Guidance needed to avoid disproportionate cuts to voluntary sector, says Commission

Ministers must adopt guidance as a matter of urgency to avoid disproportionate local government cuts to the voluntary sector, the Commission on the Big Society has warned in a report.

The cross-party Commission, set up by ACEVO, suggested that the effect of the way in which many local councils are cutting spending on the voluntary sector threatened to undermine big society principles.

Government guidance – through an amendment to the Public Services (Social Enterprise and Social Value) Bill – could counter this danger, it said.

The Commission also called for measures to improve transparency on local government funding for the voluntary sector. “We believe that if it chooses to provide many services directly rather than via external providers, local government must be required to demonstrate reasons for doing so relating to public interest or long-term value for money,” it said.

Other key findings and recommendations from the report – Powerful people, responsible society – were:

• People are not clear what the big society is. Some 78% of adults polled in the UK said the government had failed to give people a clear idea. “The result of the government’s failure to communicate its own big society vision clearly, consistently and compellingly has fuelled high levels of cynicism and we believe that it has meant inconsistent policy-making.” The government should therefore articulate a clearer definition of what it is trying to achieve.
• The government needs to adopt a consistent and supportive attitude to the voluntary sector that recognises the need for partnership and respect, including for appropriate professional roles within the sector
• The voluntary sector will need to change to grow its role in empowering individuals and communities and acting as a vehicle for people to take responsibility for the world around them. “It will need to be self-critical as to the degree to which it is genuinely empowering people rather than encouraging dependency”
• The government could better align and target resources towards the big society agenda. There has been insufficient coordination across Whitehall. The Commission makes recommendations on issues relating to the definition of, measurement of, and accountability for success in fostering the big society. It also proposes a reformulated version of the Invest to Save Budget
• There should be a programme to support culture change and workforce training in local government, a new focus for the government’s £10m support programme for new mutuals, and a cross-government strategy on use of public sector assets. The big society should be at the centre of the government’s Public Service Reform White Paper
• The government should repeat, for March 2012, the £100m Transition Fund but target it at the most deprived communities
• The Employment Rights Act 1996 should be amended to extend employees’ existing right to take reasonable time off for certain public duties. This amendment would enable them to take reasonable time off, with the permission of their employers, to serve a voluntary organisation
• A UK version of the American Community Reinvestment Act should be introduced, using transparency to promote responsible lending to the financially excluded and voluntary organisations. The Treasury should introduce new tax incentives to encourage such ‘social investment’.

Philip Hoult