Charity funding
Radical changes in funding for charities will allow improvement in services to the public over the next five years, Alan Milburn has said.
The Cabinet minister's speech, made at the launch of a Home Office-funded report by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), argued that charities and not-for-profit organisations are held back by problematic and wasteful contracts with government.
Government Response: Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster:
Alan Milburn said: "ACEVO is leading the debate about how the voluntary sector can make a bigger contribution to the reforms and improvements that are needed both in public services and wider society.
"I want to set out how I believe the voluntary sector can become part of the mainstream of public service delivery. I believe the voluntary sector stands on the edge of a new future.
"Finding new ways to empower people should be the modern progressive cause.
"In a world of rapid change people often feel disempowered.
"On the one side, people are less deferential and more demanding.
"On the other, you have systems both of service provision and of political accountability that too often shut people out rather than letting them in. These systems belong to yesterday, not today.
"So as we look ahead to the future, we must deepen our commitment to progressive reforms that open up more opportunities for more people."
Stakeholder Response: National Consumer Council
Ed Mayo, head of the National Consumer Council who chaired Acevo's commission, said: "The research has uncovered an archaic, deeply inefficient array of funding models, based on a spare-change mentality that stifles more effective action and leads to debilitating insecurity."
Stakeholder Response: Charity Commission
Geraldine Peacock, chairman of the Charity Commission, said: "As one of the inquiry members I urge government to take on board the much needed recommendations of 'Surer Funding'. Public service delivery by charities is increasing yearly and both they and - crucially - their beneficiaries need continuity and a streamlining of bureaucracy to deliver these services.
"This report is a vital wake-up call to all involved to make sure that charities and their users don't lose out - the consequences of failure are too great not to grasp the nettle."
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