Skip to main content
Somerset County Council logo
Menu
Close menu
  • Home
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
  • Births, ceremonies and deaths
    • Births

      Includes registering a birth and ordering certificates

    • Marriages and ceremonies

      Includes ordering certificates and approved premises

    • Deaths

      Includes ordering certificates and tell us once service

  • Social care and health
    • Fostering and adoption

      Includes applying to adopt, becoming a foster carer and private fostering information

    • Carers

      Includes help, advice and support for carers

    • Adult social care

      Includes information for people who are 18 or over who have care and support needs

    • Help to live at home

      Includes equipment, care and support

    • Children’s social care

      Includes help for families and young people

    • Health and wellbeing

      Includes sexual health, preventing substance misuse and healthy workplaces

    • Public health

      Includes health checks, campaigns and mental health support

    • Safeguarding

      Includes protecting adults and children at risk

    • Housing options

      Includes care homes and sheltered housing

    • Specialist Public Health Nursing

      Includes information about health visitors, school nurses and public health nursing

  • Education and families
    • Adult learning

      Includes information about training courses across Somerset

    • Route1 advocacy

      Providing advice and support to children and young people

    • Choosing a school

      Includes information about catchment areas and admissions policies

    • School applications

      Includes information about applying to start school and moving to a different school

    • School life

      Includes term and holiday dates, exclusions and school activities

    • Childcare

      Includes entitlements, the support available and the latest childcare news

    • Fostering and adoption

      Includes applying to adopt, becoming a foster carer and private fostering information

    • Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

      Includes our Local Offer and the services available

    • School transport

      Includes information about different types of school transport and how to apply

    • Children

      Includes employing children, child protection and corporate parenting

  • Roads and transport
    • Problems on the road

      Includes how to report potholes, flooding and traffic lights

    • Signs and streetlights

      Includes speed limits, road signs and how to report faulty lights

    • Parking

      Includes paying or challenging a fine, blue badges and permits

    • Public and community transport

      Includes bus passes and park and ride information

    • School transport

      Includes information about different types of school transport and how to apply

    • Road projects

      We deliver Major Highway Schemes which have been identified through the Local Transport Plan (LTP) process

    • Rights of way

      Includes footpaths, bridleways and open access lands

    • Road works and road closures

      Includes information about plans for temporary and new works and closures

    • Road safety

      Includes how we work to make our roads safer

  • Libraries, community and leisure
    • Planning for Brexit

      What we are doing to plan for the UK leaving the European Union

    • Libraries

      Includes library membership, services and events

    • Volunteering

      Includes how to get involved in community activities and projects

    • Heritage

      Includes museums, records and archaeology

    • Safer communities

      Includes making your home safer and community safer

    • Community initiatives

      Includes community initiatives and community right to challenge

  • Waste, planning and land
    • Planning

      Includes applying for planning permission and reporting unauthorised developments

    • Waste

      Includes waste collections and recycling

    • Property

      Includes information about county farms and our land and building assets

    • Flooding and drainage

      Includes how we support flood prevention and planning

    • Rights of way

      Includes footpaths, bridleways and open access lands

    • Countryside

      Includes Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, walking and cycling

    • Emergencies

      Includes information about planning for emergencies

  • Business and economy
    • Do business with the Council

      Includes current business and contact opportunities

    • Supporting businesses

      Includes registering as a childminder and support and advice for businesses

    • Procurement

      Includes how we procure goods, services and works

    • Licences

      Includes approved premises licenses and permission for decorations on the road

  • Our information
    • Freedom of information

      Includes how to ask us questions about what we do

    • How we use your information

      Includes the information we hold about you and how we protect it

    • Accessing our information

      Includes Data Protection and the re-use of our information

    • Have your say

      Includes petitions and ongoing consultations

  • How the council works
    • Our plans

      Includes the County Plan and the Business Plan

    • Democracy

      Includes Councillors, meetings and elections

    • Our finances

      Includes our budgeting and spending information

    • Partnerships and Trusts

      Includes how we work with other organisations

    • Our performance

      Includes how we set and meet our goals and your feedback

    • Local Government Reorganisation in Somerset

      The future of Local Government in Somerset

  • Jobs and Careers
  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy notices and cookies
Home Business and economy Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector in Somerset
BETA

We're changing these pages to make them easier to read, help us improve our content.

Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector in Somerset

Promoting social, economic, environmental or cultural objectives to benefit society as a whole, or particular groups within it

  • About the sector

  • Useful contacts

  • Contact

About the sector

The VCSE sector, is sometimes referred to as ‘the Third Sector’, ‘Social Purpose Sector or ‘Civil Society’. It is made up of groups that are independent of government and are constitutionally self-governing, usually with an unpaid voluntary management committee. They exist for the good of the community, to promote social, economic, environmental or cultural objectives to benefit society as a whole, or particular groups within it.

This sector traditionally consists of groups that meet one or more of the following:

  • Are charities – either through registration with the Charity Commission or as self-defined charities due to their annual income being below the £5,000 threshold.
  • Are non-profit-making, including not-for-profit community enterprises.
  • Are sports clubs, excluding professional clubs.
  • Are informal, unregistered, groups consisting of volunteers that act collectively to provide a service to their local community or a specific group in need.

A ‘State of the Sector’ Survey (published February 2017) collected evidence from charities and voluntary groups from across Somerset about the issues and challenges they are facing as well as their development and support needs. The report celebrates the work of the thousands of charities and voluntary groups providing vital support in our communities, but it also highlights a sector under pressure. The full report.

The survey was undertaken again in 2020 (published June 2020) against the backdrop of the pandemic. The evidence showed a sector that continues to provide valuable services, activities and volunteering opportunities in Somerset. The report also explored the response of the sector to the pandemic confirms the importance of the sector. Read the full report

Useful contacts

Spark Somerset support local VCSE organisations and community groups with development, business planning, sourcing or applying for funding or recruiting volunteers. They also support and encourage networking across the sector through newsletters and hosting local forums.

Somerset Community Foundation work to increase the impact of local philanthropy. Their website gives you more information about funds and initiatives they are involved in.

Community Council for Somerset support a range of initiatives including Village Agents Project, support for village halls and community buildings, community and neighbourhood planning, using Community Rights, funding support, energy projects, Social Enterprise Somerset and other local initiatives. There is more information on their website.

Healthwatch gathers and represents the public’s views on health and social care services in England. They have statutory powers to ensure the voice of the consumer is strengthened and heard by those who commission, deliver and regulate health and care services. They also sit on the Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board.

The Somerset Emergency Voluntary Agencies Group support the Civil Contingencies Unit with response and recovery in emergencies across Somerset.

The UK Civil Society Almanac brings together data from charities’ accounts, administrative data and surveys to provide a comprehensive overview of the structure and economy of the UK voluntary sector  For information about registered charities, visit the Charity Commission website.

For more information, please email communities@somerset.gov.uk

Feedback - was this information helpful?

    We will use your feedback to improve this website. Please tell us if we have got something wrong, if there is something missing or if something isn't working.

    You can tell us about this on the complaints, comments and compliments page.



    scc logo

    Built by the SCC Digital Service

    • v1.11
    • Contact us
    • Accessibility
    • Privacy notices and cookies

    We use cookies to improve your browsing experience on our website and to analyse our traffic. By clicking accept, you consent to this. If you do not click accept you can continue to use our website without cookies. If you wish to remove your consent at any time, please clear your local storage.