After the election, what now for civil society?

What a night. It was strange to be watching the results rolling in, sitting in David Cameron's constituency. Indeed I even saw his car – and the accompanying helicopter – pass as he went from his house up the road to the count in Witney.

To Cameron’s credit, he was the only party leader who spoke about volunteering and the third sector during the campaign. He made a radical proposal on volunteering rights in new legislation, which we strongly supported. His support for charities and social enterprise – and specially his emphasis on volutneering – will have been noted all over the country. I look forward to seeing it take shape in government.

Andrew Marr made a perceptive remark about Labour’s stance on the voluntary and community sector, when he said the party need to fundamentally rethink their approach, to think less of public sector workers and more about the role of charities and the community. I was shocked that Ed Miliband, who was our first third sector minister, made no comment in this election about charities and social enterprise or our role in society. Labour needs a radical rethink of its stance on the third sector. They were silly to ignore civil society and its role in building stronger communities. Let's hope the  Labour leadership contenders will put this right.

So, while these are early days, I am pleased by David Cameron's pledge, made in his speech in Downing Street, to build One Nation. This must not be only about Scottish devolution but also about bridging the gulf between the haves and have-nots, accelerating the public service reform agenda to give the poorest in our society real choice and care and supporting our world-leading third sector. One Nation means working with charities, campaign groups and social enterprises that bring people together, listening to them and supporting their leaders to make change happen. Our voluntary and community organisations must be unmuzzled and unleashed, for the good of our country.

Budgets, Blunkett and getting old...

So, the Budget. And the missing £40m. It’s disgraceful that the Local Sustainability Fund still hasn’t been launched, more than a year after it was first announced. This idea - promoted by ACEVO and agreed by OCS under Nick Hurd - has been quietly dropped for now. They hoped quietly but I intend to ensure there is nothing quiet about this manoeuvre. Of course we suspect why this has happened. The idea that you need a ‘sustainability fund’ implies there are many charities in danger from funding cuts and rising demand for their services. This does not fit the current narrative of the ruling coalition. I suspect the hand of Lynton Crosby in excising this particular ‘barnacle’ from the budget speech ‘boat’.

So will Rob, our civil society minister, now stand up for the sector and insist on the fund going ahead? We have only a week before purdah. I’m hoping that Rob will set the record straight at our ACEVO and CAF hustings on Tuesday. He will certainly be asked what happened!

Whatever the good aspects of the budget - raising tax allowances, moves on savers, etc., it is deeply worrying for our sector what might happen on cuts. The IFS comment about a “rollercoaster of cuts to come” will have been greeted with dismay in our sector as we and our beneficiaries will undoubtedly bear the brunt.

In fact I was in the Commons after the Budget. I was having a late lunch with Nick Hurd MP, for a catch-up and an opportunity to reflect back on the 6 years he spent in the job of civil society minister or spokesman. 

As you can imagine it was a wide-ranging discussion. But with a particular emphasis on social finance and how we promote it. And then onto a reception to mark the contribution that David Blunkett MP has made to society generally and to youth charities in particular. A great and emotional occasion as he is a towering giant of a politician and a friend for over three decades. Indeed there was a gaggle of us former local government types from the 80s reminiscing in the corner - led by the brilliant Margaret Hodge MP.

Of course the danger of getting older is the huge temptation to reminisce about the good old days. But more importantly, as the population ages, as the working life extends, as many of us get older and live longer with long-term conditions we need to look carefully at the role of our sector in working and supporting older people. 

Often this subject is approached from a negative and unhelpful position. Us oldies are a burden. We soak up resources. We get too many free perks. So it’s good that today we get the report Decision Time: will the voluntary embrace the age of opportunity? It’s the final report of the Commission on the Voluntary Sector and Ageing Ably led by Lynne Berry, former active ACEVO member when she ran WRVS. 

As they say, “longer life expectancy is opening up new possibilities for individuals and communities”. It offers the potential of an age of opportunity in which the third sector could thrive. Worth reading. Worth taking up the challenge. 

This is a good approach, and certainly for those of us in our seventh decade (me and Stuart Etherington to name but two!) this age of opportunity is something to be welcomed.

Third Sector Hustings!

We are in a surfeit of party leader speeches and it is still 80 days to go before the election. Will all this debating help or hinder? I was having dinner with Andrew Barnett, the dynamic and charming (no he’s not giving me money!) CEO of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and we were both agreeing it is all a bit tedious. Even though we know it's important. 

