Joint Forum Panel Minutes 14 October 2004

PRESENT

Chris Ball
Lynn Carvill
Patricia Cooke
Liz Cuddy
Jim Deery
Jane Gribbin
Roy Hanna
Patricia Haren
Jimmy Kearney
Olwen Lyner
Marcas Mac Ruairi
Seamus McAleavey
Elaine McElduff
Carol O’Bryan
Denis Palmer

SECRETARIAT

Zoë Anderson (NICVA)
Frances McCandless (NICVA)

1. WELCOME. Jimmy welcomed everyone to the meeting and everyone introduced themselves.

2. APOLOGIES. Apologies were received from Niall Fitzduff, Maurice Leeson and Kenny McAdams.

3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING. The minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2004 were agreed as accurate.

4. MATTERS ARISING. Jimmy informed the Panel that he had written to John Spellar, as agreed, and had received a reply on 9 August. The response thanked Jimmy for his letter and wished the Panel ‘a successful term of office’. It also stated, ‘I will consider the recommendations of the taskforce carefully given the importance of this work and a government response to the recommendations including mechanisms for consultation will issue. It is not possible, however, to be more specific at this stage until I and other Ministers have had the opportunity to consider the full extent and scope of the recommendations.’

5. TASKFORCE. A meeting of the Joint Chairs had taken place prior to this Panel meeting, and Dave Wall stated that the final report will be published on Monday (18 October) – an e-mail copy will be sent to members as soon as it is available. The Taskforce item for the Forum meeting will consist of a report from Dave followed by discussion in working groups. The paper will not go out for formal consultation but views can be sent to the Minister if necessary.

Seamus gave some details on the timing of the report and explained that they did not wish to clash with the timings of the Draft Budget. Discussion on many of the issues that will be raised in the paper is already in the public domain. The report will encourage government to take a new approach to funding and plan for longer than a three year cycle, ie to look at seven to ten year projects with milestones set between the funder and the organisation. It will also recommend a Community Investment Fund of £25 million, which DSD will have to bid for. Responses to the Pathways consultation had indicated a lack of trust across the sector regarding how money would be distributed – DSD, Councils, a new intermediary body? The Review of Public Administration could impact on this in the long term. There will be a new focus on outcome which will be linked to strong governance and accountability. For the sector there will need to be investment to improve governance, and perhaps some kind of modernisation fund. This will also tie into the Social Economy and CENI’s work on social capital indicators. Roy highlighted that there will need to be substantial investment in volunteering and management committees.

The Minister will have to consult within government, particularly with the Senior Civil Service regarding where the responsibilities will lie for each department in implementing the recommendations. There is a lot in the report for the sector but we will be held to account so need to prove that we do what we say we do. There will be some discussion on reserves and how they should be used within organisations. On a negative note we must be sure not to ‘promise the earth’ and we don’t want government to be setting the outcomes for us.

There will be some recommendations which will impact on the work of the Forum – that it be reviewed, which will have to happen anyway, and better promotion of what the Forum does.

The Minister is keen on governance issues, and wants to move implementation forward as quickly as possible. We will have a better idea about the implications by the time the Forum meets next week as the report will have been circulated and we will be able to discuss it both as a Forum and in working groups.

6. FULL FORUM MEETING AND PLANNING DAY. Jimmy went through the proposed agenda for the Forum meeting on 20 October and the Planning Day on 16 November, and no one had any additional items.

7. COMMUNICATIONS. Jimmy encouraged members to contact Zoë if they wish to get material on the Forum for use in their own newsletters, websites etc. It was felt that the forthcoming publication of the Annual Report will help and that ‘edited highlights’ of the report would be of use to those who would not have time to read it in full. It was also suggested that an article be produced after each Forum meeting, as the communiqué can be quite dry, and that this would clearer and brighter, with consideration given to groups without email.

8. AOB. There was no additional business.

9. DATES OF NEXT MEETINGS.

Full Forum, 20 October, 10.00 for 10.30, NICVA,

Planning Day, 16 November, 9.30 for 10.00, NICVA,

Panel, 30 November, 10.00, NICVA