Europe on the wrong path

There it was , amidst the paraphernalia of tourist tat, the Da Vinci cafe and grotesque 60s development; the Church of St Lazarus. Built in the 9th century by the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI and St Lazarus lies finally in his tomb under the chancel. The gorgeous iconostasis is a mass of golden images worshipped here for centuries.

But Larnaca stands testament to the ravages of mass tourism- the old 19th century houses that survive are dilapidated or in ruin while KFC and Mcdonald reign supreme along the seafront. But as this was the birthplace of Zeno, the founder of the stoic school of philosophy in the 4th century BC, we must be stoical about progress; though it is clear not all change is good.

And Cyprus is no longer a cheap place to live or visit. The locals will tell you it was until the arrival of the euro; then prices rocketed. This amply demonstrates the perils of the single currency. Brown was right to keep us out. Cameron is right to veto a centralising undemocratic treaty. I wish he would stress that it is for reasons of political policy he is resisting, not to safeguard the City of London though!

It is now clear that the single currency is leading Europe down a path of centralisation, where power is taken from citizens and communities and handed to bureaucrats and central administrations. To protect that currency more power is taken away from national governments. The right to establish your own budgets and taxes are fundamental to sovereignty. Yet now we see the rest of the EU heading down a profoundly undemocratic route. We need power decentralised from Brussels. More localism not less.

Civil society should play a stronger role and yet if seems it will have less power. How will we resist the demands of an ever burgeoning central state? So the ideals of a stronger europe centred around its peoples is to be sacrificed to the bizarre desire to have a single currency. Perhaps Greece will have the sense to drop the euro and stop this mad rush to ditch cherished democratic ideals?

To be or not to be...

On holiday , that is ? I am away for a week's break in Cyprus. The hound is holidaying in Bromley with sister Sara. The question is do I turn off the blackberry? Ignore all emails? Not take calls? It is a question many CEOs ask when they go away. Of course I'm sure ACEVO will manage most effectively without me , but I'm addicted to my blackberry. Love looking at my emails. Doing my blog ( as I am now sitting on a balcony looking at the Mediterranean ). And armed with my iPad I can even listen to the Today programme and catch on the Archers. Sad but true.

And my ever energetic Director Filippo Adarrii has even contacted 3 civil society leaders here to meet me. But I'm not complaining. It will be interesting to meet them and here about the state of the sector in the island. One of them is planning a major conference on social enterprise and wants our support , which they will get.

But that's enough. I'm off on the bus into Larnaca. There is a famous church here, St Lazarus. The chap who was raised from the dead by Christ and apparently made his way here and became a Bishop !

Look forward to photos in tomorrow's blog.

Lansley is right!

Andrew Lansley has hit the spot when he wants the NHS to provide a 7 day a week service and when he states the scandal of worse health care at weekends has to stop.

Our hospitals have state of the art technology that enable the detection and treatment of ill health. The scanning equipment and the theatre kit these days are a marvel to behold.

Recent evidence that deaths from heart failure have dropped dramatically demonstrate the major advances of medical science and the power of early detection through scans.

But developments in medical practise and behaviour still lag behind. Why is it that all these expensive pieces of medical kit lie idle at weekends? People are now waiting longer for tests and operations. So why not open up all of the hospitals on Saturdays and Sundays?

And why is it that still most doctors surgeries are not open in the evenings and weekends?

It is both a disgrace that people have to wait for treatment and an inefficiency not to maximise use of hospitals and doctors surgeries.

Many hospitals have now started to do routine work on Saturdays but not enough. So rather than leaving plant under utilised why not hire it out? Another sensible reform being considered by Lansley is to lift the arbitrary cap on hospitals private work. Rather than leaving expensive equipment underused a deal with, say Circle would bring in money for the NHS and they could be contracted to do work to clear waiting times so benefiting patients.

Or alternatively a new social enterprise set up by a group of nurses, consultants and doctors could take over the hospital at a weekend and run a full service with the profit going back into developing that hospital. It is a model crying out to be developed!

Recently I went for an eye check at John Radcliffe in Oxford. It was a Saturday so I did not need to take a day off work. But I was struck by how empty every where was. What a waste. I am also glad to say,needing to have some further tests , I discover they have a contract with the independent Nuffield hospital to undertake these so that I did not need to wait too long for that. As an NHS patient I was glad to get an early date; I wasn't worrying it was in a private hospital. What matters is what works, not who delivers it.

