Iain Duncan Smith, chairman of the Centre for Social Justice, opens the debate with on what can be done to make the voluntary sector more effective and impactful with his own experiences of the subject.

As I travel around the country taking evidence with the Centre for Social Justice, I have become acutely aware of the ‘welfare society’ – individuals, families, communities and free institutions that delivers care beyond the state. It is the breakdown on the margins of this, the welfare society, that has been the principle cause of the rising levels of dependency and benefit expenditure.

I have spoken to many small and medium sized community charities, all of whom work at the coal-face and deal with problems that government does not understand and for which it cannot co-ordinate the necessary action. City Gateway is just such an organisation and we are fortunate to have them as members of the CSJ Alliance.

The current Government has understood that it has a crucial role to support the voluntary sector. However its engagement has been marked by a suspicion of smaller charities, particularly those which are community- or faith-based, and a failure to work with them constructively. Research by the CSJ has, for example, uncovered a strong tendency for the public sector to seek to micro-manage those projects it supports, linking funding to procedure rather than outcomes. In order to maintain their effectiveness, some of our Alliance members, such as the North Benwell youth project in Liverpool, have turned down tied statutory funding.

While Government has a duty to the taxpayer to ensure that money spent is not being wasted in engaging the third sector, nonetheless we can ask how many billions are wasted by government which does not demand the same level of effectiveness from its own organisations.

For their part, charities in receipt of statutory funding must show transparently how the money is used, and with what effect. But if we are to see a real blossoming of the voluntary sector we need government to engage the sector with greater understanding. The focus must be on holistic outcomes rather than procedures or narrow efficiencies; and funding must be prompt, long-term, and with full recovery of costs.

The revitalisation of the small community groups and charities that work in some of the most difficult parts of Britain is a central part of restoring the welfare society and transforming our communities.

The Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP

The Conservative party recently published a White Paper spelling out their plans for the voluntary sector, you can read about it here.