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IDeA to train 2,000 local commissioners on involving the third sector in delivering services – Ed Miliband

Ed Miliband, Minister for the Third Sector, announced today that the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) will run a £2million programme to help local authorities harness the potential of the third sector to improve people's lives.

Working as a delivery partner with the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office, the IDeA will work with 2,000 commissioners from across the public sector – including staff in Jobcentre Plus, health authorities, the National Offender Management Service and local councils.

The programme aims to build understanding at a local level of third sector organisations and the unique benefits they can bring to the design and delivery of services.

The National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning – which was first announced in last December's Partnership in Public Services action plan – will receive strategic direction from a steering group including representatives from the third sector and government.

Ed Miliband, Minister for the Third Sector, said:

“To bring about genuine culture change we must foster greater understanding – particularly at local level – of the benefits third sector organisations can bring in delivering services that change people's lives for the better.

“With their proven track record of working with local organisations to achieve practical improvements in services, I am delighted to welcome IDeA on board as a partner in shaping and delivering this important programme.”

Lucy de Groot, Executive Director of IDeA, said:

“Councils and the wider public sector know that the third sector is crucial to meeting the ambitions local communities have for their future. That's why the IDeA is so pleased to be partnering with the Office of the Third Sector to improve our capacity to deliver that future together.”

Notes to editors:

1. For more information about this programme or the OTS, please contact Campbell McDonald or Stephen Coomber on 020 7276 0317.
2. For more information about the IDeA, please contact Jess Koslow on 020 7296 6144, or go to: http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=1[External website]
3. Partnership in Public Services: an action plan for third sector involvement was published alongside the Pre–Budget Report on 6 December 2006, and aims to remove barriers to third sector organisations wishing to become involved in delivering and designing public services. For further information see: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/public_service_delivery/
4. In recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy, the Prime Minister created the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) in May 2006 to drive forward the Government's role in supporting a thriving third sector, and join up sector–related work across government (Office of the Third Sector website)

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