NCVO statement ahead of the publication of the Government's Mid-Term Review

Ahead of the publication of the Coalition Government’s mid-term review, Deputy CEO of NCVO, Ben Kernighan said today:

"The country faces long term cuts in public spending and many people are struggling financially. We have less money, but more problems.

"The Prime Minister was right to recognise that in these circumstances charities can and should play a bigger role. He called this the Big Society. Charities are crucial in these difficult times as they understand what support people need to get by. They play a vital role in ensuring that limited public resources are spent well and engage millions of volunteers in helping to create a better society.

"The coalition government has done some things right: extending the gift aid scheme to small donations through recent legislation, setting up a new Big Society Bank, and making checks on volunteers easier. But in other areas, the coalition hasn’t done enough: too many public service contracts are not appropriate to voluntary organisations: they are too big or require charities to have too much money in the bank. In addition, too many public bodies are cutting charity budgets more deeply than their own. For the Prime Minister’s vision to be achieved he will have to change how commissioning is done, provide more support and training for volunteers and stop public bodies cutting charities disproportionately."