Volunteering in the Big Society

“We don’t yet have the full picture”, says Mike Locke, Director of Public Affairs at Volunteering England, a charity committed to the development of volunteering across the UK, when asked how government spending cuts are likely to affect Britain’s voluntary sector.  But the obvious scenario is one that sees public agencies reducing their grants to voluntary organisations at a time when the demands on them are likely to increase. On the up side, he says, some organisations may grow as they on take on contracts from public agencies which are scaling down. 

What effect the cuts are expected to have on Britain’s voluntary sector?

To date, we do not know the scale of the cuts. At local level in some areas, some voluntary and community organisations are having their grants or commissions from local authorities severely and suddenly cut, as the local authorities reduce expenditure across the board or cut specific projects. But we don’t yet have a full picture. For national organisations, this is an anxious time as the reduction in the national budget becomes clear and we go into a period of discussion about priorities for different Government departments.

Is Volunteering England expecting its activities to be affected?

We are not in a position to say at present.

What are the main challenges facing the voluntary sector in the UK over the next 5 years?

Voluntary organisations generally will be under more pressure: public agencies will reduce their grants and commissions to voluntary organisations, yet concurrently demands on voluntary organisations will increase from communities and public. However, some voluntary organisations will increase their business as they are in a position to take on contracts from public agencies which are scaling down. The policy of the Coalition Government will expect more public and community services to be contracted out or devolved to private and voluntary organisations, and some voluntary organisations will grow through that process and will produce improved services for their communities.

The Coalition Government’s proposals for the Big Society are likely to result in more focus on voluntary groups at neighbourhood level, and this will require considerable readjustment from some voluntary organisations.

Is there a positive side to these budget cuts at all?

The Big Society theme in the Coalition Government’s policy is positive in many respects in that it seeks to empower people and communities and to increase voluntary action. But voluntary organisations tend to be worried that the Government will not have the funds to invest in the process of change, but it is too early to offer a clear forecast of what will happen.