English devolution is gathering pace. The Government is set on supporting devolution to combined local authorities and directly elected mayors across England. Local government is responding with enthusiasm and energy.
There are many arguments to be made for this policy though the extent of the devolved powers and the transfer of resources to support these powers bears detailed scrutiny and...
Over the next four months there will be unprecedented political activity and manoeuvres. This provides a huge opportunity for community and voluntary organisations – you should not be shy in ‘seizing the moment’.
As politicians campaign for the EU referendum in June, local elections in May, and police and crime commissioner (PCC) elections, they need to be questioned and challenged...
Within living memory, most public sector financial support to the voluntary and community sector and charities more widely was in the form of grant aid. This was the case across central and local government and the wider public sector.
The move towards commissioning, accompanied in many public bodies by competitive procurement, subsequently led to a significant and relentless move away...
EU procurement rules often get bad press but they have not yet had a high profile in the UK referendum debate on membership. But they lie at the heart of the internal market and often have a big impact on public services.
Public expenditure on goods, works and services represents about 13% of the European Union’s gross domestic product, and...
I was recently lectured to by a self-described ‘serious political activist and commentator’, who said that it was futile and wrong for communities to protest against policies that they don’t like, or which damage their communities, unless they have an alternative plan.
This is both wrong and arrogant. Indeed, such attitudes exemplify some of the worst behaviours which politicians and...
The last few years have been deeply challenging for almost all of the voluntary and community sector (VCS), especially small community-based groups and their local infrastructure bodies.
We also know that the next few years will be even more challenging as public expenditure cuts and the government’s welfare reforms bite ever deeper. Local authority expenditure will be hit harder than...
Over the last decades, under successive governments, public service outsourcing has grown in value, scope and political profile. So, will this trend continue?
There have been some notable failures and terminations over recent years, including: G4S and Serco’s contracts with the MoJ for tagging services; the early termination of the Somerset-based joint venture contract South West One; the Hinchingbrooke hospital...
Last year, charities were threatened with the Lobbying Act's "gagging clauses", and now we learn that the Government wants to prevent charities using public money to participate in contemporary debates on public policy.
One could be forgiven for assuming that the Government does not want to be challenged, embarrassed or offered alternative policies by a sector that has always had...