Dozens of civil society organisations are joining together to create a new coalition to fight for the preservation of civil liberties and human rights that are gradually being eroded by government policies.

A voluntary sector taskforce has called for a social investment bank to be set up immediately to prevent years of good work from “withering on the vine”. The idea for such a bank has been discussed for years, but in a report published today the taskforce, created by Acevo and the Department for Work and Pensions, says the government should provide immediate direct funding for an interim resource, and make a social investment bank a key priority for any funding released from the Unclaimed Assets register.

Acevo has criticised the BBC and Sky for refusing to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Gaza Crisis Appeal, calling their behaviour "appalling".

Direct dealings with local government bodies improve the success of the voluntary sector, according to a survey on public sector support for local third sector organisations from the Office of the Third Sector (OTS).