National Coalition of Independent Action http://www.independentaction.net Dissent protects democracy Wed, 22 May 2013 11:55:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Newsletter No 33 now out – all the latest gossip, all the buis…. http://www.independentaction.net/2013/05/22/newsletter-no-33-now-out-all-the-latest-gossip-all-the-buis/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/05/22/newsletter-no-33-now-out-all-the-latest-gossip-all-the-buis/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 09:39:26 +0000 Andy Benson http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9886 Keep on keeping on imageOur latest newsletter is now out. Read about our Inquiry in the Future of Voluntary Services – can they still be called ‘radical’? Plus tales of heroism … and the madness that continues. Read it here – http://ymlp.com/zAthfM… Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/05/22/newsletter-no-33-now-out-all-the-latest-gossip-all-the-buis/feed/ 0 Launch of NCIA Inquiry into voluntary services: May 10th 2013 http://www.independentaction.net/2013/04/08/ncia-event-can-voluntary-services-survive-and-survive-as-what-friday-may-10th-2013/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/04/08/ncia-event-can-voluntary-services-survive-and-survive-as-what-friday-may-10th-2013/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:15:35 +0000 NCIA admin http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9762 Can voluntary services survive? And survive as what? Launch of NCIA Inquiry, Friday May 10th, 2013, 11-3pm at Institute for Family Therapy, 24-32 Stephenson Way London NW1 2HX

Come and join our inquiries….

The pressures on local voluntary groups providing services are immense and getting worse. Cuts in their funding… Increasing need from desperate communities….. … Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/04/08/ncia-event-can-voluntary-services-survive-and-survive-as-what-friday-may-10th-2013/feed/ 0 Volunteers – cheap labour or free spirits? http://www.independentaction.net/2013/04/08/volunteers-cheap-labour-or-free-spirits/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/04/08/volunteers-cheap-labour-or-free-spirits/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:35:44 +0000 NCIA admin http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9746 bs-show-web500

Mark Restall, from the world of volunteering, tell us how volunteering has never been higher on the political agenda. Government ministers and voluntary sector Chief Executives love to tell us how important it is. He says, “I know it’s hard to believe, but I get the impression that they don’t actually understand voluntary work at … Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/04/08/volunteers-cheap-labour-or-free-spirits/feed/ 6 Newsletter No 32 now out! http://www.independentaction.net/2013/03/18/newsletter-no-32-now-out/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/03/18/newsletter-no-32-now-out/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:27:40 +0000 http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9710 Keep on keeping on image As we brace ourselves for the benefits cuts on the 1st April, read our latest news on who is fighting what …… and who isn’t – newsletter No 32… Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/03/18/newsletter-no-32-now-out/feed/ 0 Resistance is fertile. But where are the voluntary groups? http://www.independentaction.net/2013/03/12/resistence-is-fertile-but-where-are-the-voluntary-groups/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/03/12/resistence-is-fertile-but-where-are-the-voluntary-groups/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:20:16 +0000 NCIA admin http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9650 NCIAHere We Stand, the NCIA Inquiry into local activism and dissent has now reported its findings. The Inquiry, carried out with Manchester Metropolitan University, documents how local activists exert an active democratic and egalitarian influence. We found growing resistance to cuts and austerity, with local people organising around what matters to them: safeguarding public … Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/03/12/resistence-is-fertile-but-where-are-the-voluntary-groups/feed/ 0 Backdoor privatisation – stop it NOW! http://www.independentaction.net/2013/03/05/backdoor-privatisation-stop-it-now/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/03/05/backdoor-privatisation-stop-it-now/#comments Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:37:25 +0000 NCIA admin http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9638 Message from 38 Degrees… please act now! It’s being called backdoor NHS privatisation. And if we want to stop it, what happens in Parliament this week is crucial. Some Labour, Lib Dem and Green MPs have tabled a motion demanding the NHS privatisation plan be immediately withdrawn. [1] As of last Monday, only 72 MPs … Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/03/05/backdoor-privatisation-stop-it-now/feed/ 0 The real Big Society – Barnet activists show the way over library closure http://www.independentaction.net/2013/02/21/the-real-big-society-barnet-activists-show-the-way-over-library-closure/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/02/21/the-real-big-society-barnet-activists-show-the-way-over-library-closure/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:15:35 +0000 Andy Benson http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9626 An inspiring video – ‘A Polite Revolution’ – from activists in Barnet shows how an alliance between occupy, trades unions and local people can make an impact that goes beyond the sum of the parts. Faced with the closure of Friern Barnet library, the building was occupied and kept open by local people. This forced … Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/02/21/the-real-big-society-barnet-activists-show-the-way-over-library-closure/feed/ 0 How to make a toothless watchdog – ‘Healthwatch’ censored and emasculated http://www.independentaction.net/2013/02/14/how-to-make-a-toothless-watchdog-healthwatch-censored-and-emasculated/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/02/14/how-to-make-a-toothless-watchdog-healthwatch-censored-and-emasculated/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:04:57 +0000 Andy Benson http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9614 Just before Christmas the government laid before Parliament the regulations governing the new ‘Healthwatch’ bodies, that will, in April, take over from LINK the role of patients’ watchdog within the NHS. Hidden in these regulations is Provision 36, which effectively disbars ‘Healthwatch’ from any involvement in matters of Law or policy relating “.. to any … Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/02/14/how-to-make-a-toothless-watchdog-healthwatch-censored-and-emasculated/feed/ 2 Newsletter No 31 now out – all the latest news, comment and gossip http://www.independentaction.net/2013/02/09/newsletter-no-31-now-out-all-the-latest-news-comment-and-gossip/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/02/09/newsletter-no-31-now-out-all-the-latest-news-comment-and-gossip/#comments Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:45:47 +0000 http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9604 Our latest newsletter is out – you can drool over it here – http://ymlp.com/zlZEoM… Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/02/09/newsletter-no-31-now-out-all-the-latest-news-comment-and-gossip/feed/ 0 GOOD NEWS! – West Sussex localises CVS and Volunteer Centre support http://www.independentaction.net/2013/01/31/good-news-west-sussex-localises-cvs-and-volunteer-centre-support/ http://www.independentaction.net/2013/01/31/good-news-west-sussex-localises-cvs-and-volunteer-centre-support/#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:51:20 +0000 Andy Benson http://www.independentaction.net/?p=9595 Pic of clapping hands by Wowovr2 / wikimedia commonsBucking the trend towards mergers, acquisitions and single contracts to corporate predators, positive news is coming in from West Sussex, where fresh agreements between the local authorities and the County’s seven CVSs explicitly recognise the importance of locally accountable provision.

Several years ago, the County was a focus of an NCIA study into the effects … Continue reading

]]> http://www.independentaction.net/2013/01/31/good-news-west-sussex-localises-cvs-and-volunteer-centre-support/feed/ 0