GovWire

Thank you for having me here today. Its great to see so many leaders of civil society and civil servants together in one room. And a special thank you to Pro Bono Economics for hosting this event, and the Henry Smith Charity for supporting.

As Nicole spoke about in her introduction, Pro Bono Economics led The Law Family Commission to publish their report on Unleashing the Power of Civil Society. This work shares the visions and goals of the Government. And this morning I want to speak about the Governments ambition to reset our relationship with civil society.

Todays conference, A Civil Alliance follows the Prime Ministers announcement that this reset is a priority.

We hope it will enable civil society to play a role as an equal partner alongside the Government in delivering a decade of national renewal, through our five missions to support communities up and down the country.

Weve all seen the sector play an indispensable role in our towns, cities and villages up and down the UK. From stepping up to support national emergencies, to the aftermath of the civil unrest this summer, to everyday interactions and support for those who need it most in society.

As a first step, we are committed to a Civil Society Covenant. This sets out the terms of a new relationship between government and civil society for an effective long term partnership.

In October, my department published a Framework as a first step to developing the Covenant.

Over the summer and early autumn, officials at DCMS worked closely with key civil society bodies to develop this framework. It sets out the ambition, scope and key principles that should underpin the new relationship.

The framework sets out that the Covenant will be based on four high level principles. They are:

Recognition: to ensure a strong and independent civil society

Partnership: to ensure effective service delivery and policy making, and shared learning of best practices.

Participation: to ensure people and communities can be heard and make a difference.

Transparency: to ensure civil society and government have the information needed to best serve people and communities.

We launched this framework at 10 Downing Street, and I know the Prime Minister was delighted to see such great turnout, variety and expertise from the Civil Society sector in the room. Its great to see so many familiar faces here today.

Because today is an important staging post in the wider phase of engagement that will help develop the final Covenant that we plan to publish early next year. This is a space to interrogate and examine what has been proposed so far. It is through these conversations and engagements that we will create the most effective version of the Covenant.

We want to hear from the full diversity of civil society, including charities, social enterprise and local community groups, and from the whole of government, Devolved Governments, Arms Length Bodies, Local authorities and Mayoral Combined Authorities.

Because the more voices we hear from during this consultation period, the better the final outcome of the Covenant will be.

Everyone here will have experienced some aspect of this relationship, and seen how it can work well, and what barriers have prevented effective partnership working in the past. We want to hear from you, gathering your views, insights and expertise, on what this renewed relationship can and should look like.

The outcomes of a better relationship between civil society and government are numerous and have been mentioned already this morning. To name a few, it will:

Help support a fair and equal society, with a strong, diverse, and independent civil society, who can act as a constructive friend and willing partner to the Government.

Improve innovation, insights and expertise that enable sound decision making.

Empower civil society to be able to focus on prevention, early intervention and collaboration.

In short, by working closer together, we can deliver better outcomes for individuals and communities across the UK.

I know that there are already brilliant examples of best practice between our two sectors. We want to identify this work, take learnings and replicate them.

Ive seen this in my own area of Barnsley. Barnsley Council is delivering a Stronger Communities programme that has changed the way the Borough works with local services, and created a model working together with local partners, voluntary and community sectors, and residents.

They have brought communities closer into decision making through Ward Alliances that bring councillors and residents together to make decisions about local priorities and funding.

A cricket club was able to set up a girls team, a bowling club could continue thanks to their support with equipment and 200 to an older people club to tackle isolation and loneliness is now thriving with over 60 members. Just a few examples that have delivered local change for the area I represent.

This work was a strong contributing factor for Barnsleys double Council of the Year awards in 2023.

Just up the road from me in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, the Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership previously benefited from DCMSs Life Chances Fund. This was a 70 million programme to support the development of Social Outcome Partnerships that encourage collaboration between civil society and government to drive positive impact.

The Kirklees project aims to secure better outcomes for local residents with vulnerabilities that impact their ability to live independently. By remodelling the delivery of housing support services locally, the local authority entered into a funding partnership with national government, social investors and local charities in order to create KBOP, putting a clear outcomes framework in place to measure success.

Across the Pennines, the Secretary of State, Lisa Nandy, attended last week the launch event for AllChilds new Wigan Partnership, which supports at-risk children across Wigan. AllChild have also previously been supported through the Life Chances Fund.

I know there will be many other great examples up and down the country, at a local, national and regional level.

Each Government Department has a unique connection with civil society and Im keen that we work together across Whitehall to make this relationship stronger for a better Covenant.

Government can do many things, but it doesnt have the same relationships, local knowledge, trust, and understanding of the challenges being faced by people across the UK that civil society does. That is why we want to tap into your expertise to tackle the UKs challenges together.

We wont agree on everything. But we value, understand, and respect the benefits of working together. This reset is about opening the door for honest, open, and productive conversations and relationships with civil society.

So as we set out on this ambitious reset between Government, civil society and communities, I hope to hear more about your ideas as to how we can build an effective long term partnership, and I look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.