Pre-election insights for charities
Edwina Turner, legal director and charities sector specialist considers the future for charities.
A gap in understanding of the charities sector is evident across the main parties’ manifestos, which means society is missing out on a massive amount of innovation and specialist knowledge about the needs of our society and how to do things differently.
Edwina Turner, legal director and charities sector specialist
Too often charities are sidelined or ignored by central Government. They are viewed as small, hyperlocal organisations run by amateurs, when in fact they are often large, multi-million-pound organisations with the scale, aptitude and ingenuity to solve some of society’s most challenging problems, such as how to fund growing demand for adult and children’s social care services. Of course, some charities are startups or small, community-run organisations, but what they may lack in scale, they more than make up for in knowledge gained from lived experience and working with beneficiaries to shape services to support and empower them.
It is depressing to realise that all the main parties seem to have a tokenistic view of the charities sector and massively underrate what it can achieve and the benefits it could bring to society. Instead of delivering more top-down policies, we would like the next Government to talk to people in the sector who are already delivering great services in ground-breaking ways and ask them how to do things differently.
Focused on beneficiaries rather than profits/the interests of shareholders and working to empower individuals and communities to make a difference, we believe that charities and other third sector organisations have a unique perspective on the problems that society is facing and how to solve them.
We would like the next Government to appoint a charities and social business minister, rather than a generic minister for civil society, loneliness, sport, tourism etc. etc. to ensure that the sector’s insights and knowledge are acknowledged as an invaluable resource, are at the heart of Government decision making and prioritised in all policy decisions in the future.
Other thoughts on specific issues in the manifestos follow:
Gift Aid –the basic structure of Gift Aid is working well, and it should be maintained but updated/automated. In the year to April 2023, £1.6 billion was returned to charities by HMRC. The Conservatives have pledged to complete their review of Gift Aid in the next Parliament, but this should be focussed on steps to automate and streamline the claims process to ensure more is claimed by charities and less errors are made.
Fair pay – the Labour party has pledged to set one minimum wage regardless of age, but this could put further financial pressure on charities and third-sector organisations in particular, for example, those delivering health and social care services., Further discussion is needed with charities and other third-sector organisations about how to balance the importance of fair pay for all, with the income and financial pressures they face, to ensure that those they support continue to get the best support and services possible.
Funding cuts and finding ways to protect essential services – many local authorities are experiencing a financial crisis and cutting services, which is having a devastating impact on some charities that rely on public funding. Often, charities and third-sector organisations have the expertise about how to deliver services in unique ways, but discussions with local authorities are taking place too late in the day. Proactive discussions about how to support the delivery of both essential services and other local services must be prioritised at an earlier stage in order to ensure they continue.