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Capacity
All the resources available to an organisation. Includes people, money, equipment, expertise and information.
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - glossary

Capacity building
Activities that aim to increase the ability of the charity and voluntary sector to provide services or take action, mainly relating to the training and development of staff in both campaign and hands-on work, and related jobs such as financial management and information technology. Sometimes related to building the infrastructure of the sector through umbrella bodies and networking groups.
Useful link: Good Urban Institute (US) report on capacity building

Capital spending
Expenditure on new construction, land, improvements to existing property and the purchase of all other assets, such as computer hardware, that have an expected working life of more than one year.
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - capital finance

Capping
The government uses this mechanism to block what it regards as excessive increases in the council tax. Labour ministers have been less enthusiastic about using capping than their Tory predecessors, but they retain the power to do so.
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - council tax

Care management
This term, introduced in the NHS and Community Care Act 1990, refers to the management of the care of anyone in receipt of a care package.
See also: care package
Related articles
Useful link: NHS and Community Care Act 1990

Care manager
The person responsible for coordinating a care package to an individual or group of people. They can be a social worker or a community nurse.
See also: care package

Care order
A court order - provided under part VI of the Children Act 1989 - directing that a child be placed in the care of a specific local authority, and giving shared parental responsibility to that council. It is granted when a court decides that a child is suffering or might suffer significant physical or emotional harm or educational problems as a result of receiving poor care at home. A care order stops when an adoption order is made or lapses when a young person reaches 18.
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: Carelaw - a guide to the law for young people in care

Care package
A group of services brought together to achieve one or more objectives of a care plan.
See also: care plan
Related articles
Useful link: Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996 (DoH)

Care pathway
An approach to managing a specific disease or clinical condition that identifies at the outset what interventions are required and predicts the chronology of care and possibly the expected outcome of the treatment. The approach is designed to ease the passage of the patient by coordinating care through the healthcare system.
Related articles
Big issue: NHS quality and performance
Useful link: NHS care pathways database

Care plan
A plan to provide care services to an individual or family. The plan should follow an assessment at a case conference or review and involve service users, carers and their families, as well as all relevant professionals.
Related articles

Care programme
A detailed programme of care that contributes towards one of the goals of a care plan.
Related articles

Carer
A person who provides a substantial amount of care on a regular basis who is not employed to do so by an agency or organisation. A carer is usually a friend or relative looking after someone who is frail or ill at home.
Useful link: Carers UK

Care trust
Care trusts are local bodies responsible for delivering primary healthcare, community health services and social care for older people. Ministers believe care trusts will firmly integrate joint working between health and social care. The first trusts - developed from existing primary care trusts - will go live in April 2002.
Big issue: social care reform and performance
Related articles
Useful link: Department of Health - care trusts

Case closed (closed case)
A current case that appears on the social services department's records but for which there is no intention for further action to be taken unless a referral is made.

Case mix
Describes the mixture of clinical conditions - and severity of condition - found in a particular healthcare setting. An important factor in understanding clinical performance. Thus, a specialist heart surgery department might explain its higher than average mortality rates on "case mix" grounds - in other words that it has more complex and difficult cases than the norm.
Related articles
Big issue: NHS quality and performance

Case current (current case)
A case that requires action to be taken by social services. The initiative required can range from intensive casework and the provision of care to a decision and the administrative steps to close the case.

Cause related marketing
Businesses and charities link up to launch campaigns, or fundraising initiatives, using the power of the business's brand to improve the reach of the campaign. The partnership benefits the charity by increasing earnings, and the business by showing its community credentials, which in turn improves profits. The Tesco computers for schools campaign is an example.
See also: Business in the Community
Related articles
Useful link: Business in the Community guidelines for cause related marketing

Ceiling
Limits the funding increase a council can receive from the government every year. In 2002-3, it was set at 7% for councils that deliver education and social services, and at 10% for those that do not. The money saved through this mechanism helps pay for the funding floor.
See also: floor
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - finance settlement

Central-local partnership
Regular meeting of Local Government Association leaders and ministers, including those with education, crime and health briefs, to discuss policy issues.
Related articles
Useful link: Local Government Association - central-local partnerships

Challenge Fund
A government bid to ease the housing crisis in the south east by earmarking £200m in 2003/2004 for homes that could be built quickly. A quarter of the money was set aside for developments that used modern building techniques such as factory-built pods.
Related articles
Useful link: Housing Corporation - 2003-04 challenge fund (pdf)

