21 November, 2022

A decade of austerity has plumetted local authorities into a cost of operating crisis. Councils across the country collectively forecast additional costs of £3.4 billion in 2023/24 to retain services at pre-pandemic levels. Locally, Bristol City Council have forecast a deficit in their budget of between £37.5 million and £87.6 million over the next five years. That we face a challenging economic context is a matter of record, and Voscur supports Bristol City Council as it contends with myriad local, national and international difficulties

17 October, 2022

Today, Monday 17th October, saw new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt attempt to steady the financial markets by reversing £45bn of unfunded tax cuts by £32bn. The price cap for businesses and charities is unchanged: it will last for six months as originally proposed. The support for individual households, however, had been due to last for two years, and will now last until April 2023. 

22 September, 2021

Nadine Dorries has replaced Oliver Dowden as secretary of state for digital, culture, media, and sport, news that will impact on several important areas for the VCSE sector. Also part of the prime minister’s latest reshuffle was Baroness Barran’s move from minister for civil society within the Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) to the Department of Education. After the announcement, Barran was widely praised by charity leaders for her work in the role.

30 June, 2021

 

Earlier this year, we were given public data that unsurprisingly showed the highest number of COVID-19 infections were found in parts of Bristol with higher than average national indices of multiple deprivation. We wanted to find out more about why this was happening and also what can be done to reduce inequalities in these neighbourhoods.

30 June, 2021

 

After years of hard work Lawrence Weston’s community-owned wind turbine is on its way, and future climate action enterprises could be easier to develop through increased support, nationally and locally, for green business.

22 June, 2021

 

Bristol City Council, Avon and Somerset Police, and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust have all been criticised for failing to provide adequate care for three people with autism and learning difficulties, a major review has found. The inquiry’s final report describes the “abusive nature” of the system that is meant to support some of Bristol’s most vulnerable people.

13 May, 2021

 

Set out by the Queen in her recent address to Parliament, the government’s new Charities Bill will “address a range of issues in charity law which hamper charities’ day-to-day activities”, with the aim of saving charities time and money.

28 April, 2021

 

Following the murder of George Floyd whilst in police custody in the United States and Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the UK and around the world, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson set up the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, promising the Commission would set out a “new positive agenda for change”.

22 April, 2021

 

On 6 May, everyone over the age of 18 who lives in Bristol will be able to vote for the city's next mayor. Also on this date, you can place your vote for the city's councillors, the West of England mayor, and the Avon & Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner.

Designing a New Social Reality report by Black South West Network
18 March, 2021

 

Black South West Network (BSWN) has launched an important new report focusing on Bristol’s voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector and its recovery after COVID-19.

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