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Commission for the Compact 'powerless' to investigate OTS breach
By John Plummer, Third Sector Online, 19 November 2009
Disappointment for campaigners over scrapped grants
The Commission for the Compact has said it does not have the powers to investigate the Office of the Third Sector's breach of the Compact.
Third sector minister Angela Smith broke the Compact, the mutual fair play agreement between the public and voluntary sectors, when she announced without consultation last week that her department had scrapped grants worth £750,000 to 32 voluntary organisations.
The grants had been offered as part of the Campaigning Research Programme, which the OTS opened in April to strengthen the ability of charities to campaign for change. Formal offers of grants worth about £20,000 each were sent last month.
Compact Voice, which represents the voluntary sector on Compact issues, this week called for an independent group, such as the commission, to investigate the U-turn.
But Richard Corden, chief executive of the commission, said: "We don't have any more powers than anyone else to investigate this."
The commission has asked the Government for it to be given statutory powers to investigate Compact breaches, but no powers have yet been given.
Corden said the breach was deplorable, but added that Smith deserved a "minor well done" for owning up.
Tom Elkins, manager of Compact Voice, said it would continue talking to the commission and the OTS about an investigation "to establish why this decision was made".
Meanwhile, umbrella body the NCVO is writing to Smith to request a meeting. It is also writing to the OTS to ask it to explain the rationale behind the decision.
The NCVO has threatened to take legal action, but the six-page terms and conditions of the grants include a clause that says "both parties can agree to end or vary this agreement without the consent of a third party".
An OTS spokesman said: "We are confident that we have not breached the terms and conditions of the agreement.
"The minister was aware of the consequences of this difficult decision, but wanted to focus Government funds on supporting the third sector during these difficult economic times."
Smith said the severity of the recession had prompted her to divert the £750,000 to the £16.7m Hardship Fund.
Organisations selected for the Campaigning Research Programme
Action in Rural Sussex – Three Villages project
BME Community Champions
BME Community Services, West Sussex
Bolton Solidarity Community Association
Bristol Somali Resource Centre
Community Action Safety and Training Trust
Church Action on Poverty North East
Crosby Community Association, Scunthorpe
Easington Lane Community Access Point
Gender and Participation Unit
GenderShift
Greenbank Tenants and Residents Association
Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust
Houghton Racecourse Community Access Point
Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation
JH Foundations
Leeds Gate
London Detainee Support Group
Manchester Disabled People's Action Group
Merton Unity Network
Mexborough Community Partnership
North Hampshire Caribbean and African Network
Object
One Community Development Trust
Our Vision Our Future, Chesterfield
People in Action (Leeds)
Plias Resettlement
Press for Change
Reading Refugee Support Group
South Bank Tomorrow
Street Talk
Surrey Gypsy Travellers Forum
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All Comments Make a comment
john routledge, 20 November 2009, 10:32
Does anyone know how many billions of pounds and how many millions of hours of people's time have been spent on the compact?[Report this post]
John Wilks, 20 November 2009, 10:36
The government will do what it wants. As for the Commission for the Compact being given statutory powers - for this very reason they wont be granted.[Report this post]
Dave Punshon, 20 November 2009, 11:00
Did anyone really think the compact was real,it was simply part of a meaningless performance management exercise to meet meaningless targets around community involvement-[Report this post]
Phil Cooper, 20 November 2009, 14:00
The Compact is not legally biding but is based on mutual trust and goodwill which has now been completely sacrificed by the Government.Have any of the organisations adversely affected by this appalling OTS decision obtained legal advice to detemine whether there is a case for a judicial review of the decision and whether they should be directly compensated by Government for their costs incurred in preparing and presenting bids which had been selected? Also, given the fact that many of the projects that have now been let down involved BME or refugee groups I would have thought representations from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Refugee Council should be forthcoming. Are they sure they can now trust the Government to keep its word?
Phil Cooper
[Report this post]
Elizabeth Balgobin, 20 November 2009, 16:29
The Commission may not have the statutory powers but that doesn't mean that commissioners shouldn't consider conducting an investigation (and see how far they get) anyway. The argument for not having statutory powers was something along the lines that a) the compact isn't really enforceable, as have been proved, and b) the existing remit would allow the commission to do whatever necessary without statutory powers. It would seem that Ms Smith might have been better to get her funds by scrapping the commission.[Report this post]