A Green Paper asking for responses on how to "create a level playing field" for charities and voluntary organisations in public service commissioning has been published by the Cabinet Office, the minister for civil society, Nick Hurd (pictured left), has announced.

Modernising Commissioning asks: which areas would be most suitable for the sector to function in; how to make these areas equally available to organisations within the sector as for those in the private sector; how commissioners should assess the compatability of an organisation through the commissioning process, and how the sector could encourage the public to get involved in undertaking public service delivery. 

The paper will advise the Public Service Reform White Paper to be published in January and follows commitments by the coalition government made in the Coalition Agreement to offer new opportunities to civil society organisations to provide public services at both local and national level. 

The paper will be open for responses until 5 January. But Compact Voice, which acts as a safekeeper of the Compact's authority, is seeking "urgent clarification" from the OCS about how it will engage with stakeholders and ensure their views are heard in such a short period of consultation.  The consultation window contravenes the Compact's 12-week clause for government consultations on matters relevant to the sector. 

"When considering a topic as important as the role of the voluntary and community sector in delivering public services, it is vital that consultation is both meaningful and as exhaustive as possible," a spokesperson for Compact Voice said. 

"We look forward to hearing from OCS about how they intend to ensure that the consultation they have launched today meets those requirements, especially given the highly restrictive timeframes."