I was interested in Ed Miliband's speech yesterday on Labour’s ‘Better Plan for Britain’s Prosperity’. The plan builds on the feedback and ideas that many  in the business community have given Labour and sets out “how the next Labour Government will chart a path to higher productivity in all parts of the economy as the basis of a renewed and inclusive prosperity. Central to Labour’s plan is an understanding that Britain only succeeds when working people succeed.”

And David Cameron spoke recently on the Tory plan for the economy. Clearly both parties are vying for the business vote and both are setting out their alternative visions for the economy. What is striking is how little they both have to say about society and the role of citizens and communities. Although we know Big Society is not a feature of the current 6 Tory themes, last election there was at least a debate on society. At present it’s completely absent. What role social action? What role the third sector in public service reform? What role in building social cohesion through volunteering or promoting giving? 

And yet when you think about it, a prosperous Britain depends on a strong society where there is social cohesion and communities are strengthened through citizens’ social action and volunteering. When society is fragmented there are serious consequences – as we have seen with past riots and social unrest. So business needs to be underpinned by a society that is at ease with itself. The role that our third sector plays in building a strong economy is usually overlooked and yet it is important. 

This is why ACEVO and the Charities Aid Foundation are holding a our 2015 Gathering: The Social Leaders’ Debate. We are challenging the main political parties, as well as those who aim to hold a balance of power, to a hustings to debate their party positions with the third sector. It will be fun. And who knows, it may even be illuminating…

The hustings are at Church House in Westminster, in the evening of Tuesday 24 March. If you fancy coming along, do book your place soon!

Championing charities in Birmingham!

So the Tory Conference has drawn to a close. Last night's ACEVO/CAF civil society rally was a triumph. We launched our Blue Book of the Voluntary Sector, part of our series of essay collections looking at the major parties and their future relationship with the voluntary sector. You can read the full book here.

There was a positive debate on how civil society is central to Conservative thinking and a very good humoured and purposeful discussion. Even when the dreaded Lobbying Act was mentioned, our Blue Book authors were keen to stress their support for charities rights to campaign. I gave them a tub-thumping speech on our dual role to provide support and advocacy, linking this improbably with the harvet festival lesson on ‘righteousness’. I suggested that’s what charities do! And once again our new Minister Rob Wilson came along to speak. A good few words on how he wants to work with the sector over the next few months.

Of course, running fringes is only part of what we do at these conferences. Much of the value lies in the conversations and chats that go on around the conference halls and rooms. So I was able to catch up with the Prime Minister (who also happens to be my MP) as well as key Cabinet Ministers like IDS, Nicky Morgan and Francis Maude. I caught up with old friends like David Willetts, Greg Clark and Damian Green and I did a couple of dinners where I spoke about health and public service reform. And I even had an enjoyable chat with the journalist Christopher Hope, the chap on the Telegraph who wrote the charity CEO stories. We had a good discussion about transparency in charities, which we intend to continue over lunch.

Although conference season is a draining 3 weeks it is essential that the third sector flag is seen flying high. One of my core roles as the charity CEO leader is to be here. We argue our sector’s corner, keep ourselves visible, and make the connections and networks we need to promote our cause.

So roll on Sunday; Glasgow and the Lib Dems and the launch of the Yellow Book!

Here are a few photos from last night taken by my policy officer George Bangham.

My opening speech:

New Civil Society Minister Rob Wilson MP speaks:

Dominic Raab MP talks about his essay:

Penny Mordaunt MP discussing her work:

John Glen MP challenging Clement Attlee's vision of charities and public services:

Our packed audience:

Bad food and MPs...

Well done to Michael Gove MP for the new guidelines on food in schools, cutting out fries and sugary drinks. High time too, as obesity among kids soars and the rise in cases of diabetes and pre-diabetes is increasing significantly. And what may you ask is our health service doing about it? 

Well, in hospitals, sweet nothing as they say. Walk into most hospitals and the tempting offers on chocs and coke from vending machines and cafes are all around. Why, Guys hospital even has a McDonalds on the premises. And at Tommies you walk in past an array of retail outlets piled to the gunwales with unhealthy food options. It's time hospitals got on message. I realise they are turning a fast buck on these outlets but I thought they were about improving our health! Could Jeremy Hunt take a leaf out of Michael Gove's book on this? And let's face it. Most elderly people in hospital for a long period emerge malnourished - Age UK has run their excellent campaign against malnutrition in hospitals for almost 10 years now. Hospitals just don't get good food, let alone healthy food. End of rant. 

