Current Consultations:

1.   Kent’s draft Strategic Plan for Children and Young People (CYPP)

Kent’s draft Strategic Plan for Children and Young People (CYPP) has been updated to reflect the eight priorities agreed by the Kent Children’s Trust Board last year.

The updated plan has been drafted at a strategic level with a focus on outcomes and activities that could be improved and delivered through multi agency/partnership working. The proposed outcomes and activities in the draft plan are based on an updated Kent-wide needs analysis that builds on the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment undertaken by health colleagues.

The strategic plan will be underpinned by the delivery plans of the emerging Local Children’s Services Partnerships, with the aim of ensuring that the needs of children, young people and their families are addressed through a more responsive, coherent and personalised service delivery, earlier and closer to the point of need.

The draft plan is out for consultation until the 11th July 2008 and can be found at http://www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/Children/kct_cyppconsultation.cfm.

2.    Kent Library & History Centre consultation.

Kent County Council are proposing to build a new purpose built Archive Centre for Kent combined with the Maidstone Library, currently in St Faiths Street, and County Central Library at Springfield. The new building will be located on James Whatman Way at the junction of Royal Engineers Road and will allow better access to the archive material of Kent as well as house an improved library for Maidstone.     

A series of architect’s drawings are available to view, along with a short TV clip about the proposed new building, at www.kent.gov.uk/kenthistorycentre.

Comments and ideas are welcomed via the website. The previous consultation closing date of 30th May 2008 has been extended so there is still plenty of time to make your views heard.

3.    Department of Health – ‘Towards a strategy to support volunteering in health and social care’ consultation.

The Government have launched a consultation on volunteering - 'Towards a strategy to support volunteering in health and social care’.

The aim of the consultation and subsequent strategy is to: 

* raise the esteem and profile of volunteering;

* help improve management and support for volunteers;

* support more robust evaluation of the outcomes and benefits of  

  volunteering; and,

* allow more coherent investment to support their involvement.

It is open until 30th September 2008 and can be found on the Department for Health website.

We are constantly monitoring the many consultations and policy debates that happen regularly within the voluntary and community sector at local, regional and national level.

We alert groups to any that we think are particularly relevant or important, summarising the main details of the consultations and highlighting the deadlines for response.  For the most significant consultations, Voluntary Action Maidstone is more proactive and will draft a suggested response for consideration and comment by groups.  A co-ordinated response will sometimes have more impact than ten or twenty individual ones, and will also reduce groups' workloads.

Click here to see our latest Consultation, Funding & Policy update.