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Policies and Partnerships

VAMT has the role of representing the voluntary sector at partnerships and informing the sector about emerging policies and strategies.

The Merthyr Tydfil Compact

The Compact is a key document which seeks to improve the relationship between local statutory organisations and the third sector. A new Compact has been agreed and will be launched in early 2008.

A Compact Board first met in December 2007 and minutes and key documents will be available on this website.

Compact documents
Date Title and description
25/09/2007 Merthyr Tydfil Final Compact Document
25/09/2007 Merthyr Tydfil Compact - Terms of Reference

Current Consultation Documents

VAMT’s role is to ensure that the voluntary sector is informed about policies and strategies developed by statutory organisations.

VAMT Responses to Policy Developments

VAMT makes responses to consultations on policies and strategies developed by the Welsh Assembly Government and local statutory organisations. These views are informed by the views of local voluntary organisations.

Consultation documents
Date Title and description
26/05/2008 VAMT's response to Communities Next consultation
20/03/2008 Designed to Add Value Questionnaire
20/03/2008 Designed to Add Value consultation document
The Minister for Health and Social Services, Mrs Edwina Hart AM MBE, has approved the attached Designed to Add Value - a third dimension for consultation. This has been developed to inform future directions and support the evidence base of the voluntary sector's contribution to health and social care. The document also sets out where we are now, where we want to be and how we will get there and identifies strategic guidance for the voluntary sector in supporting health and social care in the future. The consultation period runs until Monday 5th May 2008 and a consultation questionnaire has been prepared to help inform responses. If you are interested in coming together to prepare a response to the document then please contact Sharon Richards at VAMT on 01685 353900 or alternatively contact the Partnership office via e-mail: partnership@vamt.net
20/03/2008 Communities Next Consultation document
23/02/2008 Wales Spatial Plan
Your Wales, Your Voice, Your Vision. The people of Wales are to get the opportunity to have their say on how the country should develop over the next 20 years as the consultation for the Wales Spatial Plan gets underway.
18/12/2007 Royal Pharmaceutical Society Consultation
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain is the professional body for pharmacists. Its aim is to develop the pharmacy profession and ensure that the services pharmacists offer are the best for patients and the public. It is also the industry regulator, meaning it helps to protect the public and ensure that pharmacists operate safely. The Society is looking ahead, anticipating how things will be in the year 2020 and preparing pharmacists so they can provide more services to patients and the public than ever before. For example, by 2020 you may be able to use your local community pharmacist for certain services instead of visiting your GP or local hospital. You will be able to have tests at the pharmacy and the pharmacist will be able to prescribe medicines for you. The aim is to offer you a wider choice and to make it easier and more convenient for you to use your local health services. How you can get involved? You can respond to this consultation by using the tear off slip at the foot of this page or by visiting the Society’s website (www.rpsgb.org). Please remember we need your feedback before January 31st Please pass a copy of this document on to a friend or family member - the more people that get involved, the better the profession will be. More information is available from amanda.king@rpsgb.org telephone 020 7572 2330. Responses can also be emailed to partnership@vamt.net
13/12/2007 MVNOS Questionnaire
Introduction The National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Managing Volunteers – benchmarks of good practice which underpin both the National/Scottish Vocational Qualifications (N/SVQs) in Management of Volunteers and the Excellence in Volunteer Management programme – were first developed in 2003. The UK Workforce Hub is undertaking a project to review and refresh these standards to ensure they meet the needs of managers in the voluntary and community sector through 2014 and beyond. The main objectives of the project are to: 1. Develop one comprehensive, job-relevant set of NOS covering the skills required for the effective management of volunteers 2. Revise and review the existing N/SVQ frameworks and assessment strategy 3. Change the style of the NOS, cut down on repetitiveness and present them in a more concise, user-friendly format. The original NOS have been revised to take account of a range of issues, including: • risk management • diversity • retention • job substitution (a volunteer replacing an employee or vice versa) • changing status of individuals (from service user to volunteer, for volunteer to employee or vice versa) • involvement with stakeholders and the wider community • coaching volunteers • volunteer agreements • CRB checks • managing volunteers over the short term • inaccessible language • units imported from other sets of NOS • repetition in knowledge and understanding • specification of the personal qualities managers of volunteers require We would now like your feedback as to whether these revised NOS fully reflect the performance expected of those who manage volunteers in your organisation, together with the knowledge, understanding and personal qualities managers of volunteers require. Please complete this questionnaire and return it by 18 January 2008 to rebecca.freeman@themsc.org. If you have any problems completing the questionnaire or prefer to provide your feedback over the telephone, please contact Rebecca Freeman on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday mornings on 07958 134316.
01/11/2007 Merthyr Tydfil Draft Tourism Strategy
This is a draft strategy and comments are welcomed via Partnership at VAMT