Friday 3 February 2012

Morphing

Well, I have at last succumbed to the dreaded virus, and had a day’s sick leave on Monday, which is almost unprecedented in my 4 years here, and I feel very underpowered.

Congratulations to Surrey Community Action for leading a successful Transforming Local Infrastructure bid and winning the maximum grant of £600,000. This will oil the wheels of a transformative change between SCA and the local Councils for Voluntary Services (CVS), and, in my view see them all morphing into a new single organisation.

The Government (DCLG – Mr Pickles) announced a new £10 mill grant to  a grouping of uniformed organisations enabling them to train up new volunteers and expand membership by 10,000. BUT NOT in Surrey. So I met with the Chairman of the Combined Cadet Forces and we discussed and agreed on the need to campaign and lobby for similar funding for all Surrey ’s successful uniformed organisations..so successful that they have huge waiting lists.

I also had a very positive meeting with the businessman in Woking through whom we are setting up a social enterprise, and we now have new impetus, premises identified and the final legal documents being sorted out, and a start date. Though small in scale it does link two factors together- unemployment with job opportunity/enterprise for young people, and if we can make it work it can then be extended elsewhere. Incidentally, the Surrey youth unemployment figure has just increased slightly – to 2,960, but those out of work for more than 6 or 12 months are going up, so the business is much needed as it will specifically recruit and train unemployed young people.

I hope my health will improve over the weekend…inspired by Scotland v. England rugby on Saturday….inspired by an England win of course, though they are definitely the underdogs this season.

Mike

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