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Sector leaders vow to help Cameron create his Big Society 1

Governance | 12 May 2010

Civil society leaders were today quick to highlight the sector’s key role in helping David Cameron’s new coalition government build the ‘Big Society’ that the Conservatives hung their election campaign on.

However, some also bemoaned the new administration’s lack of top-level diversity among its almost all-white, all male Cabinet, its likely position on gift aid and taxes - and its lack of commitment to cats.

NCVO has today begun arranging a sector summit to examine what the new government will mean for the sector and the communities it serves, and invited charity leaders to attend.

And Citizens UK said it had had assurances from Nick Clegg on issues such as an illegal immigrant amnesty and payment of a living wage in government contracts, and would be seeking action on these promises.

Here are some of the detailed reactions to the news from the sector…

John Low, Charities Aid Foundation

John Low, chief executive of CAF, said that a coalition government could be a great opportunity for the sector, but warned that the sector’s general lack of experience in dealing with coalitions could be a problem.

“What is critical will be the coalition agreements,” he said. He said his experience in Scotland’s coalition government showed that whatever ended up on the coalition agreement was treated as the operating plan by civil servants. “It becomes more important than any individual manifesto.”

“Not many people in the sector have lived through this political environment, and the importance of that will be critical,” he said.

He was particularly concerned that the Liberal Democrat position on gift aid, of introducing 23 per cent as a composite rate, would prevail in a coalition government. Scrapping the relief for higher-rate taxpayers, he warned, “strategically could be the difference in the next ten years between a healthy vibrant sector and one that might be struggling”.

He said the ministerial appointments will be of the greatest influence, particularly who takes on the sector and Treasury roles.

The Office of the Third Sector, may get abandoned in the shake-up of Cabinet, Low predicted. “It looks like we may now have to go back to the recreation of the Department of the Deputy Prime Minister... and that was not a particularly happy experience for the sector. It was quite a difficult department to work with,” he said.

However, in general he said it was a fantastic opportunity for the sector, because “instead of facing a monolithic government with a large majority that will simply drive its agenda through, you’ve got a situation where the views of individuals – and there are very mixed views within government – will be open to influence by the sector on a whole range of issues.

“For the flight of foot, for the smart, for the politically savvy these are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities,” he said, adding that things such as committees, early day motions and the like will become more powerful in a coalition government. 

“In many ways we’ve moved away from the position where the sector must speak with one united voice because we had to push against a huge incumbent government, to being much more flight of foot and taking advantage of the differences,” he said.

“I’d like to see political arbitrage as the mantra of the sector.”

Louise Richards, Institute of Fundraising

Also on the subject of gift aid, the Institute of Fundraising is calling on the new government to maintain the tax relief at its current value while proposals to fundamentally simplify and improve it are developed.

It is seeking a commitment from the government that transitional relief, due to end in April 2011, will be extended beyond this date whilst talks to make gift aid more efficient and successful are ongoing.  “This would send an important signal of the Government’s wish to support the tremendous work which charities do,” said Louise Richards, director of policy and campaigns.

Craig Dearden-Phillips, Advocacy Partners Speaking Up

Craig Dearden-Phillips, chair of the newly-merged Advocacy Partners Speaking Up, who is also a Liberal Democrat county councillor in Suffolk, said Nick Clegg had “got the best deal we could possibly hope for”.

He predicted the sector would get a Conservative minister and that the Office of the Third Sector would be rebranded as the Office for Civil Society, in line with the Tories’ preference for a sector comprised of smaller grassroots community-based organisations rather than macro bodies like Futurebuilders.

The Tories and LibDems have a lot of common ground on the sector, Dearden-Phillips said, particularly their general focus on decentralisation and localism and their keenness that the sector be able to compete on a level playing field with the private and public sectors.

“Labour has always protected the public sector, but neither the LibDems or the Tories believe in any of that so there will be less statism which is good.” He added there would also be renewed emphasis on the sector’s independence.

However, he warned the sector not to lose sight of the fact that the biggest issue facing it was the economy and public finances, “which will be like a nuclear bomb hitting the sector any time soon”.

Neil Jameson, Citizens UK

Neil Jameson, executive director at Citizens UK, said that at its hustings on 3 May, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg addressed 2,500 Citizen UK members. "We cemented a public relationship with Mr Clegg to deal with Citizens UK as the primary civil society alliance in the UK.

"In the process we raised specific proposals. These proposals included: paying a living wage in government contracts; a cap on credit; community land trusts as a process for building affordable housing; and a one-off authorisation for undocumented migrants.

"Even though it appears not to be part of negotiated deals between the two parties, Citizens UK is obliged to raise these issues and will do so in our first meeting with David Cameron and Nick Clegg.”

Stephen Bubb, Acevo

Acevo chief executive Stephen Bubb described last night’s announcement as an “interesting result” and a “new chapter opening” for the sector.

“I think this puts the sector in a very strong position. Cameron has talked about the Big Society and he can’t do that without the third sector. We’ve already written to the Chancellor and told them we’re willing to work together to deliver stronger communities and a bigger role for the sector in delivering citizen-focused services.” Acevo has previously held high-level meetings discussing cost-effective services and Bubb said he would be seeking a meeting with the Prime Minister to talk about how the sector can help the new government deliver its Big Society plans.

