The Third Sector Scheme is unique in the UK. It legislates for Welsh Government to engage with the third sector.

WCVA facilitates the engagement under this scheme through biannual meetings with each Minister, plus meetings of the Third Sector Partnership Council.

On this page you’ll find information about the Third Sector Scheme and the Third Sector Partnership Council and Ministerial Meetings, some of our mechanisms for the sector to access government.

For information about current consultations from the Senedd, Welsh Government and others, and an archive of WCVA’s responses to consultations, please visit our consultations page.

THE THIRD SECTOR SCHEME

The Third Sector Scheme is a statutory piece of legislation setting out how Welsh Government and the voluntary sector will work together and communicate with one another.  

It offers the sector formal routes for talking to Government and raising the concerns of our members and service users. These include biannual meetings with the Third Sector Partnership Council, as well as biannual ministerial meetings between sector networks and each Welsh Government Minister. These meetings are among the key tools the sector uses to influence Welsh Government.

THE THIRD SECTOR PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL

The Third Sector Partnership Council (TSPC) is a key mechanism for voluntary organisations to talk to, and hear from, Welsh Government.

It’s chaired by Jane Hutt MS and is made up of representatives of voluntary sector networks working across 25 areas of sector activity along with Lindsay Cordery-Bruce, Chief Executive of WCVA.

The main purpose of the TSPC is to make sure that the principles set out in the Third Sector Scheme are put into practice. It also provides an opportunity for the sector to raise issues of interest or concern.

Elections to the TSPC take place every five years. Current members and the networks they represent are:

Name Area of interest Network
Helene Hayes Advice and Advocacy Independent Advice Providers Forum
David Bowles Animal Welfare Animal Welfare Network for Wales
Gareth Coles Arts, Culture and Heritage Creative Lives (Formerly Voluntary Arts Wales)
Andrea Cleaver Asylum Seekers and Refugees Welsh Refugee Council
Hugh Russell Children and Families Children in Wales
Chris Johnes Community Building Communities Trust
Bernie Bowen Thomson Community Justice Community Justice Cymru
Rhian Davies Disability Wales Disability Reference Group
Kathryn Robson Education and Training Adult Learning Wales
Owen Derbyshire Employment Keep Wales Tidy
Karen Whitfield Environment Wales Environment Link
Kofo Oladunjoye & Priscilla Addey-Blankson Ethnic Minorities Race Council Cymru
Selima Bahadur Ethnic Minorities Ethnic Youth Support Team (EYST)
Victoria Vasey Gender Women’s Equality Network Wales
Kate Young Health, Social Care & Wellbeing Health, Social Care and Wellbeing Planning Group
Ruth Power Housing Homes for All Cymru
Sheila Hendrickson Brown Local and Regional Intermediaries CVC Cymru
Hayley Morgan International Welsh Centre for International Affairs
Victoria Lloyd Older People Age Alliance Wales
Gethin Rhys Religion Interfaith Council for Wales
Davinia Green Sexuality Stonewall Cymru
Bethan Webber Social Enterprise Social Enterprise Network
Matthew Williams Sport and Recreation Welsh Sports Association
Eleanor Norton Volunteering Volunteering Wales Network
Richard Flowerdew Volunteering Volunteering Wales Network
Lowri Jones Welsh Language Mentrau Iaith Cymru
Paul Glaze Youth Council for Wales Voluntary Youth Services
Lindsay Cordery-Bruce WCVA Chief Executive WCVA representative

You can find the minutes from recent TSPC meeting here.

MINISTERIAL MEETINGS

As part of the Third Sector Scheme each Welsh Government Minister is committed to meeting with representatives of the relevant networks of voluntary organisations covering their areas of responsibility at least twice in any one calendar year. WCVA has responsibility for arranging at least two network planning meetings to prepare for each meeting, and also ensures that the issues raised from the voluntary sector are of broad relevance to the whole sector in order to maximise the effectiveness of the meetings.

MINISTERIAL PORTFOLIOS

Cabinet Secretaries

  • Eluned Morgan MS – First Minister
  • Mark Drakeford MS – Finance and Welsh Language
  • Jane Hutt MS – Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip
  • Huw Irranca-Davies MS – Deputy First Minister and Climate Change and Rural Affairs
  • Jayne Bryant MS – Housing and Local Government
  • Rebecca Evans MS – Economy, Energy and Planning
  • Jeremy Miles MS – Health and Social Care
  • Lynne Neagle MS – Education
  • Ken Skates MS – Transport and North Wales

Ministers

  • Julie James MS – Counsel General Designate and Minister for Delivery
  • Jack Sargeant MS – Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership
  • Dawn Bowden MS – Minister for Children and Social Care
  • Sarah Murphy MS – Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
  • Vikki Howells MS – Minister for Further and Higher Education

Other

  • Derek Walker – Future Generation Commissioner

Please contact policy@wcva.cymru for more information.

PAPERS FROM MEETINGS WITH THE PREVIOUS CABINET

Copies of papers from meetings with the previous Cabinet are available on request. Please email policy@wcva.cymru or call 0300 111 0124.

THE EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION

The Equality and Human Rights Coalition is a network to enable organisations who work in the equalities and human rights field to engage with each other, share information and good practice and influence policy which impacts on the experiences of people who face unequal and discriminatory treatment in Wales.

WCVA facilitates this network. Please contact Livia Pietromarchi for more information on policy@wcva.cymru or 0300 111 0124.