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Office for Civil Society cuts £11m from Capacitybuilders, v and the Commission for the Compact

By Kaye Wiggins and John Plummer, Third Sector Online, 29 July 2010

Ministers Francis Maude and Nick Hurd also write to sector asking for cost-saving ideas

The Office for Civil Society will cut £11m from its 2010/11 budget by reducing its funding for Capacitybuilders, the Commission for the Compact and the youth volunteering charity v.

The reduction brings the budget down from £147.9m to £136.9m, a drop of 7.4 per cent.

In a statement released today, the OCS confirmed it will cut £5m from v’s match funding budget and £1.95m from its annual grant, which had been set at £39m for the current financial year.

The OCS will also cut its funding to Capacitybuilder by £1.3m and to the Commission for the Compact by £400,000.

It will also save £130,000 by ceasing its payments to the Regional Development Agencies, which are being axed. The money was used to provide business support for social enterprises.

The OCS has identified a further £2m of savings from "unallocated funding".

In a statement, Terry Ryall, chief executive of v, said: "It is regrettable that the Office for Civil Society has cut our funding for this year, but of course we understand these savings are part of the government’s wider spending cuts.

"We are considering how we can make the 5 per cent saving required without impacting on front-line services or jobs." The statement said v would be able to meet all of its existing match fund commitments with private sector firms.

A Capacitybuilders spokeswoman said the cuts would have immediate effect and the organisation would not make any new awards under its Regional Networks Fund or its Social Enterprise Support programme.

Committed grants would continue to be paid, she said. Capacitybuilders had been in talks with government officials about cutting its budget since April, she said.

The Commission for the Compact will make the £400,000 savings, which amount to a 20 per cent cut in its budget this year, by reducing spending on marketing and events, which will mean less promotion of the Compact at national and local levels.

Richard Corden, chief executive of the Commission for the Compact, said: "Anyone in my position who didn’t see this coming and didn’t have discussions about it months ago would be an idiot." He said no one at v had contacted him with concerns about whether the cuts were Compact-compliant.

A spokesman for the OCS said there was "absolutely no question" of a breach of the Compact because the department had been in regular discussions with affected organisations about the cuts.

Francis Maude, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, and Nick Hurd, the Minister for Civil Society, have written an open letter to the sector asking charities, social enterprises and community groups to offer ideas for how the OCS could make further economies. In the letter, they ask voluntary sector groups to email cost-cutting ideas to sectorchallenge@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk.

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Geoffrey Foster

Geoffrey Foster, 30 July 2010, 11:14

All those people who voted for the liberal democrats - talk about turkeys voting for christmas

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Olu Alake

Olu Alake, 30 July 2010, 12:21

There seems to be a very non-strategic approach to how these cuts are being made. It goes without saying that there is a lot of waste, but in these times one would expect that the criteria for making cuts would not be indiscriminate or a blanket-approach, but carefully targeted, based on the purpose, immediate impact and usefulness of the organisations and services they provide. What is the rationale of for instance, cutting the funding for supporting social enterprises at the same time as espousing the launch of a 'Big Society'? Why would you abolish a body that generates income in multiples of 5 times what they are being funded like the UK Film Council? Under the current socio-economic circumstances, the funding for Capacitybuilders should actually have been increased, although that should have been conditional on significant reform to the programme to ensure it is meeting its remit. By this time next year, I fear a lot of these cuts will have to be reversed, but a lot of damage would have been done by then.

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Steve Belsey

Steve Belsey, 31 July 2010, 11:50

What are Civil Society Organisations anyway? I know what a Third Sector Organisaton is, being employed by a Co-operative that works with Voluntary Organisations.

Civil Society suggests white, middle class 'do-gooders' with time on thier hands with nothing better to do than patronise disavantaged people.

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Brian Craven

Brian Craven, 2 August 2010, 09:03

Increase savings in the sector?

Easy - stop central funding for multiple, oer-lapping 2nd/ 3rd tier groups, who have little idea about the realities of frontline work.

Then direct all and any funding available to frontline service delivery organisations, with the requirement that they levy 5% to their most appropriate support.

Who should manage it?

Start with some of the largest, very efficient and professional private grant making trusts.

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Lucy Archer

Lucy Archer, 2 August 2010, 11:05

Any cuts like this is a positive sign but is it enough and cuold other cuts be made?

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ged simpson

ged simpson, 11 August 2010, 09:57

My bigger concern is the philosophy behind Big Society / Civil Society.

History shows us that the volunteering / philanthropy model for meeting social need was full of good intention but failed to meet the real social needs of the poorest in our couintry.

This was why a welfare state developed that became the envy of the world. It's weakness lies more with its administration rather than its philosphy.

I fear we will now move back to provision that is again delivered by amateur well intentioned people who rely on scraps from the table of the rich to fund their limited services. I also have big doubts about the social enterprise model. Who will buy the services ? The poor ? The Government after all the cuts ?

This has been the core of Tory philospphy for a long time \(roll back the state) and the current ecomomic situation must be a gift from god for them.

As for the Lib Dems. Well this is also the true philosophy of liberals as well isn't it ?

Marry in haste, repent at leisure for them I fear.

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