National body calls for new accord

The National Council for Voluntary
Organisations has called for a new accord between the government
and the voluntary sector in relation to the delivery of public
services in areas such as health and education.

Following Prime Minister Tony Blair’s
reiteration last week of the role of the voluntary sector in
improving public services, NCVO chief executive Stuart Etherington
said a new accord must be struck “in which the government and the
voluntary sector come together to build the sector’s capacity, and
create an enabling fiscal and regulatory environment”.