About NCVO’s Parliamentary Office

NCVO’s Parliamentary Office

1. Parliamentary Campaigns

The Parliamentary Team is responsible for developing NCVO's work in Westminster and Whitehall. It aims to develop effective working relationships with members of both Houses of Parliament on issues affecting the voluntary sector and charities and to develop a strategy for communicating with other external agencies.

The Parliamentary Team maintains an overview of all parliamentary developments, evaluates legislation affecting the voluntary sector and determines whether NCVO responds or produces briefings and lobbies for appropriate amendments to legislation.

Our recent Parliamentary campaigns include the Olympic Lottery Campaign to safeguard lottery funding for good causes and our Local Government Campaign to ensure the role of the voluntary and community sector is central to local government reform.

2. Party Conference Bursary Scheme

NCVO has launched the Party Conference Bursary scheme for 2008 which will allow 15 smaller organisations to attend the party conferences and have their voices heard at a national level.

Successful organisations will receive a week pass to the Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat Party Conference, 2 nights accommodation and travel to and from the party conference. NCVO parliamentary staff will be on hand to support successful organisations with a programme of meetings for the conferences, including a roundtable discussion with a Senior MP or Minister.

For more information and an application form contact partyconference@ncvo-vol.org.uk or visit www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/partyconferencebursary. Closing date: Friday 30 May.

3. Parliamentary workers group

The Parliamentary Workers Group is a network of parliamentary workers, campaigners, policy officers and liaison officers with Westminster, who come from a wide range of organisations in the voluntary sector and who are involved in political liaison, lobbying or campaigning on behalf of their organisation. Its remit is principally to:

provide and exchange information and form alliances on developments, legislation and campaigning techniques
hear outside speakers on topics of common interest
keep its members abreast of latest developments in the legislature

The Parliamentary Workers Group enables organisations to be more efficient and effective in the pursuit of their aims thus increasing the sector's impact and its profile as well as contributing to the success of single-issue groups and campaigns.

For more information and to find out how to get involved please contact NCVO’s Parliamentary & Campaigns Officer at parliamentary@ncvo-vol.org.uk

4. All Party Parliamentary Group on the Community and Voluntary Sector

This Group has 281 members from across the political parties and meets regularly to discuss topics affecting the voluntary and community sector and to hear guest speakers. The Group is chaired by Tom Levitt MP and NCVO provides the Secretariat for the Group.

Recent subjects that the Group has discussed have included local government reform, youth volunteering, the Compact and the work of the Charity Commission.