Charitable foundation
An organisation, usually with a specific interest such as poverty, children or animals, that awards grants for specific projects in other charities and campaign groups, following a detailed application procedure. Trusts and foundations often grow out of business initiatives, or wealthy families and individuals, though they can also fundraise themselves. Some campaign organisations form "charitable arms" to enable them to exploit charitable status to pay for research and non-political campaigning.
See also: Association of Charitable Foundations
Big issue: charity finance
Useful link: useful statistics on charitable foundations

Charitable purpose
To register as a charity, an organisation must have purposes that are charitable. These have been defined via case law and by the charity commission over several years and include the relief of financial hardship, the advancement of education, the advancement of religion and other purposes for the benefit of the community. The draft charities bill sets out 12 charitable purposes and will open up charitable status to human rights organisations and amateur sports clubs for the first time.
Text of draft bill (pdf)
Big issue: charity reform
Useful link: charity commission on charitable purposes

Charities Aid Foundation (Caf)
UK based international body that helps non-government organisations and charities raise funds and manage their finances and resources. Campaigns on charity finance issues.
Big issue: charity finance
Useful link: Charities Aid Foundation

Charities Evaluation Service
Independent charity that provides quality audits, training and standards consultancy and other services for charities and voluntary organisations, helping to give an independent view of performance and increase accountability.
See also: accountability
Big issue: charity management
Useful link: Charity Evaluation Service

Charity commission for England and Wales
UK government organisation that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Can investigate complaints about charities and charitable status, and has legal powers including the removal of charitable status. Also provides support and information to charities.
See also: charity law
Big issue: charity reform
Useful link: charity commission for England and Wales

Charity law
Legal requirements for registered charities, many of which have been established or tested in the courts. Includes regulations on trustees, accounts and finances, campaigning and management.
See also: registered charity
Big issue: charity reform
Useful link: charity commission - operational guidance

Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH)
The professional body for people working in housing. It promotes housing and best practices in the sector and has a membership of more than 17,000 people. Full membership is achieved by passing housing exams approved by the institute, which also entitles housing professionals to use the suffix CIH after their names.
Related articles
Useful link: Chartered Institute of Housing - what is the CIH?

Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa)
Organisation that trains and accredits public sector accountants. Also produces research on public finance issues such as council tax and public-private partnerships.
Related articles
Useful link: Cipfa

Charter mark
An award for excellence in delivering a public service, administered by the Cabinet Office. Launched as part of former prime minister John Major's citizen's charter scheme.
Related articles
Useful link: Cabinet Office - charter mark

Childminders
People paid by parents to care for children in their own homes for more than two hours a day. Childminders are registered and annually inspected by local authority inspectors under the Children Act 1989 in England and Wales.
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: National Childminding Association

Child protection
As outlined in the Children Act 1989, child protection involves adults as much as children; parental responsibility and the appointment of guardians are key issues. Child protection covers residential and daycare, supervision orders, children in care and foster homes.
See also: Children Act 1989
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: Coventry city council - child protection guidance

Child protection case conference
This is a formal inter-agency meeting (with a social worker, health visitor, nursery worker, teacher, GP and police officer, etc) following an inquiry under section 47 of the Children Act to decide whether a child is at continuing risk of significant harm and should be placed on the child protection register.
See also: child protection review case conference
Big issue: children's services
Useful link: Coventry city council - child protection guidance

Child protection plan
A detailed inter-agency plan setting out what must be done to protect a child from further harm, to promote the child's health and development and, if it is in the best interests of the child, to support the family to promote the child's welfare. The plan is agreed in outline at the first child protection conference and developed by the key worker, core professionals and, where possible, the child and family.
See also: child protection
Big issue: children's services
Useful link: Coventry city council - child protection guidance

Child protection register
A case conference can decide to place a child on the register and make a child protection plan where there is concern for that child's physical and emotional well-being. This is a confidential list - held by social services - of every child in a local authority about whom there is serious concern of abuse or neglect. Registration aims to ensure that children and families are receiving necessary help, but it does not affect a parent's or guardian's legal responsibility towards their child.
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: Coventry city council - child protection guidance

Child protection review case conference
A review case conference is held within six months of a child being placed on the child protection register. The meeting should review the work being done with children and their family, and consider any developments, which may have decreased any risk to the children. The conference can recommend that the child's name be removed from the register if it is decided that he or she faces no further serious risk.
See also: child protection case conference
Big issue: children's services
Useful link: Coventry city council - child protection guidance

