NCVO welcomes Tory poverty report

In response to the interim report of the Conservatives’ Social Justice Policy Group led by Iain Duncan Smith (pictured), the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has issued the following statement.

Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) said:

"The focus on smaller voluntary and community organisations in the report is very welcome. In particular, the recognition that the Compact must be fully implemented, particularly at a local level, is very important.”

“The report is also correct to stress the role that larger voluntary and community organisations can play in providing models of good practice for the rest of the sector. Many larger charities already work in partnership with local organisations and small community groups. Furthermore larger organisations have also taken significant steps to ensure that they are transparent and accountable, as the work of the impACT Coalition demonstrates.“

There is no lack of transparency

“It is therefore inaccurate to suggest that there is a lack of transparency, that those working in larger charities award themselves high salaries or that larger charities hoard unspent reserves. Salaries in the voluntary and community sector remain modest in comparison with the public and private sector. But it is important that charities are able to recruit people with the skills that are needed to effectively run the organisation and manage the resources with which it is entrusted. Part of this effective management is ensuring that a charity maintains a prudent level of reserves. Particularly, since the Charity Commission will take action if it considers those reserves to be excessive and not put to use to deliver a charity's mission.”

Many other elements to be welcomed

"There are many other elements of the report that should be welcomed. The recognition that charitable giving, particularly by the richest 20%, should be tackled reflects many of the findings in the recent CAF/NCVO giving survey.”

“We also look forward to discussing with the Third Sector Working Group such ideas as the role of service users in helping to design, evaluate and influence which organisations deliver statutory services. Giving people and communities a say in how public money is invested in their area is another issue that we believe could be explored further with voluntary and community organisations.”

Conservatives and the voluntary and community sector to work together

“The report therefore provides a good opportunity for the Conservatives and the voluntary and community sector to work together and address many of the issues facing the most disadvantaged communities in Britain.”