Support for farmers' cooperatives: EU synthesis and comparative analysis report: policy measures

In order to foster the competitiveness of the food supply chain, the European Commission is committed to promote and facilitate the restructuring and consolidation of the agricultural sector by encouraging the creation of voluntary agricultural producer organisations. To support the policy making process DG Agriculture and Rural Development has launched a large study, “Support for Farmers’ Cooperatives (SFC)”, that will provide insights on successful cooperatives and producer organisations as well as on effective support measures for these organisations. These insights can be used by farmers themselves, in setting up and strengthening their collective organisation, and by the European Commission in its effort to encourage the creation of agricultural producer organisations in the EU. Within the framework of the SFC project this EU synthesis and comparative analysis report - Policy Measures has been written. Data collection for this report has been done in the summer of 2011. In addition to this report, the SFC-project has delivered 27 country reports, a report on policies for cooperatives in non-EU OECD countries, 8 sector reports, 5 other EU synthesis and comparative analysis reports, 33 case studies, a report on cluster analysis, and a final report

The Equator Principles: The Voluntary Approach to Environmentally Sustainable Finance

This article considers the Equator Principles, a voluntary code for environmentally responsible project financing by commercial and investment banks. The value of voluntary environmental approaches is increasingly recognised in the European Union, and in its Sixth Environment Action Programme, the European Commission advocated a voluntary initiative with the financial sector to promote harmonised standards for green lending and investing. The article begins by explaining the broader relevance of financial institutions to sustainable development. The nature and effectiveness of voluntary environmental measures to engage the private sector is canvassed before looking at the Equator Principles in detail. The article explains what the Principles demand of lenders, assesses their implementation, and makes some observations on their adequacy for the promotion of environmentally sustainable finance

The Equator Principles: The Voluntary Approach to Environmentally Sustainable Finance

This article considers the Equator Principles, a voluntary code for environmentally responsible project financing by commercial and investment banks. The value of voluntary environmental approaches is increasingly recognised in the European Union, and in its Sixth Environment Action Programme, the European Commission advocated a voluntary initiative with the financial sector to promote harmonised standards for green lending and investing. The article begins by explaining the broader relevance of financial institutions to sustainable development. The nature and effectiveness of voluntary environmental measures to engage the private sector is canvassed before looking at the Equator Principles in detail. The article explains what the Principles demand of lenders, assesses their implementation, and makes some observations on their adequacy for the promotion of environmentally sustainable finance

What does the new charities (protection and social investment) act mean for the voluntary sector?

The Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 was passed this year, and introduced a range of measures including the empowerment of the Charities Commission to ‘crack down’ on potential abuses of the sector from financial abuses. Here, Nicole Bolleyer and Anika Gauja look at the practical impact of the legislation, and ask what the bill means for the voluntary sector

Possible approaches to benchmarking voluntary health insurance funds in Bulgaria

Following the adoption of the Health Insurance Law in Bulgaria (1999), which provided the legal framework for the development of the voluntary health insurance, several health insurance funds had been established. Bulgaria had two licensed voluntary health insurance funds in 2001; in 2003 their number grew to six; and in 2009 this number stands over twenty. Despite the increased number of funds in recent years, their share of healthcare spending stayed at 1-1.5%, which is below European average. To this date, there are no serious and profound studies in the field among the scientific community in Bulgaria. The economic data published by the Commission of Financial Surveillance (CFS), conforms to EC regulations, but do not allow non-specialists to assess realistically voluntary health insurance funds (VHIF). This article introduces a methodology for comparing VHIF and establishment of a complex index (Benchmark Index - BI) based on 5 groups of indicators, related to several available variables. This index is intended as a tool for analyzing the voluntary health insurance sector and managing resources through a set of analytic indicators and variables. It can be used to create a certain type of ranking of VHIF.voluntary health insurance, market, comparing methods, benchmark index

Charity Scotland summary document: the report of The Scottish Charity Law Commission

Members of the Scottish Charity Law Commission were asked to review the law relating to charities in Scotland and to make recommendations on any reforms considered necessary. In taking forward the review the Commission considered the following: the structure of regulation and support for the charitable sector in Scotland; the operational effects of Scottish legislation on charities of all types and size, bearing in mind the need to encourage voluntary and charitable activity and the contribution which the voluntary sector makes to the social economy; how best to provide the charitable sector with definitive advice and information; the requirement to protect the public, ensuring high standards among charities but at the same time avoiding over-burdensome administrative requirements; whether in addition to reform, the law should also be consolidated

