The unique skills and community benefits of the third sector must not be overlooked by councils looking to improve local public services, Communities Secretary John Denham said today.
Voluntary organisations and charities are overwhelmed with demand for their services, but funding cuts are making it hard for them to keep up, plan for the future and prove their true worth (Public magazine).
In the same Denham press release he adds:
"In the quest for leaner more efficient services we still need to find ways for councils to take advantage of the positive social outcomes the third sector provides."
The Public article says that:
Anecdotal evidence suggests that cuts in the third sector may be even worse than predicted, with some organisations reporting that local authorities are planning to slash their core funding by at least 20% and up to 50%. Meanwhile, pressures on public sector spending are expected to impact on councils contracting out services, which has driven much of the third sector's growth in recent years.
In the Guardian today PwC's Dame Julie Mellor has an article on their work with ippr (that Cadence did some work on last year. Their interesting document is based on polling on the public's interest in getting involved in services. It says:
- An opinion poll undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that there is public support for this agenda. Specifically, 82% believe that individuals and communities should do more to help the police tackle antisocial behaviour and crime, 54% support the use of personal budgets in social care, and 41% support the idea that parents and communities should be able to set up new schools.
- When we asked the public if they believe that "individuals today are less willing to take personal responsibility over the issues that affect their own lives", 76% said they did and only 5% did not.
- Only 3% felt that individuals/families and communities should be most responsible for ensuring that their streets were a safe place to live.
- 93% said that the state - comprising central and local government, and service providers - should be primarily responsible for public safety.
- Only 2% believe that individuals, families and communities should be most responsible for running local schools.
- On caring for older people, 66% felt that the state should be most responsible for caring for them, compared with 24% who felt this should be left to individuals and families.
In the Society section of The Guardian today there is a Public Eye piece that helps make some sense of how the 3rd sector should respond to these mixed messages. It focuses on the need for organisations being able to show what impact they make and how this is even more important at this time. Martin Brookes of New Philanthropy Captial recommends their Little Blue Book to help organisations do just that. Worth a look probably.
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