Children Act 1989
This act gives every child the right to protection from abuse and exploitation and the right to have inquiries made to safeguard their welfare. Its central tenet is that children are usually best looked after within their family, with both parents playing a full role and without having to resort to legal proceedings. Children should always be consulted about what will happen to them and their family should, where possible, continue to be part of their lives. The act came into force in England and Wales in 1991 and - with some differences - in Northern Ireland in 1996.
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: Department of Health - the Children Act 1989

Children and family court advisory and support service (Cafcass)
This body brings together the family court welfare service (formerly provided by the probation service), the guardians ad litem - now called children's guardians - and the children's branch of the official solicitor's department.
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: Cafcass

Children and young people's unit (CYPU)
The CYPU was set up by the government to join up cross-departmental policy on children's services. It has led the development of the government's overarching strategy for under-19s; it manages the Children's Fund, which provides services for families in deprived areas; and coordinates the local network fund, which provides investment for local community and voluntary groups that work with disadvantaged children.
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: children and young people's unit

Children in need
Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, these are children who are disabled, or because of their vulnerability (due to abuse, neglect, domestic violence, homelessness, etc) are unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health and development. The term also covers children whose health and development will be significantly impaired without the provision of support services.
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: Knowsley borough council - children in need

Children's guardians
An adult - but not a solicitor - appointed by a court to act on behalf of a child or young person in legal proceedings. Formerly known as guardians ad litem.
See also: children and family court advisory and support service
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: children and family court advisory and support service

Children's trust
Children's trusts are new organisations that will be piloted from late 2003 to plan, commission and finance children's services. They will bring together education, health and social services under the control of local authorities, which will either run them directly or contract them out to public interest companies. These trusts will be modelled loosely on care trusts, which provide integrated health and social services for older people and/or those with learning disabilities or mental health problems.
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: Department of Health - children's trusts

Choice based lettings
A government initiative aimed at ending the traditional points based system used by councils and housing associations to allocate homes to tenants. Under the project, which started in 2001, 27 councils are testing new ways to give tenants more of a consumer-style choice about where they are housed.
See also: Delft model
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - piloting choice-based housing lettings (pdf)

Chuggers, Chugging
See Face-to-face fundraising.

Citizenship
The government wants to encourage individuals, especially young people, to become "good citizens", characterised by volunteering or community service. The government believes citizenship involves being "informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens who are aware of their duties and rights". Citizenship programmes will become compulsory in secondary schools for 11 to 16-year-olds from September 2002.
See also: volunteer
Useful link: what is citizenship?

City manager
A powerful council chief executive who has control of the day to day running of a council in tandem with a directly elected mayor. One of the new political options for a council introduced in the Local Government Act 2000.
See also: directly elected mayor
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - modernising local government

Civil society
"The set of institutions, organisations and behaviour situated between the state, the business world, and the family," according to the London School of Economics. Includes voluntary and non-profit organisations, philanthropic institutions, social and political movements, and other forms of social participation and engagement.
See also: third sector
Useful link: London School of Economics - centre for civil society

Clinical governance
Initiative unveiled in December 1997 to improve and maintain clinical standards in trusts and GP surgeries throughout the NHS. It includes checks on risk avoidance, detection of adverse events and dissemination of good practice. Clinical governance is monitored by the commission for health improvement (CHI).
See also: CHI
Big issue: NHS quality and performance
Related articles
Useful link: Department of Health - clinical governance

Clinician
A health professional who is directly involved in the care and treatment of patients, for example nurses, doctors, therapists, midwives.
See also: clinical governance
Big issue: NHS staff
Related articles

Coalfields task force
Government regeneration committee that in a 1998 report set out plans to tackle the problems facing former coal mining communities after the collapse of the mining industry.
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - coalfields task force communities

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
A collection of therapies that aims to improve a person's mood by attempting to changing their behaviour and their thought processes. The therapist helps clients learn to identify the erroneous or destructive beliefs that cause their distress. The patient is encouraged to examine the evidence for and against their beliefs, to develop alternative ways of thinking, and develop coping strategies to reduce the adverse impact of negative thoughts. CBT is used to treat mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and schizophrenia.
Big issue: mental health
Related articles
Useful link: NHS Direct - CBT

Commission for architecture and the built environment (Cabe)
Government-funded design watchdog set up in 1999 to promote good architecture and improve the quality of public buildings in particular. One of its main tasks is review all major building projects and advise how they can be improved.
Big issue: urban design
Related articles
Useful link: about Cabe

