It is a striking turnaround. In just two years charities that were once at the heart of a vision of a ‘big society’ are now accused of being the playthings of tax avoiding millionaires with the liberating and transformational role of so much of the voluntary sector in communities up and down Britain no longer celebrated in ministers’ speeches.
In opposition, the issue that David Cameron said marked him out as leader of the Conservative party was his support for the ‘big society’; for rolling back the state so charities and community groups could flourish, moving into the space government would vacate to improve life in communities and create more flexible, more efficient and fairer services. Instead too many community groups are struggling just to keep going while charities have resumed their traditional place in mainstream Conservative thinking: on the sidelines.
Before May 2010 the voluntary sector appeared to be the new zeitgeist of compassionate Cameroons. Now the language is of ‘dodgy charities’ supported by tax-avoiding funders. Where once the government talked excitedly of unleashing charities to take over the running of mainstream public sector functions the reality has turned out to be very different, with many charities believing they are mere ‘bid candy’ in government tendering exercises. The work programme (as charities foretold) is dominated by the big public services corporations like A4E with charities left to be subcontractors waiting like jilted lovers for the primes to call. Already 100 charities have given up, realising that for them few calls will come.
And the cuts – huge in 2011/12, more to come this year and now Danny Alexander demanding even more for the rest of the parliament. NCVO predicts at least £3.3 billion in cuts to the sector over the full parliament, while the secret evaluation of the problems facing charities applying to the transition fund suggest anything from £1 billion to at worst £5.5 billion in direct government funding will have been axed in 2011/12 alone.
The National Children’s Bureau report, published this month; ‘Beyond the Cuts’ on how children’s charities are adapting or, rather, how they are struggling to adapt to the government’s austerity era makes grim reading. Children and young people’s charities face public spending cuts of almost £405 million over the years from 2011/12 to 2015/16. Staffing levels are being reduced. Services are having to be scaled back and a substantial minority of those consulted – 25 per cent believe it is likely or very likely that their organisation will have to close in the next year.
The one bright spot appeared to be the recognition of the potential for new social finance to fund social enterprise and charity businesses. Indeed the government’s support for the social impact bond based around Peterborough prison and the continuation of support for Labour’s social investment bank (now Big Society Capital) were encouraging. However the inclusion of the community investment tax relief, which has helped generate thousands of pounds in long term social finance for community development finance institutions, in the government’s tax relief cap to help pay for its cut in the top tax rate for millionaires risks slowing the steady growth in this form of new ‘social’ finance for third sector organisations.
What is missing is a cabinet champion for charities, someone who gets what they do and why they are important. Ministers in the cabinet office lack the appetite, and the clout with their Whitehall colleagues, to have the concerns of charities taken seriously. In short – what is missing is leadership. There is no serious leadership for charities, for community groups, for the third sector at the heart of government any longer. The ‘big society’ language has been quietly jettisoned and David Cameron has moved on to other things, and the pretence that David Cameron cares for the vulnerable and those in the third sector who seek to support them has been stripped away, leaving the Conservatives once again revealed as the party of the privileged few.
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Gareth Thomas MP is shadow minister for civil society
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Photo: The Conservative party
Ordinary people are truggling to find a job. Our family members just rely on us. Every year the inflaton is going up but never increases ordinary workers salary. It is just like developing country’s policies. There is no set policies in market inflation. If market inflation goes up by two percent, our salary also go up by two percent. It strictly applies in Hong Kong from Head of State to very ordinary people of Hong Kong. Why are we getting poorer everyday and richman becoming richer day by day?
Transport fair goes up every year never goes up our salary. Neither they improve their service but tell us improve verbally only and it never happens.