There is much talk of the role of the third sector in the "big society", including co-operatives, mutuals and social enterprises. The media is full of headlines of voluntary sector budgets being cut and Eric Pickles' threat to use "statutory force" to stop local authorities from placing their savings burden on the third sector.
In my view there are no such things as voluntary sector budgets, just public money for public services. The distinction between a local authority fulfilling its statutory duty to promote a healthy voluntary sector and procuring public services from an organisation that happens to be a registered charity is unclear.
As a local government officer with experience of working in the voluntary sector, I am surprised that the reaction of many councils is to cut the sector.
Last month Third Sector magazine reported that:
Despite government pressure on councils to avoid "easy" cuts, voluntary sector budgets have been slashed by nearly a fifth in the coming financial year, a Third Sector survey indicates…
…In September last year, the prime minister, David Cameron, urged local authorities not to do the "easy thing" and cut voluntary sector funding in 2011/12. Other ministers echoed his plea, saying a strong voluntary sector was necessary for the big society.
Clearly cutting the third sector is not how the government had hoped that we in local authorities would react to spending cuts, it's an act that seemingly puts progress towards the concept of big society in reverse gear. Perhaps, though, cutting the third sector has been our first response because the sector appears to not yet be sufficiently well positioned to deliver public services on our behalf.
They need to overcome our risk-averse bureaucracy, obsession with what may or may not be a statutory duty and, crucially, our significant financial liabilities in relation to staff; then there may be a chance to really do more for less in partnership with the third sector.
Councils spend a huge amount of money on human resource and facilities management and information technology when compared to the third sector. We could decide to get out of the business of managing a large workforce, a built estate and costly IT infrastructure.
In Surrey services for young people, we are offering nearly £10m to the market place to run public services and deliver outcomes for young people on our behalf. Our direction of travel is premised on the assumption that the market can deliver services for less cost than we can. This is not though a voluntary sector budget, it is public money to be spent on public services.
We anticipate the third sector will bid for much, if not all, of this work but we are keen that the potential relationship we form is a step away from the notion of "voluntary sector budgets" and the authority being the benevolent supporter of good work in the community. We don't intend to neglect our duty to promote a healthy voluntary sector, but we see a difference between professional, not-for-profit companies bidding for multimillion pound contracts and the village cricket club that we've grant-aided 400 quid.
We still intend to have a grants programme but we won't be granting big organisations tens of thousands of pounds to do work that should be delivered through a contract. We will support small local groups that rely on volunteers and volunteering and are funded by small grants and donations. These groups are unable to operate in the market place on equal terms to third sector blue chips like the YMCA, Catch 22 or Nacro, so why should we ask them to?
At risk of sounding like we want to have our cake and eat it, we also appreciate the value that the third sector can bring in terms of levering community capital and mobilising volunteers and local good will. Ultimately, this value and the third sector's capacity to delivery will be tested against the private sector in a procurement show down – only time will tell who will win out.
Garath Symonds is assistant director of young people's services at Surrey county council.
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