The 'Pickles gag'

That was the way Paul Burstow MP described the news about the DCLG grant condition to prevent the third sector's advocacy role, when he spoke at our health and social care conference today. The Times carried this story front page today.

It’s clear that the idea of banning charities from campaigning, if they get government grants, offends the principle of the independence of the sector. But it is also bad for Government in developing evidence-based policy. Bad laws are made when governments fail to take account of the evidence from the front line of public services - whoever is delivering them. For several centuries charities have brought their lived experience to policy making and campaigned for change. Take smoking, seat belts in cars, sugar and salt in food as just four examples.

Simon Stevens made a similar point in his keynote address to our health conference. The 'creative tension' that our sector brings is very important to them as they develop better services.

Let's hope this is just a Pickles one-off. I'm a fan of Eric so I'm relying on him to see that this is silly idea and drop it. It's a problem we will increasingly face as the election campaign continues and gets more frenetic - the charity sector being seen as a political punchbag. But, if that’s to be the case, then we’ll be robust in our repose. I’ll certainly continue to be so. Speaking truth to power is not just a pretty slogan. It's how we achieve what we do. 

Dogs, Philanthropists, Independence and all

Settling down to catch up on Coronation St I was disturbed by someone at the door. It turned out to be a fundraiser from the Battersea Dogs Home. My faithful hound having also appeared at the door I felt I could hardly resist taking up the offer to give them a DD donation.

In fact I'm rather prone to signing up to fundraisers. I've done that for people who popped round from the British Heart Foundation and VSO. And I also can't resist the charms of street fundraisers, or ‘chuggers’ as some term them. So I have an eclectic list of charities I support; but then as the CEO of ACEVO I can hardly turn them down. And it’s a bit like market research for me as I get their literature through the post or the emails. Shelter are particularly assiduous in their search for funds. But then they need to be. Getting support for the homeless sector is difficult. Hedge fund managers and their ilk like something more cuddly, and we have such a long way to go before such people match the level of giving that their counterparts do in the States. Of course there are exceptions, but it is still a dismal fact that poorer people give a higher proportion of their wealth to charity than rich people do.

This is a point that people like Thomas Hughes-Hallett have been labouring for some time. I had lunch with him recently and he was outlining his plans for an Institute of Philanthropy. A much-needed innovation and one to be strongly supported. And he has managed to secure the support of a good philanthropist who is putting a substantial endowment behind this project so it can really motor in a big way, making an impact where it is needed. Thomas is one of the sector greats (I got to know him well from the infamous government ‘listening exercise’ where we laboured together on choice and competition), and it was a rather enjoyable lunch – we discovered we both have a love for the English choral tradition. He supports ‘The Sixteen’ and the choir of Westminster Abbey.

Yesterday I was speaking at the launch of the Independence Panel’s final report on ‘An Independent Mission: The Voluntary Sector in 2015’. You can read it here.

It raises some fundamental issues and concerns. It raises he concerns many of my CEO members have been raising about the politicisation of the Charity Commission. It agrees with ACEVO that the Lobbying Act must be repealed as soon as the next government takes office.  And it challenges sector leaders to continue to speak out. We will. Well, I certainly will.

Censoring charities - the Electoral Commission and the Lobbying Act

So we have now had the 'guidance' from the Electoral Commission on the Lobbying Act for a couple of weeks. Long enough to consult widely on it and begin to reflect on how we might comply. "Incomprehensible" is one way to describe it. More specifically, it is helpful in places but based on a poorly drafted Act that is wrong in principle. 

As ACEVO have long warned, the Lobbying Act will affect our historic right to campaign if we let it do so. That means our job between now and the election is to go about our usual business of campaigning and awareness-raising so far as we can. The 292 pages of guidance published to date leave several areas of uncertainty that we will do our best to clarify in the next few weeks, such as the rules about joint campaigning and the details of the new constituency spending limit of £9,750.

Five Electoral Commission staff attended a meeting on Tuesday at ACEVO Towers organised hosted by Bond, ACEVO and others involved with the Commission on Civil Society. It was attended by 120 charities and campaigners. There were some heated exchanges between the Commission and the attendees as the regulator tried and failed to clarify guidance that was intended to make things clear! They are to be commended on their willingness to engage with the sector - indeed some of the Commission have a background working in the third sector. But there is still a long way before we come close to fully understanding every part of the guidance. 

We must do our best between now and 19 September and take the approach that the Lobbying Act is indeed not meant to catch campaigners doing their usual work. Small charities in particular, or anyone else who is unsure or unused to speaking out in public, should be mindful of the Act but shouldn’t let it deter them from pursuing their mission as they would do at any other time.

If you have any questions about the Act’s implications the best course is always to contact the Electoral Commission directly, on their website or via pef@electoralcommission.org.uk.

I note also my letter in February from the Prime Minister, David Cameron, who wrote to me to reassure us that the majority of charities and campaigners would not be affected by the new Act.

We were told that government wanted more transparency and not to limit charities’ ability to speak out in public. Ultimately the proof of what exactly the Act really does affect will come after its regulatory period starts next month. But for now we’ll continue to campaign for clarity about its regulations and to replace it after the election with a workable and fair arrangement for non-party campaigners.

