Lessons from the riots must not be ignored

The government must ensure that tackling the causes of August’s civil unrest does not drop off the agenda, according to a leading voluntary sector body.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), is releasing a report today which makes a series of recommendations to government, the community and voluntary sector and the media to lessen the risk of events repeating themselves.  The report follows on from a summit convened by NCVO in September, which brought together over 100 people from charities, community groups, young people’s services and Government to reflect on the causes of the disturbances and the best ways to respond.

It stresses the importance of community groups and statutory bodies working closely together to ensure that an ‘early warning system’ is in place.  Many delegates at the summit described how they sprang into action during the disturbances to dissuade people from taking part, bring together community representatives and co-ordinating clean-up activities.

The report, After the Riots, also calls on Government to make a full assessment of the impact of spending cuts on communities, and ensure that any cuts to services are introduced sensitively and strategically with the impact mitigated as far as possible.  It voices many attendees’ concerns over the lack of funding for young people’s services beyond 13-19: a ‘cliff edge’ approach to funding which can lead to further social exclusion and the breakdown of useful mentoring relationships built up over time.

Other recommendations, which are also drawn from feedback from NCVO members, include:

• Government should invest in structured job creation programmes, particularly for young people and apprenticeships, working with employers to fund or match fund placements or offer a range of other incentives including tax breaks as appropriate.
• The voluntary and community sector has an important role to play in speaking out and constructively challenging decisions and practices, including those of government and the wider public sector.
• When reporting on the riots, the media must ensure accuracy and proportionality, and balance negative news stories with reports on what community groups are doing to attempt to alleviate these problems.

Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of NCVO, said: ‘It is essential that the lessons of the riots are not ignored.  While the actions of the rioters were deplorable, we must address the sense of despair and disconnection felt by many who felt they had nothing to lose by taking part.

‘The riots summit threw up shining examples of the pivotal role that charities are continuing to play to help communities get back on their feet and reach out to disaffected groups.  To lessen the risk of last month's shocking events happening again, it is crucial to preserve and value voluntary action.’

For more information and further case studies, contact Mandy Murphy in NCVO’s press office on 020 7520 2469 or email mandy.murphy@ncvo-vol.org.uk. For calls outside office hours, please ring 07714 243942.

Notes to editors:

Copies of the report can be downloaded from the NCVO website from 11am this morning.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) www.ncvo-vol.org.uk is the umbrella body for the voluntary sector in England, with sister councils in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.  NCVO has over 8,400 members, ranging from large national bodies to community groups, volunteer centres, and development agencies working at a local level. With over 280,000 staff and over 13 million volunteers working for our members, we represent and support almost half the voluntary sector workforce.