“But our partnership offer must be realistic,” he cautioned. “If cuts are made that damage our capacity to deliver, or weaken third sector bodies then we will oppose them and work hard to reverse them.”

Stuart Etherington, NCVO

Chief executive Stuart Etherington said: “We have witnessed a significant change in the political landscape.  It is now our responsibility to work effectively with this new coalition government.

“We recognise that these are difficult economic times and the government will have to make some tough decisions. However, it is important that spending plans recognise the role that voluntary and community organisations play across many policy areas and that they are properly supported to play those roles, not because of who they are, but because of the real difference they make to the lives of individuals and communities.”

Emma-Jane Cross, Beatbullying

Emma-Jane Cross, chief executive of Beatbullying, said: “The sector has a critical and lasting contribution to make in building the Big Society policy framework. Over the coming months what that Big Society framework looks like will be decided, so it is therefore essential the voluntary sector not only embraces the notion of devolving power back to communities, families and neighbourhoods, but speaks out powerfully to ensure that the Big Society is accountable, fair and delivers the poor, the young, the old and the vulnerable the services, freedoms and safety net they have a right to.”

Alistair McLean, Fundraising Standards Board

Alistair McLean, chief executive of the Fundraising Standards Board, said he was confident that the new coalition government would maintain a commitment to self- regulation in the sector, speculation that self-regulation could indeed be a priority across numerous sectors.

McLean said that in conversations with former shadow charities minister Nick Hurd in the lead-up to the election, the FRSB “felt very reassured about his commitment to self-regulation… and if anything I tend to believe that support will harden”.

“The Conservatives have quite a strong commitment to the sector, and I believe a Conservative government, supported by the Liberal Democrats, will continue to support the FRSB.”

Martin Sime, SCVO

Martin Sime, chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, welcomed the new coalition government, pointing to areas that could help the sector:
“Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives made manifesto pledges to work with the voluntary sector on employment initiatives – an area in which the sector has an excellent record of delivery, most recently through the Future Jobs Fund.

“We welcome the move towards raising the income tax threshold for the lowest earners, and both parties’ commitment to involving the voluntary sector in the design and delivery of public services.  We hope that we’ll now see some flesh on the bones of the Conservatives’ Big Society plans.”

Helen Donoghue, Charity Tax Group

The Charity Tax Group warned there were concerns for charities on tax issues and it planned to start talks with the new coalition as soon as possible.

Director Helen Donoghue, said: “So much is still up in the air at the moment but whatever the combination there is still a significant worry for charities on the tax side. One, with the potential rise in VAT and two, the widening base of VAT, in the back of our minds there is the possibility that any government could consider getting rid of special rate reliefs for charities.

“This would have a significant impact on the ability of charities to deliver services. We will be talking to the new government as early as possible on this.

“Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have said that they support the sector and are good at listening to us. We hope the experience of working with them in opposition will be the same now in government.”

Charles Nall, CFDG

Charles Nall, corporate services director at the Children’s Society and chair of CFDG, said the creation of a workable majority was important in bringing certainty to people’s lives and to decision makers.

He added: “As a liberal authority, with a small ‘l’, encouraging local behaviour as opposed to government intervention, that’s welcome as well as the bulk of the sector is based in local communities.”

Nall also emphasised the opportunity that constrained public finances offer to charities. “There is an opportunity to bust up the preconceptions about the role of charities.

“Perhaps this is about taking quite a lot of money out of state services and putting a little bit of money, maybe even extra money, into charities in the right areas where they can demonstrate an impact that is to the benefit of society and also to the Treasury.”

Peter Hepburn, Cats Protection

Cats Protection was underwhelmed by the coalition’s stance on animal welfare and warned on the anticipated public sector cuts for the sector. CEO Peter Hepburn said: “None of the parties have said anything earth-shattering about animal welfare. There are about eight million cats in the UK with 20 million owners. We are part of the ‘Big Society’.

“Cats Protection work very hard to be self-funding so we are sheltered from some expected public sector cuts but with more charities competing for funds, there will be pressure.”

Kevin Curley, NAVCA

NAVCA voiced concerns that the coalition would focus on appeasing its MPs rather than supporting the local voluntary sector.

Kevin Curley, chief executive of NAVCA said: “In the run-up to the election we were encouraged by the support all parties gave to local voluntary action. Our concern is that now these issues could be pushed to the back seat if Liberal Democrats and Conservatives focus only on the issues aimed at reassuring their MPs.

“We know there are going to be tough times ahead, so strong local voluntary organisations and community groups will be needed more than ever to support communities. I am seeking early discussions with the new government to ensure that resources are available to support local voluntary action.”

Filippo Addarii, Euclid

Euclid’s executive director Filippo Addarii described the coalition outcome as “pretty interesting - it allows for a balance between reform and vision”. He said that the inclusion of the LibDems in the government would help to facilitate continued working with Europe and the rest of the world, whereas with the Conservatives alone he “didn’t see the right policy to facilitate NGOs across borders”.

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