It is time we moved the debate on " privatisation" forward. We need a proper regulated system that maximises the value of the private and third sectors to the patients of the NHS. I regret that the position of many like Andy Burnham MP and those who support him put ideology above choice and the best interests of patients and citizens. It is a shame that the debate on the health bill cannot now move on to deciding how best to implement reform in the interests of the users of the NHS and explore how to best make use of the work of the other 3 sectors to advance medical care and the prevention of ill health.

Board on Friday!

I know you will be sympathetic: a euclid board meeting on a Friday evening. Perhaps less so when I tell you it is in Venice!

The beauty of this city is indescribable though many have tried; and January is a great month to be here. Few tourists yet clear blue skies. Great deals on hotels! We meet in the European Centre for living technology on San marco Square and then Prof David Lane, attached to said,takes us to his favourite venetian restaurant for post board discussion . But my day started with Mass in the Basilica of San Marco- around the supposed but venerated body of said Saint and a visit to my favourite venetian chirch, Santa Maria del Miracoli, a masterpiece of the Italian renaissance. And lunch!

Pre board preparation you might say; and there are a few contentious issues to discuss. It is always fascinating to observe the cultural interplay between our board members- the approach of the swedes versus the french, the albanians versus the italian and so on. You realise how important it is to use language carefully for although our meetings are conducted in the world lingua franca ( english) it is easy to cause difficulty through misunderstandings over language.

Euclid has come far in a few years. Now well established with the European Commission we are seen as one of the key stakeholders on civil society finance and how to develop social finance and innovation. In particular my director Filippo Addarri is a familiar figure in the many and long corridors of power in Brussels. Better known than even the Secretary General; but then long Brussels corridors are not exactly my thing. Long may that continue! Now for culture...

Cuts and independence

The first systematic review of the real impact of public spending cuts on local authorities has been published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation . It finds that the most deprived local authorities have been hardest hit by the cuts. It also finds conflict within local authorities over whether the needs of vulnerable people should be prioritised.

Serving deprived communities in a recession looked at 25 local authorities and provides an early insight into how local government in England is coping with the severe contraction in grant income implemented after the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review. Analysis of the patterns of spending cuts show greater cuts (in both proportionate and absolute terms) in the most deprived authorities, compared with the most affluent.

I think it is interesting , and alarming that this points to conflict over whether the needs of vulnerable people should be prioritised. Only half the sample had adopted 'protecting the needs of the most vulnerable client or communities' as a principle guiding budgetary decision-making and just two suggested that 'protecting deprived neighbourhoods' was a priority.

The report suggests that the consequences of the cuts for disadvantaged people in the poorest areas will also quite possibly be overlooked. Local authorities are struggling to assess the impact of the cuts they make to services, due to lack of capacity. The authors believe that the cuts made by local government in future should be monitored to ensure that the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable people are addressed.

This points to a continuing and growing role for our sector in highlighting the damage to the most marginalised and getting something done about it. I'm pleased to say that many are doing just that. For example the big national children's charities have been at the forefront of protests about potential damage to vulnerable children. And to those pundits who say that contracts have dulled independence I say look at the work of Barnados , Action for Children and the Children's Society. They have large contracts with the state. It does not stop them from speaking out. Indeed one could argue they have been more vocal than the NSPCC who derive most of their income from donations.

The problem with the debate on independence is that it is often conducted by armchair philosophers in an evidence free climate. I would argue , as does Victor Adebowale ,that involvement with service delivery has increased the efficacy of our campaigning because we know sharp end how contracts are working for our beneficiaries.

But whether it is local third sector bodies or national charities it is our role to speak truth to power. And we have the evidence from this report to do just that. ACEVO itself will not shy away from arguing for civil society and pointing to Emperor's no clothes; trenchant but I hope always with an alternative solution. Whinging without remedies is the preserve of the playground.

Annual Meeting highlights

Some AGMs are tedious. Some difficult. ACEVO is lucky. Our AGMs are excellent affairs. And rather fun. We had over 100 there, and that's not a bad record for chief execs turning up for such an event.

I gave a farewell to 2011 and my Chair welcomed 2012. We started off with a rousing speech from Nick Boles MP. He had been one of the Commissioners on the ACEVO Big Society Commission and he spoke about that and the vital role our sector plays in his constituency.

