Durham Community Action are inviting Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations to take part in an important survey exploring the experiences of organisations supporting children, young people, and/or adults with needs and/or at risk.

This survey is a valuable opportunity for your organisation to:

• Share your experiences – highlight the successes and challenges you encounter in delivering support
• Shape future provision of information, training, and support – your feedback will help make improvements
• Strengthen the voice of the VCSE sector – ensuring that frontline knowledge informs system-wide understanding

Any type of community group or VCSE organisation can take part. For example, a small village hall hosting a toddler group, a community centre delivering a foodbank or a large VCSE organisation supporting adults with complex needs.

The survey should take no more than 10 to 16 minutes to complete. Every response will make a meaningful contribution to building a stronger, more responsive network of support for those who need it most.

Take part in the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2FK5RKW

Alternatively, you may wish to talk to Durham Community Action about your experience and feedback. Please contact Abby Weatherill abby.weatherill@durhamcommunityaction or call 01388 742040 to arrange an appointment.

Thank you for your time and commitment.

Residents of Stanhope Parish are being invited to take part in a Housing Needs Survey to help understand whether there is a need for more affordable housing in the area.

Durham Community Action is gathering feedback from people living in, working in, or connected to the parish. The aim is to understand whether local people are struggling to find suitable housing – whether that’s first-time buyers, people looking to downsize, or families wanting to return to the village.

The survey is open to all residents and those with a strong local connection to the parish.

Why take part?
Affordable housing is about making sure local people can continue to live and work in their community. Your response will help identify current and future housing needs, and guide future plans to support the community.

How to take part
Residents will have received a paper copy of the survey through the post, which can be returned using the Freepost envelope provided.

Alternatively, the survey can be completed online via this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RK82LP7

The deadline to complete the survey is Monday 30th September 2025.

Please share the survey with anyone you know who works in the parish or has had to move away due to housing – we want to hear from them too.

All responses are confidential and will be analysed by Durham Community Action. The results will help build a picture of housing needs in the parish and inform any next steps.

If you have any questions or would like an additional copy of the survey, please contact:

Susan Tron, Rural Housing Enabler
07496 461998
susan.tronmbe@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk

Rural areas like Teesdale face real challenges when it comes to electric vehicle charging such as limited infrastructure, low demand, and the high cost of installing and maintaining chargers.

For residents without off-street parking, switching to electric vehicles can seem out of reach. 

To tackle this, Rural Design Centre and Durham Community Action have secured funding from the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub to run an eight-month feasibility study.

The project is exploring installing Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) with Vehicle-to-Grid technology at five community spaces across Teesdale. 

Vehicle-to-Grid technology allows electric vehicles to charge, and also return power to buildings, supporting energy resilience and reducing grid pressure. 

The study will assess technical and financial viability, engage local communities, and explore flexible, affordable charging tariffs.

It also links to the development of Durham Community Energy Association Ltd (DEAL) — a new initiative delivering renewable energy and storage to community buildings across the region. 

Please share your thoughts:

Choose the site most relevant to you and fill in a short feedback form via the link below.

Complete the Middleton in Teesdale survey

Complete the Barnard Castle survey

Complete the Toft Hill and Etherley survey

Complete the Evenwood survey

Complete the Bowes survey

For more information, please email hilaryanderson@ruraldesigncentre.com 

Durham County Council's consultation and engagement platform, Let’s Talk County Durham, provides a space for people to be actively involved in local decision-making, deciding together what should happen.

By registering on the site, you can create your personalised account to make the most of its features and get alerts on subjects or geographical areas of interest to you.

Current consultations include the Council Plan 2025-2030, the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for working-age people, and Let's Move Together for a Healthier County Durham. 

Visit: www.letstalkcountydurham.co.uk  

The NHS has launched its first ever review to tackle health inequalities experienced by LGBT+ people, including access to mental health care, cancer screening and primary care services.

They are calling on academics, clinicians, public health professionals, local authorities, service providers, voluntary sector and other organisations to submit data which could help the analysis.

The deadline for submissions is 31st August.

Our next Share and Learn meeting will take place online on Thursday 18th September from 10.00 - 11.30am and will focus on  Accounting for Not for Profit Organisations, including the consultation around Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) and changes to submitting accounts to Companies House.

Look out for more information coming soon. 

Our Community Development Workshops will restart in September after the summer break.

The workshops are based on topics we regularly receive enquiries about and cover a range of issues, including safeguarding, completing funding applications, volunteer management, employing staff, GDPR, health and safety, trustee responsibilities, managing risk and community engagement. 

We have introduced two new Effective Volunteer Management workshops: the first workshop covers planning, recruitment and induction, and the second workshop covers supporting, developing and retaining volunteers.  

We are delighted to welcome back a range of funders and grant-giving organisations who have kindly offered to run a series of virtual funding information sessions for representatives of voluntary and community groups across County Durham.

We recommend you visit the organisation's websites ahead of booking places for more information on the types of grants and support offered to ensure these sessions are relevant to your organisation. 

The following sessions are taking place online:

• Wednesday 10th September 1.30 - 2.30pm BBC Children in Need
• Thursday 11th September 2.00 - 3.00pm National Lottery Heritage Fund
• Monday 15th September 10.30 - 11.30am The Clothworkers Foundation
• Monday 22nd September 10.30 - 11.30am The Ballinger Charitable Trust
• Monday 29th September 10.30 - 11.30am The Rothley Trust
• Monday 6th October 10.30am- 12.00noon Point North and Big Issue Invest/NECA Flexible Social Finance
• Monday 13th October 10.30 - 11.30am Easyfundraising

The National Lottery Energy Learning Network is hosting a series of webinars aimed at community organisations from the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector, which are free to attend. 

