Forum Brief: Charities and red tape

Charities today give warning that vital public services are at risk because of "the sheer weight of red tape" imposed by Whitehall.

Forum Response: Disabilities Trust

Matt Townsend, public affairs office for the Disabilities Trust, told ePolitix.com: "We support the submission from ACEVO on the scale and burden of regulation affecting the voluntary sector. The Disabilities Trust knows from its own experience as a major service provider that recent reforms such as the introduction of the Criminal Records Bureau, have become increasingly time-consuming and costly for charities to administer, (especially as the CRB's application fees rose by more than 100 per cent last year!). In addition, having introduced the National Care Standards Commission in 2000, the government intends in April to replace this body with a new Commission for Social Care Inspection. We don't feel this is particularly helpful, especially as the sector has only recently got used to the NCSC's approach. While the Trust fully acknowledges the need for national standards in a sector that is an increasingly important provider of health and social services, we would urge government to look very carefully at the degree of complexity as well as the rising costs of its regulatory regime."

Forum Response: Counsel and Care

Martin Green, chief executive of Counsel and Care, told ePolitix.com: "Charities, like other sectors, are suffering from both increased red tape and increased monitoring. The difference for charities is that they do not have adequate core funding to enable them to cope with these demands. In future we need to see the government addressing how to core fund the charity sector before putting more burdens on organisations."