We had a Social Investment Business reception at the House of Commons this week (more sticky buns on offer there; I said no!). We were introducing some of our investees to MPs and we had a good cross-section of Members from all parties, as well as Ministers and their Shadows. Nick Hurd MP gave a great speech and emphasised the point I had made about how social finance is one of those subjects where you do find cross-party consensus. The Big Society Capital started off as a Labour idea, but was taken up enthusiastically by the Conservatives, and David Cameron is a great advocate of social investment. And Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd has been a great champion for our sector. He has a lovely approach to the role which combines an oft laconic style with wit and passion for the sector. He even went so far as to describe me as ‘an institution’. Obviously kind comments by him about me simply reinforce my view he is a perceptive chap.

The event was sponsored by Crispin Blunt MP, a former Prisons Minister and a non-exec on my Social Investment Business Board. His comments on a range of issues make great common sense, as I told him, now that he has been freed from the cares of office! But the fun of this event was in meeting the many charities and social enterprises that have taken loans to promote their ambitions. 

SIB has made over £350m worth of social investment to over 1000 organisations. This makes us the UK's largest social investor. I'm chuffed to be their Chair. And in the spirit of keeping fit I can report I spent an hour in the Brixton gym last night. Needed to after that rather splendid dinner at the Cass Business School on Wednesday.

The Social Leaders Gathering, Part 1.

So, one year to go to the General Election. And what do our political parties have to offer us in the third sector? It’s the theme of our ACEVO Gathering of Social Leaders today, as we hear from our sector leaders and the leaders of our competing parties on their "offer " to us. 

We have just heard an insightful and amusing account of the prospects ahead from that star Ben Page of Ipsos MORI. Setting the scene and crystal ball gazing. What the polls today tell us is that no one can be certain of the outcome - who wil win or whether there will be a further coalition of some sort.

That is an opportunity for our sector to stake its claim. Its claim to a share in power on behalf of citizens and communities ill-served by the State.

I had the task of introducing our Civil Society Minister Nick Hurd MP; looking back at the coalition and what "Big Offer " they have for the future.

Here is what I said:

So, we have exactly one year to go. Grant Shapps’ election clock at CCHQ has finally got to the 365-day countdown. Ed Miliband today gives Labour HQ the one-year pep talk. The short answer, for anyone who cares to speculate, is that we have no idea who will be in government in a year’s time.
That means the third sector needs to keep working closely with all major political parties. None has a strong narrative yet for the third sector’s role in government, so over the next year ACEVO and the rest of our sector have a big task ahead.

I want to draw special attention today to the question of trust in British public life.

In general, we are losing trust in our public institutions. The same goes for traditional figures of authority – we are no longer a deferential society.

Associational life itself – be it churches, youth groups, football matches etc. – has declined precipitously. Political party loyalty has changed so that while in the 1950s 97% of electors voted Labour or Tory, in 2010 the two main parties only received 65% of the votes cast.

The British Social Attitudes survey shows that over the last thirty years trust in institutions like the police, press and banks has fallen too. The press and banks are particularly notable; trust in the press has halved to 27% of people and for banks it’s fallen from 90% to 19%.

And I’m not sure that more than around 20% of the public have ever trusted politicians on the whole. 
But despite all that, the third sector is still highly trusted – by the general public.

In the wake of last summer’s Chief Executive pay furore, a YouGov survey showed that 49% of the public still trust charities to lobby government for the benefit of society – compared to under 30% for trade unions and under 20% for private companies.

Likewise, an nfpSynergy survey earlier this year, looking at people’s trust in charities to campaign politically, showed that 58% supported our sector’s right to be able to campaign to change laws and government policies relevant to our work. The public seem not always to have a clear awareness of how our organisations work in practice, but they trust that we are doing the right thing on behalf of our beneficiaries.

This is in marked contrast to our political class. Now, no-one ever trusts politicians very much, rightly or wrongly. It’s unfair to comment on that. But what worries me more is that politicians are out of kilter with the public in their view of charity. This same nfpSynergy survey found that a significant number of MPs were unhappy with charities doing ‘political’ activity: 78% of Tories, 23% of Labour and 38% of Lib Dems.

I would argue that it’s this disconnect between MPs’ and the public’s views of charities that has recently produced unpopular legislation like the Lobbying Bill.

