A snapshot of policy updates.
Greater Manchester Live Well.
Funding has been announced for investment in district ‘live well’ centres and employment and skills. £566,475 is being invested in a ‘Get Britain Working Health and Wealth Trailblazer’ at least 50% of which will come to the voluntary sector. Look out for updates in future issues and at network meetings. See our Live Well explainer below!
Families First Partnership Programme
In March the government published new guidance for safeguarding partners in England. The aim is to shift the children’s social care system towards earlier intervention. Changes will include family group decision making , multi-agency child protection teams and strengthening the role of education in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. You can find more information on the impact in Oldham here.
2025 Spending Review
Government spending plans are likely to impact charities working on the frontline as they begin to see shifts in need resulting from the funding decisions that have been made. For example the extension of free school meals to all children in households on Universal Credit and reinstatement of Winter Fuel payments to those with an income up to £35,000 could support communities, however welfare cuts elsewhere (under debate at the time of writing) may shift tens of thousands of disabled people and those with long term health conditions into poverty.
Areas expecting investment include youth services, social and affordable housing, health services, skills development, children’s social care and SEND support, probation reform. However, local government funding remains under strain.
The government has committed to multi-year funding allocations for local authorities moving forward which could support commissioning and funding processes.
Green New Deal Strategy
Oldham Green New Deal Delivery Partnership are starting procurement of a ‘Strategic Energy Partner’ deliver low carbon energy infrastructure. The Carbon Coop are currently developing a community partnership to ensure the interests and wishes of communities are central in these processes and within developing social value. Contact eleanor@carbon.coop if interested to find out more.
UK Supreme Court Ruling on Equality Act 2010 gender definition.
We aim to provide advice for our member organisations on the ruling and what it means legally and practically for local charities and service providers, including those who support service users and those who manage venues. It is a complex ruling and we will not be publishing guidance until the EHRC consultation closes and further information on the impact of the judgment is given. It’s important to note that the current EHRC guidance is non-statutory, meaning service providers and employers are not currently required to make any changes to their normal ways of working, although they may want to begin having discussions about what action they would take if the current proposed Code of Practice comes into effect. Find out more here.
Changes to Healthwatch
On Monday, 7 July, the Government published the Dash review, which recommends transferring the functions of Healthwatch England to the Department of Health, and transferring the functions of local Healthwatch into Integrated Care Boards (ICB) and local authorities. We will update in future bulletins as we learn more about what this means for Healthwatch Oldham.
English devolution white paper
Published in December ‘24 the devolution white paper proposes additional powers being devolved to the regions and the creation of ’strategic authorities’ for areas of larger populations. Because of the existing Greater Manchester Combined Authority and GM Mayoral functions restructure of GM is not expected. | 
