We were very pleased to see the publication of this report which is very much in line with a lot of our thinking and practice during the pandemic.
We have been making the case for some time now that as we transition out of lockdown we must build on the ingenuity, creativity and agility of the community and seek to find more ways to scale this up. This report is very much welcomed.
Kieran Breen, CEO Leicestershire Cares
Levelling up our communities: proposals for a new social covenant sets out a vision for a more local, more human, less bureaucratic, less centralised society in which people are supported and empowered to play an active role in their neighbourhoods. The Prime Minister has responded to the report:
We have seen tremendous levels of voluntary action by private citizens, and of innovation and partnership between the public, private and social sectors. These are critical elements of the social model we want to see for the recovery, and into the future.
Kruger’s proposals include:
- A ‘Community Power Act’ to give local people power over the design and delivery of public services
- ‘Pop-up parishes’ with time-limited powers and freedoms to innovate
- A Volunteer Passport system to match the supply and demand for voluntary help
- A new National Volunteer Reserve to help with future emergencies and ongoing environmental challenges
- Paid ‘service opportunities’ for unemployed young people to work on social and environmental projects, funded through the
Kickstart programme - An annual Neighbour Day bank holiday to celebrate communities and volunteering
- A deal with faith communities to work with the public sector on big social challenges
- A deal with Big Tech to design new ‘digital infrastructure’ for communities
- A new £500 million Community Recovery Fund to help civil society during the current crisis, financed through the defunct
National Fund - A new £2 billion endowment, the Levelling Up Communities Fund, for investment in long-term, community-led transformation
in left-behind areas, financed through dormant insurance accounts.
Read full report here Levelling Up Our Communities is available for download here:
https://www.dannykruger.org.uk/communities-report
Read Kieran’s thought’s on how we can #BuildbackBetter https://www.compassonline.org.uk/buildbackbetter-you-know-it-makes-sense-but-how-do-you-do-it/
