Useful information for VCS

Voluntary Sector Information Network

The Voluntary Sector Information Network (VIN) is an information and sharing meeting that takes place online on the second Tuesday of each month at 4-5pm.

If you are interested in attending a meeting, please contact us on VCS@reading.gov.uk. If you are already on the VIN attendance list and know an organisation who might be interested in attending, please feel free to forward the invitation to them.

Decision making

Reading Borough Council operates a committee system of governance, which divides the council into politically balanced committees that make decisions. The council’s committee system is led by 48 councillors, representing 16 wards.

Under the committee system and rules set out in our constitution, decisions are taken by either:

• Full Council
• Standing committees and sub-committees
• Regulatory committees
• Other committees, such as the Health and Wellbeing Board
• Consultative bodies

Members of the public can submit questions or a petition to a council or committee meeting. To see which committee is most relevant to your organisation, please see the diagram below.

More information on our committee structure.

Updated guide to raising concerns about a charity

On 9 June 2025, the Charity Commission for England and Wales updated guidance and an updated online form to help anyone who wants to raise a concern about a charity.

The guidance ‘Raising a concern with the Charity Commission’ sets out when to raise concerns about a charity with the commission as well as what it can do or cannot do within its remit of helping charities in England and Wales be accountable, well-run and meet their legal obligations.

The guidance also covers where and how it can and will act and how it prioritises the most serious concerns that present risk of significant harm to, or abuse of, charities, their beneficiaries or assets or to trust and confidence in the sector.

The commission’s updated guidance and forms aim to help people find the most appropriate route for raising any concerns, while being clear when it is unlikely to be able to act.