Outgoing Community Service Volunteers executive director Dame Elisabeth Hoodless has criticised the Big Society agenda as “not strategically planned”, advising that the government must act fast to prevent a “multiplicity” of initiatives across the nation from closing.
Speaking on the BBC’s Today Programme this morning Dame Elisabeth advised that additional statutory funding for the sector, such as a £29.4 m fund pledged by the Ministry of Justice for charities helping the homeless announced late last month, is not coming fast enough:
"The cuts that are being imposed are taking place now so there are very worthwhile programmes which are under threat of closure because the local authorities have to make immediate cuts," she said.
Further, a “multiplicity” of charities performing valuable work in the communities are having funding withdrawn to pay for the government’s £13m National Citizen Service which will launch in the summer, she claimed. "It's about one hand not appreciating what the other hand is doing and not getting the decisions made in a timely fashion," she said, accusing the Big Society plans of being "not strategically planned".
Recommendations
The comments come ahead of Dame Elisabeth’s retirement speech which she will give this evening.
She will make a multitude of recommendations, including asking the government to take inspiration from the United States by setting targets for the use of volunteers in public service.
“The government should send a delegation to the United States,” she will say, "It would find that in many public services there such as the police in Redding, California, 10 per cent of their person power has to come from volunteers if they want an increase in support - why not here in our schools, the health and fire services, parks and social care?”
She will also recommend that would-be politicians take a year of voluntary service in their communities before running for parliament, suggest a national youth service for all 18 year olds, and call for an end to the ban in England on using volunteer time to attract match-funding from Europe. “If it’s acceptable in Wales, Italy, France and Bavaria, why not in England,” she will ask.
Dame Elisabeth officially retires from CSV on 11 February after 47 years at the organisation.
