News & Developments

This course provides an introductory level of training in money management and budgeting skills, how to deal with personal debt and where to seek assistance.

It is suitable for front-line staff to understand good personal budgeting skills and how to avoid domestic fuel debt.

COURSE OUTLINE

• Money management and personal budgeting 
• Income maximisation 
• Causes of debt 
• Priority and non-priority debts 
• The consequences of different types of debts 
• Where to seek assistance with debt 
• Attending a money advice appointment 
• Avoiding fuel debt – consumer responsibilities 
• Common meter issues causing debt 
• Understanding gas and electricity bills 
• Different fuel payment options and tariffs 
• How to find the best domestic energy deal 
• Grants and assistance available 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

As this is an introductory level course it is aimed at front-line staff with no or very little experience of money management or debt advice. Likewise if you have specialist staff within your organisation that focus on these areas this course won’t be relevant.

COURSE DATES / LOCATIONS 

The following open access dates / locations have been scheduled, however sessions can also be delivered in-house if you have a group of people to train.

• Nottingham - 15 Sep 2015
• York - 22 Sep 2015
• Liverpool - 22 Sep 2015
• Birmingham - 29 Sep 2015
• Manchester - 1 Oct 2015
• Manchester - 27 Oct 2015

If you are interested in booking a free place on one of the above one-day open access courses or an in-house course please contact Lynsey Thompson for further details: Tel: 0191 2615677 / Email: lynsey.thompson@nea.org.uk

www.nea.org.uk

Manchester Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial co-operative serving people who live or work in Manchester, Tameside, Trafford, Rochdale, Bury and the High Peak.

You might not have heard of credit unions before but in many parts of the world, including Ireland, the USA and New Zealand, they are very important and successful financial institutions. 

Credit unions exist solely to provide affordable financial services to their members. Manchester Credit Union offers savings, loans and a whole range of other financial services.

They are run by their members, and for their members. Their range of innovative financial products includes ethical savings, affordable loans and Christmas club accounts to name but a few. All these services are supported by the excellent service of a dedicated, well-trained staff.

www.manchestercreditunion.co.uk

Energyshare has partnered with with M&S Energy to run their first ever Community Energy Fund, a competition to distribute up to £400,000 in grants to renewable energy projects that benefit the community.

www.mandsenergyfund.com

New clip art has been created which helps illustrate how smear tests are conducted and the type of instruments used during the test. The guide also covers some of the barriers that prevent women with learning disabilities from attending their invitation to screening.

The guide can be ordered free of charge from the charity’s website. In addition women can also access ‘The Smear Test Film’ a health education film resource for women eligible for cervical screening who have mild and moderate learning disabilities.

For more information visit the Jo’s Trust website at: www.jostrust.org.uk

Citizens Advice is running Scams Awareness Month 2015 (SAM15) in conjunction with the Trading Standards Institute with the aim of encouraging consumers to seek support from trading standards teams to help them deal with unwanted calls, mail or visits and find out what action they can take themselves.

This year’s month-long campaign starts Thursday 2 July and will focus on four key scam channels:

Telephone scams: (week one launch Thurs 2 July): Including nuisance telephone calls claiming to be from reputable companies and offering to sort out issues like computer viruses or insurance.

Online scams: (week two beginning Mon 13 July): Highlighting online copycat websites which charge fees for services like passport renewals, driving tests and tax returns.

Mail scams: (week three beginning Mon 20 July): Mail about lotteries, prize draw catalogues, psychics and other similar schemes.

Doorstep scams: (week four beginning Mon 27 July 2015): Tackling doorstep cold callers offering services like free boilers, insulation or solar panels.

Residents can find out how to spot and tackle scams and find information about relevant support services to help older and vulnerable people at: www.derbyshire.gov.uk/community/consumer_advice/scams

The fund, which will be delivered by the Big Lottery Fund will provide grants that will enable recipients to implement organisational changes and access professional advice that might currently be out of their reach. It will give VCSEs access to a wider range of skills and support, with all grant recipients establishing a strong volunteering relationship with a local business. These cross sector relationships will help grant recipients to strengthen their resilience and long term sustainability.

The Local Sustainability Fund will be £20 million of government funding delivered over 2 years, and will be available to medium-sized VCSE organisations that deliver vital support to vulnerable and disadvantaged people. Alongside working with local businesses, recipients will also work with skilled advisors so that the fund generates maximum impact.

It is expected to help around 250 high-impact charities and social enterprises in England to secure sustainable futures for themselves, including supporting them to bid for public service contracts and to diversify their incomes. Eligible organisations will be able to apply for funding when the fund opens today. Details of how to apply will be on Big Lottery Fund’s website and will be widely circulated throughout the sector.

For more details and information upon fund visit the Cabinet Office website.

Only women and girls organisations will be eligible to apply - defined as one whose primary purpose is to deliver services to women and/or girls. It is also expected to have a strong track record of delivering services to women and/or girls. They can either be organisations that focus on specific issues (for example, domestic and sexual violence or mental health) or run community-based services such as a women’s centre or youth group.

In order to achieve this we will fund projects that can meet all four funding outcomes: 1. Increased provision of holistic, integrated, person-centred approaches for women and girls at risk;   2. Increased involvement of women and girls in the design and delivery of the services they use;   3. A greater number of women and girls are supported through the provision of improved specialist support;  4. Better quality of evidence for what works in empowering women and girls.

BLF want to support projects that are ambitious and help to create capacity in organisations. Organisations will be able to apply for up to £750,000 for up to five years. The funding can be for some or all of the project costs. There is no restriction on the overall project cost. BLF expect most of the funding will be for revenue costs but some may be for overheads and capital costs. 

This is a competitive application process. BLF expect to be able to fund approximately 65 projects through this initiative. If you do not meet the eligibility criteria or cannot meet all four of the programme outcomes then they will not be able to fund your application through this initiative. For more details upon this initiative please visit the Big Lottery Fund website.

Their charity match programme gives donations of up to £1000 to local UK groups and charities, which have already raised vital funds themselves.

All of their 24 businesses, including their timber frame business Space4 and PLC head office are giving away up to £2,000 each every month – that’s a whopping £52,000 a month available to fund local community initiatives.

www.persimmonhomes.com/charity/

The Community Fund will award one-off grants of up to £1000 and is targeted at schemes which can deliver a real impact by improving the environment and helping people to understand and appreciate how nature can benefit the health and well-being of local communities and business.

Applications will be viewed and judged by a panel of experts which includes Nestlé Waters, The Wildlife Trusts, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and High Peak Borough Council and will be assessed on the extent to which they support each of the stated aims and objectives of the Get Better with Nature campaign:

• To raise awareness of the value of nature to our society, health and wellbeing;
• To empower people to enjoy nature’s benefits;
•  To encourage and inspire people to get better with nature by making a small investment in their local environment – whether it’s in their community, local green space, wildlife or waterways.

Applicants have until the end of July 2015 to submit their bid, with planned projects to be completed by the end of 2015. 

If you are interested in applying or would like further information about Get Better with Nature and the Community Fund, visit the Community Fund page where you will find detailed guidance on how to apply and a Community Fund Application Form - www.getbetterwithnature.co.uk/get-involved/get-better-with-nature-community-fund/ 

If you have any other questions, get in touch with Get Better with Nature at enquiries@getbetterwithnature.co.uk

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