Bubb offers government a sector 'fairness panel' to examine cuts

09 Sep 2010 News

Acevo has written to Chancellor George Osborne urging him to set up a ‘fairness panel’ of civil society leaders who will examine the proposed spending review figures to ensure that the most vulnerable people are not unduly penalised.

Chancellor George Osborne. Copyright M Holland.

Acevo has written to Chancellor George Osborne urging him to set up a ‘fairness panel’ of civil society leaders who will examine the proposed spending review figures to ensure that the most vulnerable people are not unduly penalised.

In the letter, chief executive Stephen Bubb cited the Prime Minister’s comments in the coalition’s Programme for Government, in which he said the government would ensure that fairness is at the heart of the difficult decisions to come, “so that all those most in need are protected”.

Bubb wrote that sector leaders were already starting to see cuts on the ground at local level and were worried that if the fairness commitment is not adhered to in the forthcoming spending review, “we will slip unintentionally into cuts that hit the most vulnerable hardest”.

The sector’s leaders were “standing ready to help” the government understand how spending cuts will impact on different communities, and to help find solutions to the problem of how to cut spending whilst protecting the most needy.

He then called on the Chancellor (pictured) to set up a ‘fairness panel’ of sector leaders who could scrutinize the final stages of the spending review process. “The aim of this group would be to ensure that fairness and protection of the most  vulnerable is at the heart of decision-making on cuts and also to explore with departments ways in which partnership between the state and our sector could help cut spending without disproportionately impacting on those most in need,” Bubb wrote.

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