So now to the year ahead. I mention trust because, as a trusted sector, charities are essential to the success of the programmes of all potential governments after 2015. With one year to go to the election, our sector’s enormous reservoir of trust we have built up from the public gives us a duty and an ability to speak out and raise the interests of our beneficiaries in an otherwise narrow and quite nasty election debate – focused on immigration, welfare and the economy.

Looking ahead to today’s talks, I would like to thank Nick for his excellent work as Minister for Civil Society for the last 4 years – the longest serving holder of this post, in fact. We like what he has done. He has overseen some effective support for social finance and for third sector organisations providing public services. He has been an understanding colleague to our sector.

But I’d like also to set him a challenge. Our sector is trusted. We are central to the wellbeing of many of our society’s most vulnerable people – giving local communities and communities of need valuable services and a voice in the public sphere.

Yet the Government has provided relatively little support for capacity-building of third sector organisations. Recently Nick announced the £40 million Local Sustainability Fund, to help support medium-sized community organisations struggling to keep afloat in the wake of local authority cuts. The Cabinet Office are currently consulting on it, but the fund will only kick in in 2015.

In the meantime many organisations will struggle or collapse due to falling funding from all sources.
And they will be restrained in their ability to speak out for beneficiaries by gagging clauses in public service contracts, and the terms of the Lobbying Act which comes into force on 19 September.

My challenge, then, is to Nick and to the Government, to ask what lessons they have learnt and what they would do differently if they remain in power after 2015.

I want to leave you with three messages for now:

1. Take our sector’s work seriously – and integrate our work in planning across government like the national infrastructure plan (as ACEVO called for in our representation to the 2014 Budget).

2. Take note of our potential to make a reality of political attempts to devolve power away from Westminster and Whitehall (I’ll talk more of that in my speech before Jon Cruddas this afternoon).

3. Give our sector a ‘Big Offer’. We were central to the Big Society in 2010. I did pronounce it to be dead last year but I hope to be surprised by the public debate in the coming year. There is much to do, not least supporting sector infrastructure that has been decimated by years of cuts.

So without further ado: Thank you for coming Nick, and welcome. I look forward to a constructive year of dialogue in the run-up to the election.

Reflections on Leadership.

Both main Party Leaders have talked at their Conferences about their leadership role. We tend to discount reflections from politicians about leadership but we shouldn't.

Being Leader of a political party must be a relentless, full on and difficult task. You are rarely thanked and have to put up with some gross nonsense; Cameron with the pics of him on the beach changing, or the disgusting articles in the Daily Mail about Ed's father (which really plumb new depths in so-called journalism).

Politicians are held in low esteem, but imagine how those in our sector would cope with this sort of publicity?

The job of a charity CEO is not in the same league, but there are parallels. One word you don't tend to find on the CEO job spec is resilience. But you need that in spades.

It’s a bit of a cliché, but the CEO's job is a lonely one. It can be hugely stressful. I was interested in the interviews with the CEO of Lloyds Bank when he admitted the job had been so hard he had been told by doctors to take time out. I doubt anything in our world matches the scale of the Lloyds problems, but if you are running a charity and the financial pressure is such you fear the organisation may go under, that is a huge strain on the CEO. In ACEVO we continue to get calls to our CEO in crisis line. Only last week we had to refer 4 CEOs to our legal and advice support services. This is at a level we have never experienced in ACEVO for a decade - so it gives you an idea of the real difficulties being faced by members.

That level of stress and pressure can have consequences if we are not resilient and part of our core function as ACEVO is to provide help to the individual CEO; that's part of our public benefit mission to improve governance and charity well-being in our sector. We are the only body that does this work and I know from members who have been supported how valuable that is.

When matters get personal and things move from a criticism of decisions to personal attack - as can happen to politicians - then it's particularly difficult to know how to respond, let alone the toll it takes on you. I had a taste of this myself over the summer when a routine ACEVO stakeholder event in the Lords, for which I paid half (as some family were there too and a birthday cake was brought out), was portrayed in the Daily Mail as a personal birthday party - as though anyone writing such a story would invite a heap of politicians, journalists and other stakeholders to their birthday party! Difficult to know how to respond to this, in the wake of the stories on CEO pay in certain sections of the media. It was clear this was a particular media attempt to undermine my robust defence of executive pay.  I have to say the firm response of many members who saw through the attacks was enormously comforting, though I worry that the episode may put off others from being so upfront on explaining the need for professional pay.

In a leadership position, ultimately, you have to accept that speaking out brings consequences. So resilience is needed. The bottom line is always what is good for the clients, members or beneficiaries you represent. It can be a tough and unpleasant job to get right.