Commission for health improvement (CHI)
National body set up in April 2000 to support and oversee the quality of governance and clinical services; to investigate failing trusts; produce an annual report on the state of the NHS, and publish the NHS "star rating" performance system.
See also: star rating
Big issue: NHS quality and performance
Related articles
Useful link: CHI

Commissioning
The process by which the needs of the local population are identified, priorities set, then appropriate services are purchased and evaluated.
Related articles
Useful link: Our Healthier Nation - glossary

Committee of the Regions (CoR)
Set up in 1994, the CoR is essentially a consultation forum for European Union policies that affect either local or regional authorities across the EU. It is effectively UK local government's voice in Brussels.
Related articles
Useful link: Local Government International Bureau - CoR

Committee system
Century-old system of running local government that has now been largely scrapped in favour of directly elected mayors and council cabinets. Under the committee system, a panel of councillors took decisions relating to a specific service such as education.
See also: directly elected mayors
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - committee system

Communities First, Wales
Initiative established by the national assembly for Wales that explores cross sector, multi-agency methods of creating policy and local service delivery involving the direct participation of the community. Involved in planning and developing the services so that social disadvantage and poverty are tackled most effectively at an area level.
Useful link: national assembly for Wales - what is Communities First?

Communities Scotland
The Scottish executive's regeneration and housing agency. It took over the role of Scottish Homes as regulator and funder of Scottish housing associations. It also coordinates Scotland's various social justice initiatives.
Related articles
Useful link: Who they are

Community care
The provision of services and support to people affected by problems such as ageing, mental health, learning disabilities or physical and sensory disability. The services are necessary for the individual to be able to live independently in their own home or in homely surroundings in the community - including residential and nursing homes.
Big issue: mental health
Related articles
Useful link: Social Care Association - glossary

Community chests
A £50m initiative aimed at helping hundreds of community groups get started in deprived areas by funding small purchases such as computers, a mini bus or the hire of meeting space. The three-year programme, which started in 2001, is limited to bids of £5,000.
Related articles
Useful link: Neighbourhood Renewal Unit - neighbourhood renewal community chests

Community councils
Locally-based charities or voluntary groups that have an interest in the well-being of their community. They consult the local community and make known to public bodies the views of local people on all matters affecting them. Local authorities have a duty to consult community councils on how local services are delivered and other issues affecting their neighbourhoods. Community councils are arranged according to issues in local areas. For example, local community health councils and rural community councils.
Useful link: Action with Communities in Rural England - good practice guide

Community empowerment fund
A £36m programme to help community and voluntary sector groups get involved in decisions about how public services are delivered in their area.
See also: local strategic partnerships
Related articles
Useful link: Neighbourhood Renewal Unit - community empowerment fund

Community forum
A sounding board of 20 community activists set up in 2002 to inform ministers and the neighbourhood renewal unit about the impact of policies to tackle problems in the most deprived areas.
Related articles
Useful link: neighbourhood renewal unit - community forum

Community foundation
Local area based grant-making trusts that derive their income in gifts from trusts, bequests, shares or property to create a permanent endowment. This is then used to award cash of long-term benefit to voluntary and community groups within their area, providing a sustainable flow of funds for local good causes. The 29 most established community foundations held £92m in assets and made grants of £22m in 2000.
Related articles
Useful link: about the community foundation for Greater Manchester

Community fund
See Big Lottery Fund.

Community governance
The involvement of local people and organisations in the way that government and public services are run in their area. It can range from standing for election to parish or district councils, to providing community managed services, or just having a say in local decisions.
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - guidance on enhancing public participation

Community housing taskforce
Unit within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister set up to help local authorities hive off their council homes to new forms of management.
Big issue: housing transfers
Useful link: overview - community housing task force

Community mental health team
Multidisciplinary teams made up of a mix of psychiatrists, social workers, community psychiatric nurses, psychologists and therapists. Provide assessment, treatment and care for individuals and groups with severe and enduring mental health problems outside hospitals.
Big issue: mental health
Useful link: World Health Organisation - guide to mental health in primary care

Community Sector Coalition
A network of national community development organisations. Members include National Association of Women's Organisations, the Federation of Independent Advice Centres and National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service.
See also: National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service
Useful link: list of members

Community strategy
Plans councils must draw up for improving the quality of life for local people. They must be completed with the help of businesses, voluntary groups and citizens.
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - community leadership

