Compact Voice has written to Eric Pickles, secretary of state for communities and local government, urging him to write to local authority chief executives to emphasise support for the Compact.

Simon Blake, chair of Compact Voice, warns Pickles in the letter that his expectations of some local council’s relationship with the voluntary sector are not being met.

Last year, at an NCVO conference, Pickles told councils to “resist any temptation to pull up the drawbridge on the voluntary sector and pass on disproportionate cuts”.

However, in the letter, which is co-signed by the chief executives of Acevo, Navca, NCVO and Volunteering England, Blake cites research from Compact Voice which shows many councils are ignoring this advice.

The research finds that in over half of local areas that responded to Compact Voice, voluntary sector funding had been cut disproportionally, when compared to reductions in council grant settlements.

Also, some 63 per cent of all local councils failed to respond to Compact Voice, despite the legal requirement to do so under the Freedom of Informtion Act.

Blake urges Pickles to show commitment to the Compact by ensuring it is a central to policies, ensuring his forthcoming Best Value guidance, which will be a one-page statutory guide on how councils should make cuts to the voluntary sector, includes the Compact. The letter also urges Pickles to write to each local authority chief executive.