Nick Hurd appointed Minister for Civil Society

Conservative Nick Hurd has been appointed as the Minister for Civil Society.

The role gives him responsibility for charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations in the Cabinet Office.

Hurd, the 48 year old MP for Ruislip, Nortwood and Pinner, spent eighteen months as shadow charities minister before the general election.

Eton- and Oxford-educated, Hurd is the son of former Conservative minister Douglas Hurd and only joined Parliament in 2005.

Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive, National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said:

"The Government has put the Big Society at the forefront of the political agenda – and with it the crucial role that civil society plays in helping to achieve a better and fairer society.

"Many may mock this new term – civil society.  But it has real value.  Civil society is driven by people themselves, by their concerns and their passions. It is where people come together to make a positive difference to their lives, and the lives of others.  It provides an important counterbalance to the power of the state and the power of the market.  It gives a positive definition of the role of charities and voluntary and community organisations, rather than defining us in relation to others, or by what we are not.

"If we are to achieve the good society then we need all three sectors – state, market and civil society – to work together.  We look forward to working with the new Government as they pursue this exciting agenda.  We look to Nick Hurd, the new Minister for Civil Society, to ensure that civil society organisations can play their full part."

Before the election campiagn started Nick Hurd announced in a letter to voluntary organisations his intentions to replace the Office of the Third Sector with a new Office for Civil Society which will have more wide ranging powers.

The letter, signed by Nick Hurd and the new Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude, explained the new office will lead on the Conservative's 'Big Society' agenda.

Based in the Cabinet Office, the new office will "act as a champion of the voluntary sector in the heart of government," they said.

The letter praises Labour's good intentions on the third sector but said their efforts had been undermined by a lack of strategy, poor management and inconsistency.

"More public money has gone into the sector, but with it a rising tide of bureaucracy that comes at a big cost.

"The lack of strategy means we have had a jumble of initiatives that neither hang together, nor are sustainable.

"Poor leadership means they have dithered over important things such as the creation of a social investment bank and reform of Gift Aid."

Following consultation after publishing the 2008 green paper, the Conservatives have decided that third sector policy should be based on three fundamental issues:

• making it easier to run a charity,
• social enterprise or voluntary organisation; getting more resources into the sector, strengthening its independence and resilience;
• and making it easier for sector organisations to work with the state

The letter goes on to promise longer-term contract for voluntary and community groups "based on outcomes, not the micromanagement of the process" and says that smaller charities will be encouraged to to help the government tackle social problems.

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