The Place of the Third Sector in services

 for Children and Young People

 “I am committed to working  with the voluntary, community and faith sector in delivering services “ says Helen Denton “but they must be able to offer quality outcomes.”

Helen Denton

Speaking at the Hearing, sponsored by Third Sector Lancashire and attended by over 50 voluntary organisations, Mrs Denton stressed the Lancashire Children’s Trust’s ‘moral commitment’ to work in the best interests of children and young people and their families at all times, and to make a positive difference to their lives.

Graham Whalley

Graham Whalley, of Young Lancashire, spoke about a new body, ’Greater Together’, which is designed to ready the sector to deliver contracts in this field.

Mike Wedgeworth, Chair of the Third Sector Lancashire said that ‘Hearings’ like this with experts from the public sector were an excellent way, not only for organisations to be better informed about the big issues, but also to feed back their ideas, concerns and experience. This was the third hearing TSL had organised, and the next will be on ‘The Health and Social Care Bill and the Third Sector’, with Dr Frank Atherton, Director Designate for Public Health in Lancashire.

Pendle GP Dr Mike Ions this week told voluntary, community and faith  leaders that his aim was to ensure that the traditional role of the family doctor was upheld as the juggernaut of the Health Service Reforms rolls on.

Speaking at a meeting organised by Third Sector Lancashire in Burnley, Dr Ions explained that he had become Chair of the Pendle Clinical Commissioning Group not because he fully supported the reforms, but to get the best out of them for his patients.

He acknowledged that voluntary caring services for disabled, unemployed and elderly persons were at risk.

In a straw poll among the audience, 90% said their group had either already lost funding crucial to their survival or were likely to do so.