Voluntary Bodies and Parish Councils will all play an increasing role in public service delivery and need to be empowered to do this effectively.

We have presented workshops on financial management for Town and Parish Councils in association with the Cumbria Association of Local Councils. Adrian Waite recently spoke on the role of local government in helping to start the community economy at a conference organised by the Institute of Public Services Management; and a conference on seeking sustainable funding organised by the National Council of Voluntary Organisations.

Training for Town and Parish Councils is consistent with the National Training Strategy for Parish and Town Councils which seeks to :

• Establish the context in which to develop local councils' expertise and a supporting National Training Strategy
• Enable parish and town councils to rise to the challenge of the Rural White Paper by strengthening the development and learning culture in town and parish councils and encourage investment in training
• Develop the training framework building on existing training provision and accreditation
• Enable high quality training delivery throughout England

For voluntary organisations the future is at best uncertain: There are Finite funds, increasing need, a quickening pace of change and emerging opportunities. Training that we can offer includes:

• Managing Core Costs
• Measuring Outcomes
• From Grants to Loans - exploiting a spectrum of finance
• Strategic Planning
• Income Generation