05 January 2011

The new National Compact, the agreement which governs relations between the Government and civil society organisations in England, has been published.

It is shorter and more focused than the previous agreement and aims to create the right environment for partnership working. It is also backed by a set of accountability and transparency measures which detail how government can be held accountable and what options are in place for when things go wrong. This includes:

• Breeches of the Compact can be investigated by the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Local Government Ombudsman
•  The National Audit Office will conduct a review into the effectiveness of the Compact to identify good practice and areas for improvement

•  From 2012/13 Government departments will be required to include a statement on how the Compact is being implemented in their business plans.

You can read the full Compact here.

The Accountability and Transparency Guide is available here.

More information about the Compact in general is available from Compact Voice.