Community Support Officers (CSOs)
CSOs are uniformed civilian personnel, under the control of the police, who act as a link between local communities and the police. They will have a complementary role to police officers, tackling disorder and anti-social behaviour, carrying out routine patrols, making policing more visible, and providing reassurance to the public. Under the Police Reform Act 2002, CSOs will have powers to detain people for up to 30 minutes (but not arrest them), and can issue fixed penalty notices for dog fouling or cycling on the pavement.
Related articles
Useful link: police reforms bill (Home Office briefing note, pdf)

Community Transport Association (CTA)
National body for local organisations providing bus, minibus and other transport for voluntary, charity and public sector organisations. Provides training and information, and campaigns for minibus safety.
Related articles
Useful link: advice leaflets published by the CTA

Community treatment orders
Psychiatric patients released into the community who fail to take their medication face compulsory readmission to hospital under proposals unveiled in a government white paper to reform the 1983 Mental Health Act. Patients discharged from hospital would receive a compulsory care and treatment order specifying where they live and a care plan.
See also: compulsory treatment orders.
Big issue: mental health
Related articles
Useful link: Mind briefing

Compact
An agreement made by voluntary sector representatives and the government in 1998 covering the relationship between the two. Under the compact the government is committed to giving three months' notice of funding decisions and 12 weeks consultation, better feedback and statements on how proposed legislation will impact on the voluntary sector. The scheme has led to local compacts, and compacts on specific issues.
Related articles
Useful link: National Council for Voluntary Organisations - compact introduction

Comprehensive performance assessment (CPA)
Used to determine whether a council ranks as excellent, good, fair, weak or poor in the local government league table system introduced by a white paper in December 2001. The assessment is made up of performance indicator data, information from Whitehall inspectorates, a judgment on the state of a council's finances and an assessment of a council's managerial centre.
See also: performance assessment framework
Related articles
Useful link: local government white paper - Strong Local Leadership, Quality Public Services

Comprehensive spending review (CSR)
Treasury review of public sector spending across all Whitehall departments to examine productivity and plan expenditure over the medium term. They take place every three years and the next is due in Summer 2002. Priorities include: children at risk; public sector labour market; improving the public space; health inequalities; and the role of the voluntary sector in providing services.
Big issue: the future for public services
Related articles
Useful link: HM Treasury

Compulsory competitive tendering (CCT)
Regime that forced councils to let private sector companies bid to provide a range of local government services. Initially applied only to six blue-collar service areas, including cleaning staff and school meals. Later extended to take in a wider range of services, including some white-collar jobs. Superseded in 2000 by best value.
See also: best value inspection service
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - CCT

Compulsory purchase order (CPO)
The forced purchase of land or private property by a council for a greater public good such as a regeneration scheme. The value of the sale is set locally by the district valuer.
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - compulsory purchase and compensation

Compulsory treatment orders
Under proposals set out in the white paper to reform the 1983 Mental Health Act, doctors would be able to impose compulsory treatment orders on people with mental health problems whom, for whatever reason, had stopped taking their medication. Service users would have to go into hospital and be forced to take their drugs, or have their medication administed at home.
See also: community treatment orders
Big issue: mental health
Related articles
Useful link: Mind briefing on compulsory treatment

Connexions
All-encompassing youth service launched in April 2001 to replace the careers service and other statutory youth services. Aimed at giving 13 to 19 year-olds "the best transition to adulthood". Involves personal advisers going into schools, colleges and communities to steer young people towards goals and guide them to relevant services.
Related articles
Useful link: Connexions

Concordat
Agreement created between two or more organisations, often to help deliver a service or set out a formal relationship, for example between the NHS and private healthcare companies, or between local and central government.
Related articles

Conservation area
A planning term used to describe an area of special architectural or historic interest designated by local authorities. Within the area the council has extra controls over demolition, minor developments and the protection of trees.
Related articles
Useful link: English Heritage - conservation areas

Construction task force
Government committee chaired by Sir John Egan that produced the influential Rethinking Construction report. It called for an end to traditional bricks and mortar building in favour of modern techniques such as factory built homes. It also called for a new system of cooperative approach between clients and builders to avoid costly legal rows that have dogged many public building projects.
See also: Egan compliant
Big issue: urban design
Related articles
Useful link: Department for Trade and Industry - Rethinking Construction

