Ten days ago, William Shawcross the new Chairman of the Charity Commission spoke at a conference organised by ACEVO, one of the national organisations that supports charities and voluntary sector organisations. I wrote about his speech here, raising my concerns that he seemed to be too focused on what charities need to do to avoid becoming dependant on Government funding rather than offering a challenge to Government to better protect and support the sector. This was not a call for protectionism, but rather for an integrity of policy. The Government have made it clear that they see the Voluntary and Community Sector as a key part of delivering their priorities, however this will be impossible if the sector is being undermined by a lack of understanding by the same Government. Sadly I am not surprised that today’s Observer has reported that some 17% of Charities anticipate that they will close during 2013 and that nearly half are dipping into reserves to remain open. Nearly threequarters believe they are unable to fulfil their goals, due to reduction in government funding and/or donations. It is also worth mentioning that the Governments austerity measures are barely beun in terms of the impact on this sector. For anyone interested in reading more about the Charities Aid Foundation poll, check out this link.

I am sure I am not alone in wondering if people such as William Shawcross and the Government’s Office for Civil Society (who are responsibly for promoting the ‘Big Society’ agenda) are paying the sort of attention to the Charitable sector that we would see from the Government and its appointees if the business community was facing similar challenges. It feels as though the quartermasters are questioning the use of fuel for the ambulances being used to rescue the soldiers from the front line!