I’m really pleased to have this opportunity to speak to you today. When we published the Third Sector Strategy and Action Plan back in June we outlined our commitment to improving the way we work with the third sector, in acknowledgement of what the sector can offer to children’s services.

Since then, we have been through huge change in government. Indeed the department that published the strategy – the DfES – no longer exists.

We have a new department, new ministers (me included of course) and a renewed sense of focus and commitment on children and families.

Children’s issues are right at the top of the political agenda at the moment. And they should be – what better way of investing in the future than investing in our children? Not just their education, but their wellbeing, the stability of their families, and the development of young people as individuals.

In just 6 months, the strategy already needs to be updated to reflect those changes. But our commitment to improving children’s services – and to working with the third sector to do that – remains unchanged.

I want to begin by thanking you for all the work that you do, with us in government, to ensure that we provide the best possible services to children, young people and their families.  

In the Local Government White Paper, published last year, we outlined a shift in the way we deliver services, which was also underlined in the Third Sector Strategy. There were two changes in particular:

One was a decisive shift in control of service provision, away from central government, towards local government and local communities. Local solutions to local problems; local providers meeting local needs.

The other was a change in the role of local authorities  - to commissioner, not necessarily provider. Finding services that truly meet people’s needs is a very difficult job – every parent, every child, every family – is different.

So that change was in recognition of the fact of how much other organisations and other sectors have to offer.

The third sector has a crucial role to play in designing, developing and  delivering services.

One of its great assets is that it is close to the people it serves. Because the majority of the work is frontline – with children, young people and families – third sector organisations have a strong sense of what people need.

That expertise can and must be tapped by local authorities when planning and commissioning services, the third sector should be consulted and that expertise about what people are saying they need tapped.

And we in central government have got to make the most of that expertise too. I’m delighted that many third sector organisations had their say in the recent Time to Talk consultation. We’ve listened very carefully to those views, which will form the basis of the forthcoming Children’s Plan, setting out how we intend to improve children’s services over the next 10 years. 

But the third sector’s role extends beyond sage counsel. Your organisations are also invaluable delivery partners.

When working well, third sector provision is innovative, efficient, and aimed at the precise needs of those it’s serving. And it can deliver right across the spectrum of public policy.

I think there are 3 ways in particular where the third sector can offer something unique.

The first is that it adds something innovative and broadens choice. The effect of that is that you get something that parents and young people choose themselves, and is therefore more directly in tune with what they want.

A good example is childcare provision. Through the Childcare Act, there is now a duty on local authorities to secure sufficient childcare – secure it, not always to provide it themselves – to look at what’s available locally and what can best meet people’s needs.

Where third sector organisations want to engage in delivering services, we are keen that there should be no unnecessary barriers in their way.

So local authority commissioning processes must be open and transparent, effective and fair.

The second area where the third sector is already making an enormous contribution is in social enterprise.

Young people are reaping the returns of these projects through learning what its like to run a business and gaining all of those important skills, but also being able to give something back at the same time, whether that’s an environmental contribution, a human service, or whatever. 

Across Government we are increasingly aware of the enormous value social enterprise solutions can bring to some of society’s most entrenched social and environmental challenges, like the Eden project, the Big Issue, and Café Direct to cite a few examples.

Our commitment is reflected in the 2006 Social Enterprise Action Plan, which set out our vision to foster a stronger social enterprise culture across society, to provide better information and advice for running social enterprise, to improve funding and to make it easier for social enterprises to work with Government.  

The third area where the third sector is providing a unique service is through the many sources of support its organisations provide to so many individuals directly.

Like Childline for instance, which counselled 42,632 children alone between 1^st March and 31^st May this year. Or National Children’s Homes, which helps over 178,000 children, young people and their families through its national network of projects.

For many, those services are lifelines. And people feel comfortable using them, perhaps more than they would if they were a government service or a private business.