Sector skills insights : construction

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills is a social partnership, led by Commissioners from large and small employers, trade unions and the voluntary sector. Our mission is to raise skill levels to help drive enterprise, create more and better jobs and promote economic growth. Our strategic objectives are to: • Provide outstanding labour market intelligence which helps businesses and people make the best choices for them; • Work with businesses to develop the best market solutions which leverage greater investment in skills; • Maximise the impact of employment and skills policies and employer behaviour to support jobs and growth and secure an internationally competitive skills base. These strategic objectives are supported by a research programme that provides a robust evidence base for our insights and actions and which draws on good practice and the most innovative thinking. The research programme is underpinned by a number of core principles including the importance of: ensuring ‘relevance ’ to our most pressing strategic priorities; ‘salience ’ and effectively translating and sharing the key insights we find; internationa

User involvement in regulation: A qualitative study of service user involvement in Care Quality Commission inspections of health and social care providers in England

Background High profile failures of care in the NHS have raised concerns about regulatory systems for health‐care professionals and organizations. In response, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the regulator of health and social care in England overhauled its regulatory regime. It moved to inspections which made much greater use of expert knowledge, data and views from a range of stakeholders, including service users. Objective We explore the role of service users and citizens in health and social care regulation, including how CQC involved people in inspecting and rating health and social care providers. Design We analyse CQC reports and documents, and 61 interviews with CQC staff and representatives of groups of service users and citizens and voluntary sector organizations to explore the place of service user voice in regulatory processes. Results Care Quality Commission invited comments and facilitated the sharing of existing service user experiences and engaged with representatives of groups of service users and voluntary sector organizations. CQC involved service users in their inspections as “experts by experience.” Information from service users informed both the inspection regime and individual inspections, but CQC was less focused on giving feedback to service users who contributed to these activities. Discussion and conclusions Service users can make an important contribution to regulation by sharing their experiences and having their voices heard, but their involvement was somewhat transactional, and largely on terms set by CQC. There may be scope for CQC to build more enduring relationships with service user groups and to engage them more effectively in the regulatory regime

Charitable according to whom ? The clash between Quebec’s societal values and the law governing the registration of charities

In the course of considering the public’s views on the accommodation of cultural minorities in Quebec, the Bouchard-Taylor Commission has produced a valuable record of the views held by Quebec’s voluntary sector organizations, and the societal values that are important to Quebec. In particular, it has underlined Quebec’s strong commitment to three broad public objects — the advancement of the French language and Quebec culture, the encouragement of interculturalism, and the promotion of secularism — that are not recognized as charitable objects under the common law.The Bouchard-Taylor Commission has therefore provided a timely and relevant backdrop against which to consider the real-life implications of using the common law of charitable trusts to give meaning to the statutory concept of charity (bienfaisance) in Quebec. Based on her observations of the Commission experience, the author suggests that the disjuncture between the law demarcating Quebec’s charitable sector and the social context within which the sector operates has become significant enough to merit a reconsideration of this longstanding approach.La consultation publique tenue par la Commission de consultation sur les pratiques d’accommodement reliées aux différences culturelles au Québec (commission Bouchard-Taylor) a permis de recenser les points de vue de plusieurs organismes bénévoles oeuvrant au Québec, tout en révélant les valeurs sociales les plus importantes partagées par l’ensemble des Québécois. En particulier, cette consultation a mis au jour l’importance accordée à trois grands objets d’intérêt public — la promotion de la langue française et de la culture québécoise, l’encouragement de l’interculturalisme et l’affirmation de la laïcité — qui ne sont pas reconnus comme des objets charitables selon la common law.La commission Bouchard-Taylor intervient à point nommé et fournit les données contextuelles pertinentes à partir desquelles il est possible de réfléchir aux enjeux réels pour le droit québécois de se référer à la common law des fiducies charitables afin de donner un sens à la notion d’organisme de bienfaisance au sens de la Loi sur les impôts. À partir de son observation des travaux de la commission Bouchard-Taylor, l’auteure suggère que la rupture est si importante entre le droit qui délimite la catégorie des organismes de bienfaisance et le contexte social au sein duquel se trouvent ces organismes qu’il conviendrait de reconsidérer l’approche actuelle, maintenant fort ancienne

Devolution or divergence? Third Sector policy across the UK since 2000

Since the end of the last century the United Kingdom has been a less united country than it was. In 1999 a separate Scottish Executive (from 2007 the Scottish Government) and Welsh Assembly Government were established, followed later by a new Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, based on a power sharing agreement known from its date in 1998 as the ‘Good Friday Agreement’. A number of key policy making powers were devolved from Westminster to these new administrations; these include policy on and support for third sector activity in the different countries. Since 2000 therefore there have in effect been four separate policy regimes within the UK focused on the activity and organisation of third sector organisations, although, compared to the greater levels of regional devolution existing in many other developed industrial nations, the UK remains a largely centralised state in both political and policy terms. This paper explores some of the key implications of this recent devolution and examines the extent to which it has led to a divergence in policy development and delivery – asking the question, to what extent has devolution led to a divergence in third sector policy regimes across the UK