Conferences

Although I'm sure attending Party Conferences is a health hazard; bad food, drink, unsocial hours and bad hotels, they're invaluable for the contacts and networks you need to make if you want a leadership role in our sector, as well as the intel you pick up.

So it was amusing that as I sat with my new Policy Officer, George Bangham and Karl Wilding, the NCVO Director of Policy in the "Coffee Club" talking about the Lobbying Bill, Andrew Lansley pops by. We had another word about the Bill timetable and issues involved. That followed our meeting with him in more formal circumstances last week. We are currently working on views on the amendments to the Bill to be laid this week - though of course if this Bill is to make high-quality law that addresses public demand, it must be paused to properly listen to the views of those who it affects.

The first meeting of the new Civil Society Commission (www.civilsocietycommission.info) takes place today, and they will announce their Chair. I'm confident the huge diversity of Commission supporters shows that opposition to the Bill had nothing to do with politics; rather it's about fairness, democracy and good law. My own Chair, Lesley Anne (RNIB) is a member and indeed they are meeting at RNIB .

Parliamentarians have now been informed of the Commission's existence and aims.

The Commission will aim to take evidence around the country in the next 3 weeks, select committee-style, including testimony from:

- Organised civil society
- Politicians
- Expert witnesses e.g. lawyers
- Members of the public
- and the inevitable Celebrities!

Lastly, at the Conference yesterday we heard from the Chancellor about his latest efforts regarding unemployment. Charities have long led the way in supporting the unemployed back into work. However, if the government expects charities to take on many more volunteers through the ‘Help to work’ scheme, then those places will need to be funded. Governments tend to think of volunteering as without cost, but volunteers need to be supervised, managed and trained and that costs money. Many charities would also have strong reservations about accepting volunteers on mandatory placements- volunteers should be motivated by passion, not the threat of lost benefits. Many of my members will not want to take on the role of penalising people on schemes who may loose benefits. We are the voluntary sector, not an arm of the State, let alone an enforcement agency for DWP.

Speaking Truth to Power.

The phrase trips lightly off the tongue, but how many of us in the sector really stand up when times get tough? This next year will certainly be a test.

It’s been interesting to reflect on the debate over pay and now on the Lobbying Bill and see the balance between heads down and speaking out. We had an interesting ACEVO leadership lunch last week with Roland Rudd, one of the world's top PR experts and founder of Legacy 10. He is a strong charity supporter and has many trustee positions under his belt. He was crystal clear that the sector must be robust and spell out why professional salaries are right and why our voice should be heard.

I warned recently that the climate seems increasingly hostile to charities. I've had a mixed response and that is not unusual in such a diverse sector. Some feel the best approach is to hunker down and not be seen as critical.

I think this is wrong. Of course we have to be balanced. I'm clear no one likes perpetual oppositionists or whingers. So in the same week I strongly condemned Chris Grayling for his speech on "professional campaigning" and attempts to limit judicial review, I also gave him credit for the probation reforms and praised him and MoJ officials for listening to sector concerns and making changes.

But speaking out is a duty. I have no time for the view that you keep quiet publicly and only voice concern behind closed doors. That is a sure way for politicians to walk all over you.

I'm told an interesting story from the Blair years about a discussion on a particular policy announcement. There was a discussion about who needed to be spoken to. Various sector names came up but were discarded on the grounds they never criticise publicly so need not be troubled. A few were earmarked: those that would speak out on an issue where they felt the sector would be harmed. It is a big mistake to think never being critical publicly pays off. You get walked over. Now is the time to stand up and be clear where the dividing lines are. Praise where it is due, but criticism when it is necessary.

An interesting Sunday morning on that subject when I was debating " Big Society" with Nick Hurd on the religious slot at 7am. We were in violent agreement on the animating spirit behind the Big Society concept; that of empowering citizens and communities. And many of the initiatives supported or pioneered by Nick are ones that have helped grow the sector at a time when finances have been a problem. Any government will face the need to cut 25billion form the public finances over the next 2 years. So the challenge for our sector remains grave and voices must be strong. After all "big society" also means big voice. Civil society needs to stand up and be heard. That will require courage at times, but speak up we must.

Anyway, I'm in Manchester for the Tories, or to be more accurate in Salford where my hotel is. But whilst miles out it is near the brilliant Lowry Gallery so I popped in. So here are some rather splendid pictures...