Making Your Community Building More Energy Efficient

Tuesday 9th September 10.30am - 12.00noon

This session will cover the basics of what is meant by energy efficiency, and what are the options for community organisations, key considerations and where to find support and funding. We will be joined by guest speakers from Raasay Carbon Neutral Island and Caxton House Community Centre to tell us about their experiences of retrofitting community buildings.

Delivering Energy Advice in the Community

Tuesday 4th November 10.30am - 12.00noon

This session will introduce why community-led energy advice and support is needed to tackle barriers to engagement and support underserved and fuel poor communities as well as able-to-pay households. The session will cover examples of energy advice activities, considerations and challenges to be aware of and options for funding and support. Guest speakers from Y Dref Werdd and Sustainable Clevedon will tell us about their experiences of providing energy advice in their communities.

In our latest blog, Julie Gourley, our County Durham Poverty Truth Commission Worker, looks at how we will know when we have reached empathy, a shared understanding and a mutual trust with the Civic Commissioners.

Read the blog here: County Durham Poverty Truth Commission Journey Journal - How will we know?

Going Green Together supports voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in the North East of England to become environmentally sustainable and take action on the climate emergency.

Join up for free to access to their new Sustainability Pathway and support programme. 

Your organisation will benefit from:

• Access to their tailor-made online sustainable pathway - guiding your organisation through planning and implementing environmental change
• 1-1 organisational support from their team to help you on your journey
• 12 months of subsidised access to the Investors in the Environment framework and the SmartCarbon calculator
• A network of peers for sharing support and knowledge, including regular events, workshops and training from the team at Going Green Together
• Monthly newsletters that include regional funding opportunities and events to enhance your work

The government has published its new Civil Society Covenant – a national commitment to improving relationships between government and civil society. The Covenant sets out how civil society and public bodies will work together at both national and local level in the future, to design policy that works for everyone. It recognises that voluntary sector partnerships often happen at the local level – with councils, health systems, and other public bodies – and sets out principles for how civil society should be respected, supported and involved in decision-making,

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has also announced a Local Covenant Partnerships Programme to support partnership working – including training, grant funding and capacity-building. A new mutual learning programme will also promote secondments between government and civil society to share knowledge and strengthen collaboration. 

You can read the Covenant here: Civil Society Covenant - GOV.UK      

You can also see NCVO’s response: Civil Society Covenant launched to reset partnership with government | NCVO

and NAVCA’s response: What the Civil Society Covenant means for local infrastructure

Locally, through the County Durham Together Partnership  we’ve been exploring how to best articulate local relationships between the VCSE and statutory partners, including discussions at June’s Better Together Forum which focussed on good grant making. We discussed the potential development of a local ‘VCSE Accord’; you can read the notes from this on our website:  BT-Policy-Forum-Notes-June2025-Final.pdf

A bold new action plan has launched to tackle child poverty in the North East.

Developed by the North East Combined
Authority, led by the North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, the Child Poverty Action Plan brings together voices from
across our region – parents, carers, young people and partner organisations.

The plan sets out a five-year roadmap to:

• Supporting families here and now – doing what we can together to help families maximise their incomes
• Breaking down the barriers to opportunity that poverty can bring – collectively investing more in giving babies, children and young people the best start in life
• Tackling longer-term, structural challenges – including those which will help to make work pay, and create the infrastructure of opportunity, for more families

Read the North East Child Poverty Action Plan here

Mobile phones in the UK will be sent a test Emergency Alert at around 3:00pm on Sunday 7th September 2025, as part of plans to strengthen the country’s preparedness.

The Emergency Alerts system is used to warn if there is a danger to life nearby, including extreme weather. It allows vital information and advice to be sent to people rapidly in an emergency.

During the test, mobile phones will vibrate and make a loud siren sound for roughly ten seconds, even if they are set to silent. A message will also appear on phone screens, making it clear the alert is only a test.

The test will be the second of its kind and follows a government commitment to test the system regularly to make sure it works optimally and familiarise the public with the alerts.

The Cabinet Office has produced a frequently asked questions document about the upcoming national Emergency Alert test taking place on 7 September

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have launched the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund which aims to support

• Innovative interventions to produce new knowledge on ‘what works’, building the evidence base on effective digital inclusion interventions
• Best practice with the ambition to scale and replicate successful activities across England to increase digital participation

Local authorities, combined authorities, charities, research organisations and consortiums can apply for grants from the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support digitally excluded people in England. Grants of £25,000 to £500,000 are available to fund projects of different sizes.

The Fund is a part of the Government's Plan for Change and signals our commitment to empowering communities through digital inclusion.

The application form, guidance document and other supporting documents are available here: https://find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/digital-inclusion-innovation-fund-2

Durham County Carers Support has received additional funding through the Household Support Fund to help unpaid carers in County Durham. This funding is available now and must be distributed before March 2026. 

This funding is intended to help carers facing financial hardship with essentials such as:

• Food
• Fuel (gas/electricity)
• White goods
• Other essential household needs
• Transport costs

They are particularly keen to support carers who may not have accessed financial help before, including:

• Hidden carers
• Carers who are working but on a low income
• Carers experiencing a sudden change in circumstances

If you are working with someone who is caring for a family member, friend, or neighbour, please do not hesitate to refer them Make a referral - Durham County Carers Support or encourage them to contact us directly.

If you would like to find out more about the Household Support Fund or wider carer support, please contact Emma Thompson on 0191 500 6011 or email emma.thompson@dccarers.org