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Hurd and Maude open letter promises cuts to sector will be fair

Finance | Tania Mason | 12 Nov 2010

Francis Maude and Nick Hurd have written an open letter to civil society groups in which they say they are determined to ensure that public spending cuts are “fair and not disproportionate in their impact on the sector”.

The letter, published last week on the Cabinet Office website, provides an update on the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review and progress made on key initiatives from the Office for Civil Society.

These initiatives comprise the Big Society Bank, National Citizens Service, Community First, Community organisers, support for co-ops and mutuals, support for capacity-building, public service reform and the taskforce on red tape.

The letter, signed by both the minister for the Cabinet Office and the minister for civil society (pictured), states that they are confident they are laying firm foundations for delivering on the three longer-term priorities that were set out during the election: making it easier to run a voluntary organisation; getting more resources into the sector, and making it easier for the sector to deliver public services.

“We are determined to ensure that cuts are fair and not disproportionate in their impact on the sector,” they wrote. “The Prime Minister has made it clear that councils should not take the easy option of trimming budgets by cutting funding to the voluntary and community sector.”

The letter concluded: “We believe that our agenda is creating significant long-term opportunities for social enterprise, charities and wider civil society.

“We also recognise that the transition period will be challenging and we are committed to helping you manage the change and seize the opportunities.”

Read the full letter here.

Meanwhile, Navca chief Kevin Curley wrote to his members this week advising them to quote the government's own statements back to public sector funders in negotiations about their funding.

He referred specifically to passages in the report published by the Cabinet Office earlier this month: Exposure of the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector to cuts in public funding: Information for Government Departments and Local Authorities, and to the Prime Minister's statement on 15 September that councils should not "do the easy thing" by cutting voluntary sector budgets.

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