Latest jobs
Jobs of the week
- Head of Corporate & Events Fundraising, Execucare
- £40000 - £45000 per annum, London
- Senior Press Officer, Xchangeteam
- £140 - £160 per day, London
- Education Administrator, Prospectus
- £22,000,
- Head of Institutional Funding, Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO)
- £65,000, London
- Marketing Manager, Flow Caritas
- £30000 - £32000 per annum, London
Famous names
"I'm really looking forward to it - if 'really looking forward' means dreading it"
David Schneider will cycle 70km for the Prostate Cancer Charity
Compact Voice urges independent inquiry into cancelled campaigning fund
By Andy Ricketts, Third Sector Online, 17 November 2009
Withdrawing cash breached the Compact, Office of Third Sector admits
Compact Voice has called for an independent investigation into the Office of the Third Sector's decision to abandon its £750,000 Campaigning Research Programme after a group of small charities had been offered funding.
The OTS announced on Friday that it was diverting funding it had already promised to 32 small campaigning charities into the Hardship Fund, a £16.7m pot to support third sector organisations providing services for disadvantaged people.
The OTS admitted that the decision breached the Compact, which outlines how the public and voluntary sectors should behave towards each other and says organisations should give 12 weeks' notice of changes to funding agreements.
Tom Elkins, manager at Compact Voice, which represents the voluntary sector on matters relating to the Compact, said: "The Office of the Third Sector should always be championing Compact principles, not least in its own operations.
"By withdrawing funding without providing reasonable notice, and without consulting affected organisations, the OTS has clearly breached the Compact.
"It's important that this matter is investigated by an independent group - such as the Commission for the Compact - to establish exactly how this happened and to ensure that such a breach is not repeated in the future."
The news comes as e-campaigning website Louder, which allows people to run their own online campaigns, set up a virtual petition to lobby third sector minister Angela Smith to reinstate the funding.
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said:" The Government remains committed to the Compact and to championing the Compact across Government. We have been clear that this has been a tough decision in extraordinary times.
"However, the Minister feels that it is right to transfer this money to support vital recession services now.
That this decision is in breach of the Compact has been a major factor in her consideration. There is an independent Commission for the Compact and we are happy to work with them as appropriate."
You must log in to comment on articles.
You are reading Third Sector Daily, the free breaking news bulletin that delivers the top stories affecting charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises every working day.
You must be logged in to make full use of all the site content and features.
All Comments Make a comment
carl allen, 18 November 2009, 10:06
But is it the spirit of the compact or the letter of the contract that is at issue?One can mend a relationship but what happens when the law itself is flouted?
[Report this post]
Tim , 18 November 2009, 14:27
The government has an established propensity to retrospectively tear up agreements. This is what happens when you only speak up if it affects you.[Report this post]