[cma-l] £10million to kick start Big Society public services

[CMA-L]

A £10million fund is being made available to charities and social
enterprises to help them develop the skills and infrastructure to win
more capital investment and public service contracts Nick Hurd,
Minister for Civil Society, announced recently.

The Investment and Contract Readiness Fund is one of the latest in a
number of actions paving the way for charities, social enterprises and
other civil society organisations to play a bigger role in public
service delivery. The Minister outlined plans in an open letter to the
sector today:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/road-ahead-journey-through-public-service-reform-civil-society-organisations

As well as new opportunities to earn income from public service
contracts, civil society organisations will soon have more access to
capital investment when the Big Society Bank opens for business.

Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, said:

We are creating new opportunities potentially worth billions of pounds
for charities and social enterprises. By enabling all sectors to
compete for contracts on a level playing field citizens and
communities will benefit from greater choice and more responsive
services.

“The £10million Investment and Contract Readiness Fund will create a
pipeline of civil society organisations ready to grasp new
opportunities. They will break down barriers and build expertise in
the sector so that it can become a mainstream option for public
service delivery. And as the Big Society Bank capitalises the social
investment market finance to grow organisations will becoming
increasingly available.”

Civil Society organisations have been invited to take part in a
listening exercise for all sectors over the summer to help identify
where further changes are needed.

Last week we began a pilot with three Departments for a new online
service that will make it easier for suppliers to do business with
Government – the Government e-Marketplace. It will enable smaller
organisations including charities and SMEs not currently in government
procurement frameworks to register their organisation for contracts
below £100,000. This new system will remove the Pre-Qualification
Questionnaire (PQQ) stage of the tender process which has been
highlighted as prohibitive to civil society bids. In addition, the
Local Government Group has confirmed it will encourage a standardised
PQQ at a local level to reduce bureaucratic burdens for bidders.

Today’s open letter follows publication of the Open Public Services
White Paper on 11 July, which sets out how the Government will improve
public services by putting choice and control in the hands of
individuals and neighbourhoods:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/open-public-services-white-paper

The Big Society Bank will shortly announce its first investment. It
will continue over coming years to use its £600m capital to stimulate
and grow the social investment market providing a new source of
finance to the civil society sector enabling organisations to grow and
take on more public sector contracts.

Source: http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/DNWA-8K5HTU

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