About the workshops: The aim of the workshops is to equip voluntary and community sector organisations with the skills to negotiate effectively with public bodies on issues such as funding cuts, policy change consultation and local authority decisions concerning the provision of services.
The workshops are open to all voluntary & community organisations who are funded by, or seeking funding from, public bodies. The focus of the workshop is on the delegates experiences in dealing with public bodies and how to resolve disputes to the advantage of the voluntary and community sector. We are sorry, but we are unable to accept bookings from public bodies.

The workshop includes sessions on:
What is public law and what are public bodies
What happens when things go wrong
What you can do when faced with these problems.

For more detail see http://www.navca.org.uk/services/learningopps/evs/evstraining.htm

About the workshops: The aim of the workshops is to equip voluntary and community sector organisations with the skills to negotiate effectively with public bodies on issues such as funding cuts, policy change consultation and local authority decisions concerning the provision of services.
The workshops are open to all voluntary & community organisations who are funded by, or seeking funding from, public bodies. The focus of the workshop is on the delegates experiences in dealing with public bodies and how to resolve disputes to the advantage of the voluntary and community sector. We are sorry, but we are unable to accept bookings from public bodies.

The workshop includes sessions on:
What is public law and what are public bodies
What happens when things go wrong
What you can do when faced with these problems.
For more detail see http://www.navca.org.uk/services/learningopps/evs/evstraining.htm

Empowering the voluntary sector
Funded by the Big Lottery Fund, this project brings together NAVCA and the Public Law Project (PLP) to support the voluntary and community sector to understand the principles and framework of public law. The aim of the project is to strengthen the relationship between voluntary and community organisations and public bodies and significantly increase opportunities to influence funding and other decisions made by public bodies.

It will consist of:
A national programme of public law workshops
A programme of four public law masterclasses in early 2009
A free legal advice line
A quarterly newsletter

Kevin Curley, chief executive of NAVCA says: "Small organisations often feel helpless when they are informed from on high that their funding is being withdrawn or services are being cut. This project will give them the information and support they need to challenge unjust decisions taken by public bodies. It will help them develop the confidence to engage in a robust dialogue, making litigation an option of last resort to tackle those public bodies that continue to shirk their responsibilities.

We would like to invite you to have a FREE stall at the Leeds BME Network Event.

Venue: St Georges Centre, Leeds City Centre
Date: 25th November 2008
Time: 10am -2:30pm

This event will give you the opportunity to:
·Promote your services
·Disseminate your information to a wide range of BME community and voluntary organisations
·Talk to BME groups to see what else you could offer to service their needs
·Network with other specialist and mainstream service providers and funders

The event will be a drop in, so with over 200 organisations on the Network we hope to be very busy all day! There will be free tea and coffee and lunch provided.

If you would like a FREE stall on the day, then please email sophie@leedsconnectingcommunities.org

The Commission for the Compact is carrying out a consultation to review the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Code and look at how equalities and race relations issues are woven into future Compact documentation. The consultation will ensure that the BME Code remains relevant, useful and challenging, and takes into account recent developments in equality, diversity, race relations and human rights law. A legal analysis of the Code was recently undertaken by the human rights and equalities lawyer, Karon Monaghan QC, on behalf of the Commission for the Compact. You can download a copy of the analysis at the link below.

Your views are very important. Get involved by participating in the following activities:

A debate on the results of the legal review and what it means for the BME Code and for wider equalities issues in the Compact has started on the Compact's new online Forum.

A survey on the current BME Code, and how it can be strengthened for the future.

A series of regional workshops discussing the findings of the analysis: Leicester 7th November 2008, Manchester 24th November 2008 and London 28th November 2008.