The public service landscape is changing and fast - and not always in ways that the voluntary and community sector would wish to see. Some services are simply disappearing and others are being altered beyond recognition.

We do need better public services - of that there is no doubt. However, I am not convinced that many of the prescriptions in "Better Public Services" will deliver them.

The UK is not a favoured destination for Romanians and Bulgarians, with Spain, Italy and Germany more attractive to prospective migrants. However, there is still considerable uncertainty, since migration is highly dependent on economic, political and social factors in sending and potential host countries.

Bulgarians and Romanians immigrants are likely to have only a "modest" impact on public services, according to a report published on Friday. Resear...

My strategic advice to the sector, is to seek to find common cause with local government to make the case to central government to stop or at least mitigate the impact of further cuts; to expose the human and financial implications of the Government's welfare 'reforms'; and to argue for greater localism with more devolved responsibility and resources to localities.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report on the Work Programme, which was published last week, is the latest in a series of academic, analytical and media critiques which have demonstrated that the Programme has not lived up to its promise - or at least the promise of Ministers.

Collaborate will be a hub of new ideas, ground breaking policies and leading-edge practice; a centre of leadership and skills development; and a forum for conversation, debate and problem-solving between the business, social and public sectors.

Is it just me, or does it seem rather strange, not to say inappropriate, to regard the provision of public services as monopolies that need to be broken up? And is it not a logical next step from this idea is to regard government itself as a monopoly that needs to be broken-up?

The hope and confidence that the government's commitment to the 'Big Society' offered to the VCS in 2010 has ebbed away to be replaced by a cynical dismissal of what now seems to have been little more than rhetoric rather than an substantial set of policies.

I have had many years' experience of as a trustee and have also been a senior executive in a major charity advising and supporting trustees. Whilst no two situations are the same, there are many general lessons that can be drawn from the collective experience across charities of various sizes and with varying missions.

Whether it's shopping, working or paying bills, our daily lives are increasingly taking place online. Yet as things go digital, there's a risk that older people in Britain, like my dear mother, may get left behind.

There has perhaps never been a more important time for the voluntary and community sector since 1945 than today. It has a duty to show the necessary strategic vision, imagination, leadership, values, and above all, courage to stand up and make a difference.

Over the last few decades, there has been an increasing trend to contract businesses to deliver public services. This trend, of course, goes back decades and indeed centuries but began to accelerate during Mrs Thatcher's Government and continued at an even greater pace during Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's thirteen years.

The Wall Street Journal headline "Look Who's Embracing Privatization--Big City Democrats" on 6th July was certainly eye catching to one who has been involved, studied and commentated on public-private partnerships in the UK for over 25 years.

Child poverty fell by over 100,000 children during the previous government for the simple reason they put money into the pockets of the poorest and they made work pay. Poverty is the single biggest determinant of positive outcomes for children in health, education and achieving success in employment.

All of the social and charity can benefit from investment - it just has to be the right type of investment for each organisation.

The current debate on transparency of senior politicians' tax returns is gaining momentum. It is perhaps inevitable that the UK follow the practice in the US and many other countries whereby tax returns of those seeking or holding elected public office are published. It is equally conceivable that some nations within the UK will get there ahead of others.