Remember too that this is not the only threat we face. The Charity Commission are consulting on ludicrous new proposals to make us all declare ‘campaigning’ spend. Anyone who knows what charities' purpose is understands that advocacy is but the other side of the coin to delivery. More worryingly there is thought to be a desire, by some, to revise the current entirely sensible Commission guidance on campaigning (‘CC9’). This is an agenda that appears to be ideologically-driven rather than about better regulation. Of course we will see what they do but we should be aware that our historic duty to speak truth to power is under threat.

And finally; you might ask what happened to me and Newsnight yesterday. Well, I was bumped in favour of Jacob Rees-Mogg of all people. Hardly the stuff of in-depth analysis. On a happier note I can report that Radio 4 is doing an analysis programme to go out next Thursday evening which does examine Big Society - what happened? Worth listening to. I did an interview for them today.

Nick Hurd’s legacy

Well it’s been a busy week at ACEVO and in Downing Street. I had a good conversation with our new Minister for Civil Society on Wednesday. He has a strong record on finance and in charity – having founded his own charity in 2010. He is particularly interested in the power of social finance, and he will be speaking at an ACEVO fringe event on this topic at the Conservative Party Conference. At ACEVO we are keen to see progress on the role of civil society in public service delivery and I look forward to working with him on this in future.

But that said, it is sad to see Nick Hurd leave the post. He leaves OCS as the longest-serving Minister for Civil Society, and with an excellent record behind him on National Citizen Service, the Community First Fund and much more. He was widely respected on all sides of the sector as you can see from the plaudits that have come in this week.

I was interested to read Nick’s full resignation letter to the Prime Minister which conveys the range of his achievements and of his continued interest in the power of Britain’s civil society.

The comprehensive letter – which reads more like a handover note – points particularly to the importance in the next few years of making it easier for charities and social enterprises to properly participate in public service delivery. Nick recognises the crucial importance of access to social finance – which government still must improve on. He also points to the massive untapped potential of social value-based commissioning:

“There is of course much more that can be done to make it easier for social entrepreneurs and socially responsible businesses to create social value. The Social Value Act was a useful start but cannot be the end of our efforts to encourage intelligent  commissioning from a diverse market of suppliers, including charities, public sector mutuals and social enterprises. We have yet to unlock the full value that they can add in helping us tackle some of the most stubborn social challenges that undermine the  country. It is hard to see us meeting the challenge of delivering ‘better with less’ without our social economy fully engaged.”

So here is some useful advice for our sector and for Brooks as he steps in to post. Lots to develop on social value and on financing our sector’s social ambitions. And let’s not forget the importance too of protecting our right to speak out. We have just two months now before the Lobbying Act kicks in. The chilling effect is already being felt. A good letter in the Times this week by our friends at Bond put the urgency of the matter in clear terms. Its words should speak for us all.

“We and many others call for the act to be replaced by one which regulates party-political lobbying while safeguarding civil society’s right to speak out.  As it is, the Lobbying Act is a threat to a healthy democracy.”

A milestone on the Lobbying Act

My team interrupted my Australian holiday last night to let me know some good news from SW1. At long last the Labour Party have committed to repeal the dreadful Lobbying Act if they win power in 2015. Good on Ed.

We’ve spoken with Angela Eagle’s office a lot recently, and I wrote in February to all three party leaders to urge them to commit their parties to repeal. David Cameron wrote back to promise that the act “will only apply to third-party organisations or charities who spend money to procure the electoral success of a particular political party or candidate”. But he didn’t commit to replacing the Act with a better-drafted law. Now Labour have gone one better.

Labour’s commitment means the other parties must follow suit. It’s in their interests, and in the country’s interest, for all parties to commit to rewriting the bad law the government have produced.

But for now ACEVO’s campaign won’t rest. We’ll keep at the Electoral Commission and all the political parties, to make sure that the Lobbying Act regulation for the 2015 election is proportionate and that there’s good plans in place for a replacement law after 2015. You can now find updates on our fantastic new website too. Just go to http://www.acevo.org.uk/campaigns/speaking-truth-power-lobbying-act.

North after a late night - and a letter from the Prime Minister

Leeds again this morning. And I took my umbrella and didn't use it. I'd have worn my great Harris tweed cloth cap too if I hadn't managed to leave it on the 59 bus (if you find it let me know...)

Meeting with the Commissioning Support Network, the group of organisations that support the CCGs in their new commissioning role. We were talking about how to increase third sector exposure to the new structures and tendering arrangements. This is a great opportunity. I spoke about our recent discussions with Addenbrookes.

A little bleary this morning as I had dinner last night with Paul Streets of the Lloyds Bank Foundation. Eating at Roast, the marvellous restaurant in the Borough Market (which is a charity as well as the place to buy your organic and fresh produce!). Paul is doing a great job there and he's an ACEVO member obviously. He used to run Diabetes UK before joining the DH! He is now back in our sector where he should be.

I was also pleased to have a personal letter yesterday from our dear Prime Minister, in response to my letter earlier this month about the government's Lobbying Act. He promised it would not affect the majority of charities, and that we would get a meaningful input into the 2015 review of the Act if he got his way. All very well, I suppose, but the proof is ultimately in the doing. How much the Act will stop our sector speaking out before the election remains to be seen. Many Chief Executives are rightly concerned. ACEVO will be watching closely!

And I'm now heading back to London for the 40th anniversary dinner for the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (Solace). It'll be good to catch up with old mates from my days in local government. But I shall probably feel rather poor in comparison with them these days!