£11m to be cut from the Office for Civil Society
Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, and Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude have announced that £11m will be cut from the Office for Civil Society (the body replacing the former Office of the Third Sector) as part of the coalition government’s bid to reach its £6.2bn cuts target.
Three of the cuts will affect government funds created to support social enterprise including:
- £1.3m from Capacitybuilders funding – a significant proportion of which will be recouped from Capacitybuilders Social Enterprise support programme
- £130,000 from the nine soon to be abolished Regional Development Agency budgets – which were each apportioned £195,00 to support social enterprise
- £11,000 to be recouped from the Social Enterprise Action Research programme which was created to explore ways in which social enterprise can offer solution to policy problems
The v match fund, a scheme that aims to inspire young people to engage in volunteering and saw the government match any financial support given by the private sector, will be hit the hardest with a £5m budget cut, and a further £1.95m reduction in its overall £39m grant.
The coalition government will save a further £2m in funding that had been unallocated in the Office for Civil Society (OCS) budget, and will regain £400,000 from the Commission for the Compact budget, the independent body accountable for overseeing the Compact, the agreement that sets out the guidelines for effective partnership working between government and the Third Sector.
Hurd and Maude have however issued an open letter to the sector asking for ideas for savings and examples of best practice to enable the government to reach the £6.2bn cuts target.
Karen Wood, Chief Executive of the North East Social Enterprise Partnership said: ‘It is disappointing to hear that the coalition government has decided to cut £11m from the OCS budget at a time when social enterprises are being asked to deliver ever more services.
‘The fact that £1.3m has been taken from the Capacitybuilders budget is of particular concern as this will inevitably impact on support for grassroots social enterprises.’
‘However,’ she added, ‘ it is a positive step that Hurd and Maude have issued an open letter to the sector asking their views and ideas regarding how to achieve the £6.2 billion target. I would urge everyone in the sector to respond.’
Visit the Cabinet Office website to download Hurd and Maude’s Open Letter.