Bubb attacks NAVCA chief's campaign against charities running prisons 1

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 24 Jul 2009

Stephen Bubb, chief executive of Acevo, has slammed the head of NAVCA, Kevin Curley, for his campaign to stop charities running prisons.

This week, Charity Finance exclusively reported that Curley had prompted the Charity Commission to review whether running prisons was a charitable purpose in light of crime prevention charities Catch 22 and Turning Point winning a Ministry of Justice bid to run two prisons with private service provider Serco.

In response, Bubb (pictured), who has been a long advocate of charities delivering public service on behalf of the government attacked Curley in his blog, saying: “I am unclear what status Kevin thinks he has to tell these charities what they should or should not do.”

“The 1601 Statue of Elizabeth is clear that the “reformation of prisoners” is a core charitable purpose,” Bubb said, “It does not say this can only take place outside prison.

“And it is clear that a charity “taking action to deter crime”, which a range of charities have been doing for centuries, is a charitable purpose. Crime must be punished but must also be part of a programme that aims to reform and rehabilitate.

“What these two great charities have done is form a partnership to ensure that they can carry out the work of such reformation in conjunction with a private sector organisation who will provide the basic management of the prison.”

Joyce Mosely, CEO of Catch 22 also hit back at Curley’s campaign, saying: “Catch 22’s primary role in the contracts for Maghull and Belmarsh West prisons is to provide resettlement services to prisoners. This is something we have a wealth of experience in.

“We have a commitment to making sure people in difficult situations have access to our services, and if that means having resettlement services based inside prisons, that is where we will be.

“Our role in these contracts is absolutely in line with our charitable aims and is by no means a change of direction or focus for us.”

The Charity Commission’s review is in process.

Directory: Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO)
Who's Who: Vibeka Mair | Kevin Curley | Sir Stephen Bubb

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Carl Allen
24 Jul 2009

Awkard questions are to be asked of the private, government and the charitable sectors.

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