VCSE organisations working in the criminal justice sector are now able to bid for community rehabilitation contracts worth up to £100 million.

The bidding process opened last month and is part of National Probation Service reforms.

New research on the role that the VCSE sector played during the coronavirus suggests that community organisations should be trusted to lead the post-pandemic recovery.

An interim report from NCVO, ACEVO and Lloyds Bank for England and Wales has revealed the negative impact of competitive behaviour between charities, which can harm the communities they serve, and can lead to trust issues between charities of different sizes.

Bristol Community Health is a not-for-profit social enterprise delivering NHS community healthcare services. It has just announced changes to three local health services.

Healthcare in five South West prisons, Bristol children’s services, and diabetic eye screening in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire will no longer be run by Bristol Community Health, and will be transferred from the social enterprise to new providers.

Anyone with experience of accessing mental health services in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire is invited to take part in a survey which will help improve these services in the future.

Voscur Trustee and Sector Leader Suzanne Thompson is CEO of The Restore Trust. In this article she explains why the latest probation reforms need to go further to ensure voluntary sector involvement.

I was among the many who welcomed the proposed reforms of the probation service last month.

Bristol City Council is consulting on the future commissioning of ‘help when people need it’ services.

The council is looking to procure these services for two main groups; those aged 18-64 and those aged 55+, as well as other citizens who live in the community and are not supported by the working age adults provision.