PTA-UK has revealed that it turned down an invitation from Big Society Network to be a partner in its ill-fated Social Action Fund bid because BSN had intimated, at a meeting at 10 Downing Street, that its grant was “virtually guaranteed”, which PTA-UK thought seemed like “a fix”.
PTA-UK’s then-chief executive David Butler was invited to the meeting at No 10 on 31 January 2012 which had been organised by Shaun Bailey, a special adviser to the Prime Minister.
Butler was told the meeting would discuss how to boost volunteering in schools and would consider “a project that focuses on physical activity and health”, but he was not told who else was invited. The meeting was held three days before the Social Action Fund bid deadline.
Also in attendance were three people from Big Society Network - CEO Steve Moore, director of external relations Lucy Windmill and associate Andrew Dick.
Representatives of UK Active and the Fitness Industry Association also attended. The final invitee was Almudena Lara, the head of the Cabinet Office Social Action Fund.
Civil Society News reported last year that Steve Moore used the meeting to canvass support from the other organisations for BSN’s Get In project. But now it has emerged that Moore gave the impression to those at the meeting – and was not disputed by the Cabinet Office official - that the funding was in the bag.
PTA-UK chair: 'It seems a fix'
David Butler has always refused to answer questions about what was said at this meeting, but Civil Society News has seen an email from PTA-UK’s chair Tim Partington to a business associate, sent the day after the No 10 meeting.
The email states: “David has asked some questions of BSN and the answers are woolly. For this reason, I’ve said there is no way we can make a proposal to agree to BSN’s bid before the Friday deadline. Regarding the meeting notes, I’m not sure that we can let you have them but I do sympathise with you that it seems a fix and that is not right.”
Partington has also confirmed that he told this same person that anecdotal reports from the meeting suggested that government funding for BSN was “a done deal”.
He refused to release the notes from the meeting to Civil Society News but said: “I wasn’t present so I am only basing my comment on what I was told happened.
“From what I had been told happened – so not direct evidence – I believe it was not right that BSN should have been guaranteed a successful bid.”
Big Society Network duly went on to be awarded £299,000 from the Social Action Fund for a children’s fitness project called Get In, after the Cabinet Office overruled its appointed grants panel, widened the criteria so BSN could pass the eligibility test and extended the deadline for it to submit its bid.
However, the project never launched and the Cabinet Office withheld the final tranche of funding.
No 10 involvement in decisions on funding
The revelations raise questions about how involved David Cameron was in ensuring that money found its way to BSN, given that the meeting was held at No 10 and called by his special adviser.
It also throws doubt on the PM’s ability to impartially investigate the BSN grants, as has been requested by shadow minister for civil society, Lisa Nandy.
Nandy has now reportedly asked Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, to look into the matter.
Steve Moore: Social Action Fund was certainly referenced
Last year, when Civil Society News asked Steve Moore whether he used the No 10 meeting to promote Big Society Network’s Social Action Fund proposal, he said: “No, there was a discussion that took place about trying to look at a new way of developing some Big Society ideas around Olympic legacy. I helped put together some of the people who should come along to that meeting.”
But under further questioning he admitted the Social Action Fund was mentioned: “Three things were discussed. One, where the gaps are in the current legacy proposals; two, what partnerships could come together to develop solutions; and three, what resources might be available. In that context the Social Action Fund was certainly referenced. There was certainly some discussion on whether we could come together in a Social Action proposal.
“There was a genuine urgency around it because of timelines involving Social Action Fund. If people felt they were coming together around a meeting to discuss Social Action Fund then that would be largely a consequence of the fact that there was a feeling among the group that the need to identify the solution and the timelines of the Social Action Fund were converging. That would be my take on it.”
Today Moore said he would not be commenting on "allegations that cannot be substantiated".
Partington declined to say whether PTA-UK gave its take on the meeting to the Cabinet Office official who investigated the BSN grant last year. "Because the Cabinet Office may well be the focus of another official inquiry, I feel that PTA-UK should wait to present this information to the inquiry and not to the media," he said.
PTA-UK’s SAF bid unsuccessful
In the end PTA-UK, the charity that supports parent-teacher groups, opted not to support BSN’s bid and submitted one of its own – for £200,000 to help schools set up PTAs and reach parents not already engaged with their PTAs. It did not win funding.
“Our bid met the expected minimum in all areas but was unsuccessful because it did not score as highly as other applications received,” said Partington.
He said he would continue to co-operate with ongoing investigations and had "already expressed my support to Lisa Nandy’s call for a further inquiry".