The Government is fully committed to supporting those vital services, and that support is reflected in the excellent partnership working that exists between members of the third sector, local authorities, officials in my department, and right across government.

So we’re in no doubt about the importance of the role that the third sector will play as we look ahead to the Children’s Plan and how we develop children’s services in the future.

The question for us is how we help you do that. I see the solution in the Compact, in continuing consultation, and in the funding we are providing – to support existing third sector services, and to get new organisations on board.

The most recent Third Sector Review showed unprecedented consultation with the sector, and strong support for the Compact.

But we’re not there yet, and we need to continue to support the Commission for the Compact to look at areas where it could be strengthened.

I know that this organisation has felt in the past that the Compact should have statutory backing in order for it to have full effect. We will continue to look at whether there is evidence for that backing through our review processes, with the Commissioner and with the sector, although change before the end of the Commissioner’s first three-year term is unlikely.

We’re also looking at other ways in which we can strengthen our partnership with the third sector and continue our dialogue with you.

In a speech this morning, Beverley Hughes mentioned a consultation that we will launch later this month, asking how we can work better together – across sectors – to deliver better services to young people.

The consultation is called the Call to Evidence.

It will seek the views of who are currently working with young people, people representing organisations that work in the sector, or indeed people representing bodies that might be able to offer future services in the youth sector.

Trying to encourage new links with the third sector, and get new people on board with their views about how this relationship can work better in the future is a vital part of taking this forward.

The consultation will look at issues like whether third sector organisations are getting the advice and support they need; and whether local authorities are getting what they need to be able to commission services in the most fair and effective way.

I’m also happy to say, it is running for the full 3 months and is therefore Compact-compliant...

Most importantly, there is unprecedented investment in children’s services, some of which is targeted at the third sector, and some of which is open, to be won by the organisation that can provide the best service, whichever sector it falls in.

As part of our Ten Year Youth Strategy, for example, we are committed to investing in new ways of working with the voluntary and community sector so that we can expand existing good work and provide more opportunities to more young people.

There are plans to launch a second Young People’s Fund, of £76m, for third sector organisations to develop youth-led projects.

In July, in Aiming High for Young People, we announced investment of up to £100m over the next 3 years to secure sustainability and support growth of third sector youth organisations with a track record of working effectively with the most disadvantaged young people.

From 2008 we will invest to build the capacity of third sector organisations to support young people who have good ideas for projects and positive activities.

And we will invest over the next three years to build the capacity of third sector organisations that have a proven ability of good partnership working with Local Authorities to support marginalised young people to influence services – to make their voices heard.

But, as I said, there are also large pots of money that are there for open bidding, and will be awarded to the organisation that can provide the best service.

We are also currently going through this year’s allocation process for the Children and Young People’s Grants. We will be announcing the results of that process soon, but I do want to say that the quality of applications this year has been extremely high.

One of the other things that has struck me was the number of applications for one year grants this year, for projects that are just getting off the ground and need to be tested out...

It’s great to see so much innovation – one of the third sector qualities I talked about at the beginning of the speech.

At the same time, for commissioned services, we are working to offer a 3 year funding structure, to give organisations greater sustainability.  Far more of our work, both centrally and through Local Authorities, will be commissioned through contracts, with precision in the brief, and deliverables that we can measure.

I’m also pleased that the Children’s Fund will be continued for a further three years at £132 million per annum, which will provide further opportunity for third sector organisations to provide services, subject to the competition.

So I want to conclude by saying that we’ve all got a job to do here as we look to, and beyond, the next 10 years of improving children’s services.

Local authorities need to sit up and take notice of the opportunities that the third sector can offer when they’re planning their services; third sector organisations need to continue their drive to make sure that the services they’re offering are of the highest quality, and that their bids make local authorities recognise that work;

And government needs to make sure we’re working in partnership with the third sector to provide the best services we possibly can.

I look forward to working with you in the future.