The Big Society is failing because Number 10 has not driven the agenda hard enough and it focuses too much on preferring charities to deliver public services, according to think-tanks.

The comments were made last week at a Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) meeting on the Big Society, where representatives from the Cabinet Office and a selection of think-tanks gave evidence to MPs on the Big Society.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA, told MPs that the Big Society brand had become "toxic" and repeated the oft-made complaint that it lacked clarity. He added:

“I don’t think Number 10 has driven the agenda hard enough. When I worked in Number 10 on public sector reform you had to battle with Whitehall. Number 10 has not fought, now it is having political difficulties.”

Andrew Haldenby, director at Reform, said the Big Society was struggling as it had placed too much focus on charities being preferred providers to deliver public services, instead of emphasising the best-value provider:

“Now once a contract is lost to a charity it is seen as a blow to the Big Society, when it should really be about the best-value provider,” he said. 

During the meeting it was also suggested that some parts of Whitehall were not engaged with the Big Society, with civil servants being at a loss as to how to implement it. 

Taylor claimed that the Treasury did not even use the phrase 'Big Society', saying staff there were "utterly dismissive of the idea".

Later in the year the PASC intends to cross-examine ministers on how government can take a more direct role in spelling out what the Big Society is.