There is a surprising amount about the voluntary sector in the manifestos. And, there’s a good deal of consensus out there – on public services, volunteering and the need to get young people involved – which might be interesting if coalition talks start after 8 May.
What’s clear is that all the parties have given some serious thought to the role of the voluntary sector in their plans. So how do the parties shape up?
Reports of the death of the “Big Society” proved premature with the Conservatives giving it a whole section in their manifesto.
Labour say charities and social enterprises are “pioneering new models of production that enhance social value” and the Liberal Democrats talk about valuing “the important role” of the voluntary sector in communities and delivering public services.
Ukip is pledging to exempt charity shops and foodbanks from waste charges, although it also commits to abolishing the “Big Society programme” and the National Citizen Service.
Meanwhile the Greens talk about not-for-profit organisations getting involved in all manner of services. And they warn that “if government is small, society doesn’t automatically become big – the third sector needs strong enabling government.”
Public services
The emphasis varies but there is agreement in the manifestos about third sector organisations having a real role in public services. The Conservatives say they will build on the work programme, which they say “has helped harness the talent and energy of charities,” and want to increase the use of social impact bonds and payment-by-results contracts.
Labour say it will open Sure Start early years children’s centres to charities and local childcare providers, and use its proposed British Investment Bank – designed to use income from mobile phone spectrum licenses to fund lending to small businesses – to finance co-operative and mutual ventures. The Lib Dems are explicit in valuing the role of charities in the public sector, talking about not-for-profit local media, voluntary services for elderly people and linking the voluntary sector with health and care services.
The Greens envisage not-for-profit organisations having a role in areas from energy to health, although they say they would strip charitable status from private schools with a view to absorbing them into the state system. Ukip talks about working with charities to support veterans and coordinating charity, social service and NHS support for older people.
Volunteering
The Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems are all committed to supporting volunteering initiatives.
The Conservatives came out with an eye-catching plan to offer three days paid leave for staff in the public sector and employees working for large businesses to volunteer. They say that volunteers are “the backbone of communities across Britain”, while the Lib Dems talk about volunteers supporting older people and want to encourage young people to give up their time.
Labour also wants to support volunteering by young people while Ukip says it will abolish the Department for International Development’s International Citizen Service Volunteering scheme.
Young people
There’s consensus among Labour, Conservatives and the Lib Dems about encouraging social action among young people. The Lib Dems want to promote volunteering at school, college and university. Conservatives hail the National Citizen Service – something Ukip wants to abolish – and the Step up to Serve #iwill campaign, initiatives which are also backed by Labour. The Greens want to expand co-operative education and teach young people the history of co-ops.
Lobbying
Labour and the Greens are pledged to abolish the Lobbying Act outright – Labour says it will replace the Act with a tougher statutory register of lobbyists. The Lib Dems say they will review the legislation “to ensure the right balance will be struck”. It’s not mentioned in the Conservative manifesto, and Ukip has a different take – promising to clamp down on “fake charities” or “state-funded political activism”.
And the rest
There’s discussion across the manifestos about international aid, with the Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems committed to maintaining Britain’s aid spending at 0.7% of gross national income. The Greens want to increase that to 1% but Ukip say it will bring aid spending in line with the US, which currently spends 0.2% of its national income on overseas aid.
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