Sometimes AGMs can be opportunities for nit picking or whinging. Not so last night. I guess that's because we are all CEOs!  A good debate on issues like our potential role in challenging corporate greed , how we promote more service delivery by our sector but in ways that protect us in commissioning. And that great guy Jon Davies who leads the Wikipedia charity paid tribute to the ACEVO linked in group. This is a marvellous 900 strong group and Jon said how helpful colleagues had been in helping him in his new role at a new charity. So if you are an ACEVO member and not on this then join!

We also announced the results of our recent elections. 4 people elected to the ACEVO Board. They are;

Virginia Beardshaw – ICAN (current ACEVO Board member, re-elected for 2^nd term) 

Cath Lee – Small Charities Coalition

Alison Agius – Catalyst Stockton

Paul Martin- Lesbian and Gay Foundation

Finally let me recall the quote I ended my speech with. I like a good quote. And it needs to be from a Leader. So Catherine the Great ;

" A great wind is blowing and that gives you either imagination or a headache ".

That's the leadership  challenge in difficult times!

Old and new. One of our founders Mike Whitlam with our newest member of just 3 weeks, Gary Forster, CEO of Transaid

Gaudeamus Igitur : 25 years of sector leadership

Yes. Let's celebrate. 25 years of ACEVO, but more importantly 25 years of the voice for CEO leadership.

This month's issue of " Network" , our ACEVO leadership journal carries a fascinating article by Baroness Hayter who was one of the great 10 who founded acevo ( acenvo then) back in 1987. Read it here.

We have grown. Developed. Undoubtedly now a strong voice for sector Leaders to Government, to business and to our own sector. Now a national presence and a regular in the media promoting our sector leaders.

The core purpose remains as it was then; a network for CEOs to share and to provide mutual support and encouragement and to give collective voice for our sector's leaders.

And in austere times it's good to have a reason to celebrate. In February my chair and I start a series of meetings around the country to review and reflect.

Yesterday was a blockbuster day; starting off with breakfast with the Big Society Network and then onto the Riots Panel enquiry. I listened to a presentation by Gracia McGrath of ChanceUK. A brilliant charity run by a wonderful ACEVO member ( who I have forgiven for stealing one of my treasured staff! ). She talked about their experience of dealing with excluded kids and how damaging it is for kids to be removed from school and education - particularly if this is happening at primary level. She said it was noticeable that 30% of those arrested in the 10-17 age range had been excluded from school. And she pointed out the real lesson. Her programmes cost 4k a year to run but save the country millions.

And then onto chair the Boards of the Social Investment Business and the Adventure Capital Fund. I managed to do that in the alloted 2 hours we have given ourselves to conduct business. I'm a strong believer that meetings that drag over 2 hours lose impact and value. With discipline and firm chairing you can do what you need to do in that time and we always agree up front on what the strategic issues we need to discuss are and then spend proper time doing that, rather than extensive discussion on the minutes or signing bank mandates and the like.

There are those who seem to think there is a linear relationship between time and scrutiny- so a 4 hour meeting must be better than 2 hours. Clear nonsense. A 4 hour meeting has been badly chaired and is less effective because people get tired and irritable.

As chair you need to do 2 things well; ensure effective oversight of the executive ( though not doing their job) and ensuring strategic direction for the business. And last night , despite a packed agenda, we had a great discussion on the future funds and loan schemes we might develop. There was also a discussion on what are charmingly termed C4C ie "cause for concern". That means organisations heading for the buffers and so not paying us back. Crudely speaking. And that may not be their fault but wicked councils withdrawing contracts. The issue for us is how far do we bail out or extend loans. Whilst each case is different and we have an engaged investor approach we have to be rigorous in expecting organisations that take a loan to pay it back cos that's the system. We aint a grant maker! Loans not paid back mean another organisation denied a new loan.

And finally my younger sister Lucy and I are having fun organising our aged parents' Diamond Jubilee. As Mother was born in Union Hall , Ireland we are going over there and will have a gathering of the Limrick clan to celebrate. We are staying at The Castle, Castle Townshend, a beautiful spot in a charming village with many historic anglo- irish links. I'm corresponding with the Townshends and I reckon Anne Cochrane- Townshend , current chatelaine of the Castle is something like my 7th cousin ( the anglo- irish are all related in some way!) My Somerville Great Grandfather x 5 was the Vicar here and our gathering will no doubt be graced by the ghosts of ancestors past.

Much to celebrate. And later our AGM and annual reception in the Commons will reflect on the challenges for leaders that lie ahead...