VCS CEO LEADERSHIP NETWORK

An early start this morning with a breakfast meeting of the Voluntary and Community Sector Chief Executive Officers (VCS CEO) Leadership Network. We're meeting at Apex Works, Charles Street AT 0745.

I've mentioned before that we don't have a Chief Executive Officer at Leicester Council of Faiths. It would be daft if we did, with only 1.5 full time equivalent (FTE) staff (and the likely CEO being the 1). However, not all the organisations involved in this network (certainly not all of those here this morning) have someone with the actual title of CEO, so I'm not the only one in this position (also, I've got the agreement and support of our Chair to do this).

As well as ourselves, there are 13 VCS organisations represented here this morning (an increase on 10 at the last one):

• Apex
• Care and Repair
• Centre Project
• Community Advice and Law Service
• Emerald Centre
• Focus
• Giving World Online
• Leicestershire Aids Support Service (LASS) 
• LeicestHER Day Trust
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicestershire Community Projects Trust
• Lighthouse Learning
• Stride

Four items dominate our agenda:

• ongoing consultation on Leicester City Council's budget (especially as it affects the VCS)
• shadowing arrangements involving our CEOs and elected members and relevant officers of Leicester City Council (not really suitable for the Council of Faiths to take part in this)
• report of a working group on creation of an online information super portal for Leicester (I'm on this group, but was in Glasgow the only time it met)
• non-competitive tendering (a working group was set up to develop this and make a preliminary report to our next meeting in January)

I take a few minutes at the end to speak about Inter Faith Week; All those present take away multiple copies of the flyer for their own staff, volunteers and service users or to display at their premises. I also mention the next meeting of Cathedral AM, at which the City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, is the guest speaker. No one here has heard of Cathedral AM before or been to one of its meetings. I extend an invitation to everyone, as the next  meeting would suit members of this group.

We finish bang on 0930 - just in time for me to dash down to Humberstone Gate eand catch the bus to the Towers, where I have a meeting scheduled half an hour later with Abida Hussain.