NAVCA welcomes the report
NAVCA welcomes the Fabian Society report
Mutual Action, Common Purpose: Empowering the Third Sector.
This report was written by David Blunkett at the request of the
Prime Minister and will inform the labour party manifesto for the
next election. NAVCA particularly welcomes the chapter on
commissioning, contracts and the compact which stresses the
importance of grants as part of the funding mix and recognises that
there are some unintended consequences of commissioning.
In particular Blunkett says: "Funding via grants therefore has
a critical role to play. The added value offered by those within
the Third Sector needs to be recognised with local grants
supporting local groups - who in turn are able to provide services
tailored to and determined by those on the ground without
limitation."
Blunkett also says that when the prime contractor model is used
there needs to be a justification for doing so. He identifies that
this model can result in money being spent on the contracting
process rather than on the delivery of services. He also recognises
that this process can stifle responsiveness, flexibility and
involvement of service users and therefore in fact runs counter to
government policy.
In response to this report Kevin Curley, Chief Executive of NAVCA
said: "It is pleasing to see that a former minister who has had
responsibility for the third sector continues to take such a strong
interest in the sector and its role. Moreover his recognition of
the importance of grants supports NAVCA's position that grants for
third sector organisations have a critical role to play in
delivering services to local communities. Blunkett reinforces the
argument that whereas contracts dictate to a local organisation
precisely what funders want doing, grants enable the funder to
support the aspirations of a local group that really understands
what is needed. I would urge NAVCA members to take Blunkett's
comments to their local authorities and other public bodies as
these comments strengthen the case for retention of
grants."
Launch
The report was launched at NCVO's political conference. At the
launch Kevin Curley asked Blunkett "What can be done about the
drift away from grant aid for local organisations and the trend for
ever bigger services contracts which exclude small specialist
organisations and therefore damage local communities." In his reply
Blunkett said that "in the context of welfare to work programmes it
is lunacy to cut out small specialist organisations". He thought
that the formation of consortia of small organisations was a good
way forward and that big "warehousing contracts" are undesirable.
Furthermore, Blunkett said "Frequently prime contractors make the
gain and subcontractors take the pain." He asserted that we must
find a way to avoid cutting out specialist local organisations or
we will not be able to deliver the outcomes local people need.
Consultation
The report is designed as a consultation document. NAVCA will be
responding to the document and encourages its members to contribute
to the debate.
Podcast
Shortly before the publication of this report, Kevin Curley
interviewed David Blunkett. This interview is available as a
podcast and covers many of the
issues highlighted in the report and the role of groups in the
current economic downturn.