share of more than £400,000  from the Assembly Government to help improve people's health and well-being through Health Challenge Wales. (February 2005).
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Established an equitable funding working group in the late spring of 2004.
bullet Gave people until the end of January 2004 to air their views on the way in which the Welsh Assembly Government supports the voluntary sector. The Independent Commission, set up in September 2003 finished taking oral and written evidence at the end of January 2004 and present their report to the Minister in March. (January 2004).

First Assembly 1999 - 2003

bullet Establishment of the Code of Practice for Funding the Voluntary Sector – this sets out the key principles governing Assembly Government funding for the voluntary sector. (2003).
bullet Provided a Capacity Fund of some £85,000 to enable voluntary networks to respond creatively to the work of the Voluntary Sector Partnership Council in order to support nominated voluntary sector networks in their role as representatives on the Voluntary Sector Partnership Council.
bullet The Third Annual Report on the Voluntary Sector Scheme specified that the Criminal Records Bureau Unit had been established to administer CRB checks on behalf of voluntary organisations in Wales. The same report underlined a new code for funding. (2003)
bullet Successfully conveyed the conviction of the voluntary sector to the Home Office that the fee for the Criminal Records Bureau checks should be free of charge for voluntary groups. (December 2000).
bullet Enabled voluntary groups to plan their budgets better following a strategic funding review (Discussed October 2000).
bullet Allowed representatives from Wales’ voluntary groups unprecedented access to cabinet ministers every six months, to discuss issues such as local government funding, European funds, the Communities First Scheme and how Wales was receiving, or not, its share of non-devolved funding from Whitehall. (1999).
bullet Allowed Wales’ 30,000 voluntary organisations a statutory access to government by the creation of the Voluntary Sector Partnership Council and establish a Voluntary Sector Scheme and Annual Reports. (1999).