Volunteering and Social Action –Making the Care Act Real

This free, national event will review the work led by Volunteering Matters for the Health and Care Voluntary Sector Strategic Partnership’ Programme, to show how volunteering and social action have an important role to play in making real the wellbeing principle of the Care Act 2014.

The work has been carried out jointly with colleagues from the LGA, ADASS and NAVCA. It aims to help local authorities and their partners in the NHS and VCSE realise the potential of volunteering and social action to help to build stronger, more resilient communities and so to promote wellbeing and deliver personalised care and health care outcomes. How we see this coming about is described in our paper:-

Volunteering & Social Action and The Care Act: An Opportunity for Local Government

We will be joined on the day by a panel of keynote speakers including:

• Martin Farran, Director of Adult Social Services, City of York (confirmed)

• Sarah Armstrong, Chief Executive, York CVS

• Ed Moses, Deputy Director, Department of Health

• Caroline Speirs, Acting Head of Think Local Act Personal (confirmed)

• Sarah Pickup, Deputy Chief Executive, LGA

And most importantly by a number of volunteers and those who support them We will invite these people to share their experiences.

What you will hear and learn.

This event follows a short series of regional workshops held over the autumn and winter months of 2016/17. These are some of the things delegates said in their feedback from these workshops:

• Great balance across sectors and experiences which made discussion rich and wonderful sharing of views and expectations.

• Great to see coproduction in action.

• Giving an opportunity for carers to tell their stories/ life’s challenges etc. to the commissioners and people of authority.

• Powerful and effective presentations from the voluntary organisations:

• Excellent discussions and ideas.

• Great to have a varied group from across sectors and roles.

We aim to bring together once again many of the contributors and participants in those events and to provide the opportunity for reflection on the issues that those events brought to the surface.

Who should attend?

We aim to attract delegates with a passion for this agenda. We particular recommend the event to colleagues who identify themselves as one of the following:

• volunteers who themselves have use health and social care services

• volunteers who support adults with social care needs in any setting or across settings

• leaders and senior managers in local authority adult social care and community directorates;

• commissioners or operational managers in social care and the NHS with special responsibility for community development and volunteering;

• CEOs and volunteer managers from VCSE organisations with a strong interest in volunteering and social action – and especially those from volunteer centres and CVSs;

• adult social care provider organisations who work with volunteers;

We hope that you will leave feeling both inspired and better informed.