‘Stronger charities for a stronger society’, A Report by the House of Lords' Select Committee on Charities in March 2017
‘Charities are the eyes, ears and conscience of any society’.
The Report
The timing of this Report by the House of Lords' Select Committee on Charities is poignant, coming in March 2017, the same month as Prime Minister Theresa May invoked Article 50 to allow the UK to leave the European Union after forty four years of membership. The Prime Minister struck a note of reconciliation, calling on Brexiteers and Remainers to ‘come together’. In reality, the country is deeply divided over this issue, although commentators differ over the causes of this division.
Against this backdrop, the ‘Stronger charities for a stronger economy’ Report is timely. You can read the report here. What does the Select Committee say in its Report?
Comments from the Chairman
Chairman of the Committee, Baroness Pitkeathley, said:
"Charities are the lifeblood of society. They play a fundamental role in our civil life and do so despite facing a multitude of challenges. Yet for them to continue to flourish, it is clear that they must be supported and promoted.
"We found that charities lead the way with innovation, but that this is at risk of being stifled by the 'contract culture'. And while advocacy is a sign of a healthy democracy, and is a central part of charities' role, this role has been threatened by Government.
"We hope that charities will be encouraged by this report; that the Government will respect their role; and that in addition it will value the connections charities have with all sections of society, and encourage the vital scrutiny they provide."
My comments
I like the positive tone of the Report. Charities are a force for good in this country, but cannot thrive without the support of the public, Government and the regulators, the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.
The Report raises some important, practical and philosophical questions about charities.
Key points
· There should be more training and skills development for charity trustees to improve the strength of charity governance. Infrastructure organisations such as the Association of Charity Chairs, ACEVO, Charity Finance Group, Directory for Social Change and NCVO have a key role to play here.
· There should be more financial support for the core costs of charities. This is an emotive point, as some commentators and parts of the public view low support costs as a proxy for efficiency, which is not always the case.
· There should be longer-term contracts to help charities to help charities plan for the future. This will be a challenge to local authorities, facing budget constraints at a time of economic austerity.
· The campaigning and advocacy roles of charities should not be restricted unreasonably by Government or regulators. This may be especially important during the Brexit process.
· Charities should innovate in their work and embrace digital media. This point is well made by the Committee and does, perhaps, provide a challenge for the sector. Charities do generally lag behind the private sector in the use of social media. The broader public, meanwhile, is happy to bank and shop online and use social media for work and leisure.
In later posts, I’ll look at the points in the Report in more detail and cover the opportunities for trustees and their charities.