Careless Commission cuts risk 'double whammy' for small groups, says CTN chair

Finance | Tania Mason | 4 Oct 2010

Charity Trustee Networks chair Rodney Buse has warned the Charity Commission to remember that the public spending cuts will affect other providers of advice and guidance to small charities too, when it decides which services to chop.

At the Commission’s annual public meeting last week, Buse (pictured) responded to a comment by Neville Brownlee that the regulator should identify groups of charities that were making the same requests for help to the Commission, and try to tailor assistance to them, possibly in partnership with relevant sector umbrella bodies.

Brownlee said: “If you are an umbrella body and your members are calling us often about x, maybe we need to work with you on x and get a bespoke solution there.”

But Buse said the Commission shouldn’t forget that there are a number of subsector umbrella bodies “who are going to suffer badly in this spending review, and their ability to offer services, particularly to medium and small organisations, will be seriously damaged”.

The Commission should bear that in mind, he said, when it carries out its strategic review and makes decisions about which services to pull the plug on. “My worry is, and this is directed at Sam (Younger, new Commission chief executive), that when you do your strategic review, please bear in mind that there are others who would like to offer services to the most needy part of the community are going to be less able to do so,” Buse said.

If the Commission only directs its energy on financial risk of the largest charities, he said, “I think the sector will suffer a double whammy.”

Directory: Charity Commission | Charity Trustee Networks (CTN)
Who's Who: Sam Younger | Rodney Buse

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