Charity Leaders: Chancellor’s Rhetoric of Hope rings Hollow – ACEVO CEO Sir Stephen Bubb
– Government criticized for failing to release funding promised to help local charities affected by local cuts- ‘failure to announce this fund to help local charities is a major failure for the Office for Civil Society and its leadership’
Press comment from the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations18 March 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: 07825894716 or george.bangham@acevo.org.uk
Commenting on the Chancellor’s Budget Statement, Sir Stephen Bubb, Chief Executive of ACEVO said:
“The Chancellor’s rhetoric of hope rings hollow. Osborne refused to come clean on the cuts to come. The red book shows that tens of billions of pounds of cuts are in the offing. The choice that the Chancellor strove so hard to outline during his statement to define the election campaign is a false choice between parties unwilling to discuss the scale of disaffection within our communities. Without urgent action and investment in our communities, and without the reform of public services to work better with third sector providers, only a few will walk tall while life for those on the margins will get worse.”
Commenting on the failure to announce the promised £40m local sustainability fund to help fund local charities decimated by cuts, Sir Stephen Bubb said:
“The failure to announce this fund to help local charities is a major failure for the Office for Civil Society and its leadership. It is a sign of a government that no longer cares or wants to speak about the effect its cuts have had on our local communities. We were disappointed at how long the Treasury sat on this decision and that the many hours the sector spent with officials crafting the fund have been ignored. Former Civil Society Minister Nick Hurd was tireless in designing and pushing for this fund; serious questions must be asked of his successors, their lack of care and their failure to deliver.”
Commenting on raising the level of the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme and on the announcement of funding for regimental and air force charities, Sir Stephen Bubb said:
“These measures are welcome and the result of sustained campaigning by ACEVO members. In sum however, they do not make up for the budget’s failure to deliver for our communities. The government do not wish to speak about the continued decimation of local services owing to swingeing cuts and refuse to take steps to do anything about it. This election should be an honest conversation about these crucial issues; instead we are getting what appear increasingly to be smoke and mirrors.”
ENDS
ACEVO is the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations. It supports, connects and represents the leaders of more than 1,200 of the UK’s largest charities and social enterprises. More information at www.acevo.org.uk.
For media comment contact the ACEVO Press Office: 07825894716 or george.bangham@acevo.org.uk