Consultant
Consultants are highly trained senior doctors. It typically takes between 10 and 16 years to become a consultant, although this time period varies between specialties. The UK has around 25,000 consultants. They are contracted to work around 35 hours a week for the NHS, although the British Medical Association claims the average consultant spends 50 hours a week on NHS work. NHS consultants earn, on average, £68,000 a year, although they can earn more through private practice.
See also: house officer
and specialist registrar
Big issue: NHS staff
Related articles
Useful link: British Medical Association - consultants, a high quality service

Contact
Arrangements made for parents who are not looking after their children to have agreed meetings with them. Formerly known as access.
Big issue: children's services
Related articles
Useful link: family rights group

Continuous recordings (Core)
A system for collecting information on all new housing association lettings. It includes information on benefit dependency, rent levels and the ethnic origin of all new housing association tenants.
Related articles
Useful link: Core

Contract
A written agreement between a service user and the provider setting out the terms, conditions and rights and responsibilities of both parties.
Useful link: Social Care Association

Contracting out
The practice of purchasing services from charities and other organisations by local authorities and other statutory bodies. For example, local authority social services departments "contract out" meals-on-wheels services to charities and commercial organisations, paying them for the service rather than carrying it out themselves. The contracting out of public services to private companies for profit is a controversial issue in the sector.
See also: private finance initiative
Related articles
Useful link: National Council for Voluntary Organisations chief executive speech on voluntary sector and public services provision

Controls assurance
A process designed to enable NHS organisations to protect patients, staff, public and others against all kinds of risk.
See also: risk management
Big issue: NHS quality and performance
Useful link: Department of Health - controls assurance

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla)
Represents Scotland's 32 unitary authorities and helps to share and promote best practice in the country's councils.
Related articles
Useful link: Cosla

Cooperative
Organisation or business owned wholly by its employees or stakeholders, where the emphasis is on group decision making, usually on a one member, one vote system. Credit unions are an example of banking cooperatives. Usually based in local areas, members make regular contributions to the credit union, which is then able to make very cheap, small-scale loans to other members - usually for ethically sound, or sustainable projects.
See also: credit unions
Related articles
Useful link: about social enterprise

Core funding
The money required for operational, management and day to day costs of a charity. Without core funding for these activities, the charity would not be able to do anything else. Core funding goes to fundraising, administration, property costs and staff salaries. Sometimes also relates to a charity's main source of income, for example, public donations, or grants.
Related articles
SocietyGuardian.co.uk feature: who gets your money?

Corporate governance
A framework through which organisations are accountable for standards in conducting corporate business, including meeting statutory financial duties, conferred upon them by the secretary of state for health.
See also: controls assurance
Big issue: NHS quality and performance
Related articles
Useful link: NHS code of conduct, code of accountability (pdf)

Corporate governance inspection
A "whole council" inspection that aims to tackle problems at the political and managerial centre of a council. The majority of local government best value inspections focus on groups of services.
See also: best value
Related articles
Useful link: best value inspection service

Council for Voluntary Service (CVS)
Local umbrella body for voluntary organisations, charities and campaign groups in a particular area. Provides a local forum for discussion and often training, pooled resources and recruitment.
See also: National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service
Big issue: volunteering
Useful link: national directory of CVSs in Britain

Council league tables
see Comprehensive performance assessment

Council tax
Property tax that councils use to raise an average of 25% of their budget, the rest coming from Whitehall grants. The benefits system subsidises payments for the poor, and people living alone get a discount. The tax is currently based on property values in 1991, but ministers have promised to review this and use updated house values for bills issued in 2007.
Big issue: public finances
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - council tax

Council tax base
This figure is an indicator of how much council tax a council can raise. It is based on the "equivalent" number of average band D properties in a local authority's area. For example, a property in band H is equivalent to two in band D.
See also: council tax
and band D
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - council tax

Countryside agency
Government body that advises ministers on rural affairs and promotes conservation, social equity and economic opportunities for those who live in the countryside. It resulted from a merger between the countryside commission and the rural development commission.
Related articles
Useful link: who they are and what they do

County councils network (CCN)
Special interest group within the Local Government Association that represents England's 35 counties.
Related articles
Useful link: county councils network

Credit approval
Government permission for a local authority to borrow money. Basic credit approvals are for general borrowing, whereas supplementary credit approvals are granted for spending on specific projects. Set to be scrapped under a new finance regime expected to arrive in April 2003.
Big issue: public finances
Related articles
Useful link: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - credit approvals

Credit union
A mutual banking scheme under which people come together to pool their savings. Favoured by the government as a way of tackling the lack of banking facilities for people in deprived areas.
See also: cooperative
Related articles
Useful link: World Council of Credit Unions

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