Sir Nicholas Young, chief executive of British Red Cross, has said the whingeing of the voluntary sector to government can get depressing.

Sir Nicholas, who was speaking at Acevo’s 25th anniversary lecture last week, said he believed the government must get very tired of hearing the sector’s complaints, such as about tax burdens.

Drawing a distinction between moaning and truly representing the needs of beneficiaries, Sir Nicholas mused on whether the sector had become a “bit lazy” on holding government to account, especially during the years of significant funding from the last administration:

“We must recognise the values in our ethos,” he said. “Government will not like to hear us but we now must be prepared to challenge and hold government to account for the needs of people."

Gaynor Humphreys, chief executive of London Funders, also explored the government’s attitude to the voluntary sector during the lecture, asking whether the recent Budget was a sign that charities were not integral to government policy.

Elsewhere, Neil McIntosh, chief executive of CfBT Education and former director of VSO, said that large charities had to be very careful that they did not run themselves in the interests of senior staff:

“There is more research in the USA on the not-for-profit sector and one conclusion made out there is that at times big not-for-profits are run in interest of senior staff. We must be very careful,” he warned.