It’s UK Budget day so the rather lacklustre finance minister is eager to burnish his credentials lest he might get the top job next door in Downing Street one day. At least it is good for SIBs even if his overall economic stewardship is highly average.
UK Budget 2016: George Osborne Makes £110m Pledge To Help Homeless People
Joe Murphy – Evening Standard
George Osborne is to spend more than £110 million in today’s Budget on a drive to end the scandal of rough sleeping in London and other cities.
The Chancellor will champion a series of new measures, aimed particularly at the capital, to provide a better safety net for vulnerable people in danger of being forced onto the streets.
It includes £100 million for 2,000 accommodation places for rough sleepers who have been taken into homelessness crisis centres and are ready to move on.
Another £10 million over two years will support projects to prevent people having to sleep in the open air and rescue those who fall through the cracks.
Funding will be doubled for the “rough sleeping social impact bond” announced in the Spending Review to raise money for innovative new projects for helping the long-term homeless.
UK Government Unveils 2016 Social Investment Strategy
Ellie Ward – Pioneers Post
Ahead of today’s budget the government has set out its vision to make the UK a ‘global hub’ for social investment in two strategy documents.
The documents, published by the Cabinet office at the end of last week, focus on the government’s plans to develop the social investment market in the UK and ensure that the UK remains a global leader in this field.
In the Social investment: a force for social change 2016 strategy publication, Minister for Civil Society Rob Wilson wrote: “We have ambitious plans for social investment over this Parliament and it remains a crucial element in the creation of a bigger, stronger society… Social investment can accelerate the growth of new businesses, transforming the impact of our public services, and support stronger communities to tackle the social challenges that they face.
“It has the power to transform lives and I am more committed than ever to helping social investment achieve its full potential.”
The second of the two reports focusses on the UK’s position globally. The strategy to ensure the UK remains a leader in social investment internationally will be delivered through policy and communications projects involving the Cabinet Office’s social investment team, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Council and the Department for International Development.
A dedicated social economy GREAT Britain communications campaign will be launched in targeted markets, efforts to embed awareness of social investment opportunities into UKTI’s existing activity will be made and further conferences, targeted roundtables and policy dialogues will be hosted. The government has selected 10 key markets in which to focus its attention, including the USA, Canada, Bangladesh, France and New Zealand.