Greg Clark MP, Shadow Minister for Charities, Social
Enterprise and Volunteering, used his keynote address to NAVCA's
2008 Conference in Nottingham on 16 September to assure delegates
that the Conservative Party understands and supports the role of
local infrastructure organisations. He also used the conference as
an opportunity to state his support for maintaining grant
funding.
He praised the work of NAVCA and its members and said that strong
local infrastructure is vital to the sector's future. He said that
there was much to learn from their approach to supporting grass
roots groups; through empowerment and capacity building so that
communities are better placed to shape the local agenda.
He repeated the statistics used in the
Conservative Green Paper - A stronger Society, voluntary action
in the 21st century - that show grant funding has fallen by
13% in the last three years. He stressed the importance of grant
funding but stopped short of offering policies to increase this
vital funding.
Greg Clark re-iterated the view from the green paper that he
supported more risks being taken. He also stated that he had never
been shown any evidence to suggest third sector organisations were
wasteful or inefficient when compared to public services.
In closing, he invited delegates to tell him
how the Conservatives might develop their proposals for capacity
building support for the local third sector and encouraged all
groups to get involved in the Conservative's third sector
consultation.
After listening to the speech Kevin Curley, Chief
Executive of NAVCA commented
"We are delighted
that Greg was able to address our conference and I was reassured by
his stated support for grant funding and acknowledgement that a
healthy third sector needs properly funded local infrastructure
services.
"He told us that no model of future support for
infrastructure was agreed and that the Conservatives want comments
from third sector organisations to inform their policies. This is
an excellent starting point for these discussions and we will be
arguing very strongly about the value of properly funded local
infrastructure organisations as the best way to support local
organisations and services.
"They always say that the proof of the pudding is in the
eating, I am keen to see these ideas fleshed out and the words
matched by actions. I particularly want to see the value Greg
places on local infrastructure reflected locally, where the
Conservatives already control many councils."
See also
Podcast Interview
with Greg Clark
NAVCA survey on the Conservatives
Green paper
NAVCA conference
blog