New commissioner to improve relations between government and voluntary sector

John Stoker was named today as the first Compact commissioner to improve the working relationship between the government and the voluntary sector.

The post is aimed at strengthening implementation of the Compact, an agreement between the government and voluntary sector on issues including funding.

Stoker, 55, is a former chief charity commissioner for England and Wales and most recently headed up the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund. He will take up his new post on 1 October.

Meanwhile, a National Association for Voluntary and Community Action report this week called for an end to “unnecessary and bureaucratic” reporting requirements imposed on charities by funders. It highlighted cases of “wasteful” monitoring, including one where a group was audited eight times by statutory bodies in six weeks.