Spending Review Implications & Building the ‘Big Society’

1. Spending Review Implications& Building the ‘Big Society’ Brian Carr Chief Executive, BVSC

2. Policy Context: Civil Society & Public Services • Office of Civil Society has published: • Building a Stronger Civil Society: A Strategy for Voluntary & Community Groups, Charities and Social Enterprises • Supporting a Stronger Civil Society: An Office for Civil Society Consultation on Improving Support for Frontline Civil Society Organisations • Public Services Trust has published: • From Social Security to Social Productivity: A Vision for 2020 Public Services

3. The OCS Strategy (1) • ‘Big Society’ • Empowering communities: What we can do for ourselves. • Opening up public services: What state can do for us (and vice versa). • Promoting social action: What we can do for others • Names three “example” priority areas: • (Adult) Health and Social Care • Welfare to Work • Criminal Justice • Young people mentioned specifically once - in relation to National Citizens Service

4. The OCS Strategy (2) • Government’s role is to: • Remove red-tape in running/regulation of charities • Remove ring-fence on £1bn of local authority grants • Empower civil society groups to challenge local government on delivery issues and use of assets • Reform commissioning and procurement arrangements • ‘Mobilise civil action’ through use of Community Organisers • Increase public service transparency, giving civil society organisations “greater access to competitively important information” • Still very light on the details of “how” all this will happen...

5. The OCS Consultation (1) • Significant because it mentions infrastructure (business support?) • Paper explores low-cost options: • Online information • Peer mentoring & support • Pro-bono support from larger business providers • Only mention of money is in relation to a bursary scheme - “buy-in your provider of choice” • Personalisation of infrastructure support? • Again, rather light on detail...but it is a consultation.

6. The Public Services Trust Vision • Offers “new deal between citizen, society & state” • Rejects “old statist models of universal service delivery and consumerism” in favour of citizen-centred models • Based on principles of “social citizenship” and “social productivity”: • Social citizenship = duty to contribute to and receive support • Social productivity = judging public services on “the extent to which they help citizens, families and communities achieve the social outcomes they desire”.

7. Which all adds up to...? • Greater focus on building services around the recipient • Shrinkage of state and an invitation to “fill the gap” • More freedom - but less support? • Need for new business models...but uncertainty as to what those models should be (co-ops, mutuals, social enterprise, something else....?) • Clear opportunities for voluntary action ... but opportunities are less clear for the voluntary sector

8. Spending Review (1) • Local government spending cut by 30% over lifetime of review • 490,000 public sector jobs likely to be lost • Average 19% four-year cut in departmental budgets • £7bn in additional welfare budget cuts (total cuts of £18bn) • NHS budget protected with £2bn extra for social care. • Schools budget to rise every year until 2015 • £30bn capital spending on transport • Sure Start services protected in cash terms; introduction of 15 free hours of early education and care for all disadvantaged two-year-olds • Train to Gain abolished – but there will be investment in adult apprenticeships

9. Spending Review (2) CYP-specific concerns: • In-year cuts from June budget hitting CYP sector already • Implications of Spending Review: Changes to housing benefits + cuts to child benefit + new social housing tenancies pushing rents up + cutting educational maintenance allowance which allows less well off youngsters to study for A-levels + closure of grassroots youth services and sport schemes =risk of multiple impact on lives and chances of young people in UK.

10. Spending Review (3) 2 most sector-specific items are: • £470m over the four years towards building the Big Society agenda. This will provide 5,000 new community organisers, and a pilot for the National Citizen Service. • £100m transitional fund (£10m this year and £90m next) to help medium and large voluntary organisations whose ability to deliver frontline services is negatively affected by spending cuts.

11. Spending Review (4) Clearly increased expectation on private enterprise: • To build wealth and regenerate the economy • To fill the revenue gap left by the recession of the state • Expectation that voluntary sector will look to private sector for funds? • “Hug a philanthropist”?

12. What does it mean for us? • Most important focus is helping people take personal responsibility – for their neighbourhoods, careers, health, and children • Organisations reliant on public funds are increasingly vulnerable (particularly in the fields of employment, training & the arts) • Very small groups may be least directly affected but may suffer from lack of available & appropriate support.

13. What does it mean for us? • There are opportunities (e.g. Consumer Direct moving to Citizens Advice; emphasis on Health markets) • There is great uncertainty in the areas of opportunity(GP Consortia) • There are threats (unit costs will be driven down hard, and “independent funds” will be under increased pressure) • Many service users will be disproportionately affected (the adverse impact on women – and therefore children - is of particular concern – Fawcett Society)

14. How should we respond? 1) Avoid “special pleading” - but be evangelical about our impact 2) Be prepared to make hard choices: • What do we keep doing? • What do we stop doing? • What do we fight for? 3) Be willing and able to change: • Redesigning and reshaping services • Exploring new business models in detail (private sector links) • By fully mobilising voluntary effort • By making “in kind” support part of our currency • By redefining relationships.....

15. Redefining relationships (1) • With service users (service purchasers) • With commissioners: • The Four “D”s Model Jointly determining which problems need to be solved  GET HERE Jointly deciding what to prioritise first Jointly designing services around the recipient Jointly delivering services to meet the identified need  FROM HERE

16. Redefining relationships (2) • With each other (sharing services and assets) • Overcoming our “organisational egos”! • With new business partners (consortia & private sector supply chains) – and that includes an ability to challenge independently • The quality of our relationships will be the single biggest determinant of our future sustainability and success.

17. Next Steps in Birmingham: • Third Sector Assembly cuts events in Sept/Oct • Assembly Champions to meet with BCC commissioners to look at specifics by service-area • Chief Executives’ Forum will meet with Council to look at global picture for the city • Today’s event will contribute to thinking around future of CYP services...

18. Responding To Your Needs BVSC will: • Continue to provide core business support • Enhance sector’s ability to mobilise voluntary effort • Ensure voices in the sector are heard & listened to (e.g. VCS Matters) • Broker collective dialogue and joint working within sector & with commissioners; • Provide support in exploring new business models • Build links between VCS and private sector .....what else do you need? brianc@bvsc.org