The UK had a budget statement last week which lurched the government to the left. Meanwhile, the UK Civil Society Minister has meanwhile upset many charities by saying what, alas, is in the mind of the public. A great deal of wonderful charities exist in the UK but the reputation of the sector has been sadly diminished by various entities which are inefficient, opaque and poorly governed in terms of delivering, well, charity… Interesting reading all round.
The Spending Review Offers An Opportunity To Radically Redefine Public Service Delivery
Chris Wright – Third Sector
The Chancellor’s spending review brought some relief for charities and social sector organisations concerned about their futures amidst a landscape of tightening budgets. The protection of the Big Lottery Fund, 220,000 more places on the National Citizen Service, and £20m a year of new support for social impact bonds are welcome gestures that will ease the minds of many in the sector. But now is not the time to relax.
Civil Society Minister Questions Charities’ Ethics, Governance & Dependence On Government
Emily Corfe – Civil Society
Charities must regain public trust, need to address basic questions of ethics and governance, waste money competing for funding, and are dependent on the “crutch” of government, the civil society minister, Rob Wilson, said at the launch of BT’s #GivingTuesday campaign.
Wilson repeated Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement pledge to pump greater resources into the National Citizen Service and social impact bonds. Some £80m has been pledged for social impact bonds while an estimated £1.1bn will be spent on the National Citizen Service by 2020.
Autumn Statement 2015: Big Society Capital Responds
Matt Robinson – Pioneers Post
With the spending review dust settling, what does this all mean for social investment? Matt Robinson and Daria Kuznetsova from Big Society Capital reflect.