Action is being called for in a government funded report to ensure local government reorganisation and devolution does not harm partnerships between councils and their area’s voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.

The report, into the impact of the government’s changes to local democracy on local charities and community group organisations, has been funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and is published by National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA), which represents local charity sector infrastructure bodies, and Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE).

It warns that reorganisation and devolution “present significant challenges’ to civil society’s links with councils locally, mainly due to boundary changes, which will impact where organisations work, how they operate and “the funder relationships on which they rely”.

Under the government’s agenda, district councils are to be scrapped to make way for larger unitary local authorities within two years. Ministers also want to see strategic authorities, which focus on issues such as regional development and economic development, England wide.

Councils are urged to ensure their local VCSE sector has a “stronger, shared voice within emerging local systems”, to help improve local policy.

New strategic authorities need to ensure their relationships with local VCSE infrastructure bodies is ‘built early’, added NAVCA and ACRE.

“Communities cannot simply be consulted once decisions have been made; they need to be partners in shaping priorities from the beginning,” they said.

They also say that collaboration between charity bodies and councils “will become increasingly important” amid LGR and devolution, adding “as local authority boundaries change, organisations will need to work together more closely, develop new partnership models and combine local knowledge with strategic influence”.

“The strongest approaches will be those built on trust, shared leadership and a common commitment to strengthening communities,” they add.

Further links between councils and charities can be fostered by including a social value requirement in procurement.

Earlier this week NAVCA called on the government to ensure its new social value procurement requirement for services commissioned by Whitehall departments is extended into the wider public sector, including councils and NHS organisations.

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