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Sector umbrella groups left out of government Big Society meeting 2

Governance | Vibeka Mair | 19 May 2010

The new government appears to have snubbed the usual suspects in its inaugural roundtable event to discuss plans for its Big Society at Number 10 Downing Street yesterday, with nobody from NCVO, Acevo, Navca or the Institute of Fundraising invited to attend.

Yesterday’s meeting saw prime minister David Cameron, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude and minister for civil society Nick Hurd meet community and voluntary groups to debate the Big Society.

Civil society attendees included Rob Owen, chief executive of the St Giles Trust; Martha Lane-Fox, chief executive of grantmaking charity Antigone; Camila Batmanghelidjh, chief executive of Kids Company; and Lord Victor Adebowale, chief executive of Turning Point.

Also in attendance was Nat Wei, the founder of Teach First, who was appointed adviser to government on Big Society and made a member of the House of Lords.

Kevin Curley, chief executive of NAVCA, told Civil Society that he was surprised to not have been asked as "Nick Hurd and Nat Wei and I have been talking about the Big Society and how to make it happen right from the outset".

“I think it’s strange we weren’t there,” he said, “because they can’t deliver it without the sort of members Navca has.”

Curley suggested it "might not have been Nick Hurd’s contact list".

Nobody from NCVO and Acevo were asked either, despite the fact that both fired off letters to David Cameron the day after his appointment as prime minister, urging partnership with the voluntary sector and requesting a meeting as soon as possible.

A spokesman for the NCVO said the umbrella body was "vaguely aware" of the meeting but "NCVO had been heavily involved upstream".  He said the delegate list was obviously "very targeted at community organisers and activists".

Adebowale told Civil Society that Turning Point supported the plans set out for the Big Society at the meeting:“The truth is that Turning Point has always been part of a Big Society, working with over 200 local communities delivering health and social care services and remaining ambitious for our clients.  We are looking forward to working with the new government to ensure this kind of work continues on an even larger scale.”

The government’s Big Society vision includes support for the creation and expansion of charities, social enterprises, mutuals and co-operatives and for them to have much greater involvement in the running of public services.

It is pledged that funds from dormant bank accounts would be used to establish a Big Society Bank, which would provide new finance for the sector.

The Big Society programme will also include measures to encourage volunteering with the launch of a national ‘Big Society Day’ and making regular community involvement a key element of civil service staff appraisals. The government will also introduce a national citizenship service for 16-year-olds.

Measures to encourage charitable giving and philanthropy were also promised, but no details were given.

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Directory: Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) | Institute of Fundraising | National Association of Voluntary and Community Action | National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
Who's Who: Nick Hurd | Kevin Curley