Reduce Red Tape and Unshackle Good Neighbours - says report

"A SUFFOCATING BLANKET OF RED TAPE and an insidious mythology about being sued are deterring millions of Britons, volunteer organisations and charities from helping out more fully in society" an independent report revealed this week.

The Red Tape Task Force, led by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, has spent nine months examining the myriad of rules and regulations which put people off giving their time and money to good causes and stifles the volunteer and charity sector in the UK.

In launching the report Unshackling Good Neighbours (PDF File size: 4.69 MB) Lord Hodgson said:

"The variety, diversity and contribution of the charitable and voluntary sector is one of the glories of our country and the Task Force has set out to find ways to assist its continued growth and development. But over recent years we’ve seen a real devaluation of common sense and trust through a tangle of rules and guidance which aims to eliminate risk from our lives but instead creates a risk of a society where people are afraid to help each other."

The Red Tape Task Force set about answering three questions: what stops people giving their time, what stops people giving money and what stops charities and voluntary groups and social enterprises growing? And after reviewing over 600 complaints about excessive bureaucracy and speaking to dozens of organisations and individuals, it has made six key:

• Reform the law to clarify the extent of charity trustees and volunteer liability to encourage more involvement and participation by individuals
• Eliminate regulatory duplication and repeated requests for the same information in slightly different formats, for example by Companies House, the Charity Commission and commissioners
• Establish a Working Party to include representatives of the insurance industry and civil society organisations to address the insurance needs of the sectors
• Encourage investment in civil society organisations by creating a new category of "social investor" and clarify the position of trust law with regard to charities
• Simplify the licencing of fund-raising events and provide clear standard guidance across the sector
• Encourage the out-of-work to get involved in greater volunteering and ensure they and Job Centre staff understand that it does not automatically affect their benefits and welfare payments

The Government Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd, has welcomed the report and invited Lord Hodgson to review progress on implementing the Task Force’s recommendations one year from now.

See from the Cabinet Office:

• Press release - Red Tape Task Force calls for clearer legal protection for volunteers
• Unshackling Good Neighbours - Report on how to cut red tape for small charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises

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Big Society - Business Plan

THE CABINET OFFICE published its Business Plan earlier this week announcing the launch of its Big Society proposals.

The aim of the Big Society according to the Plan is to "promote community empowerment, open up public services and encourage social action." It will include:

• a training programme, launched in April 2011, to train a new generation of community organisers. 800 community organisers are expected to be trained by March 2012;
• a Communities First fund to support the creation of neighbourhood groups through small grants and endowments will start in May 2011;
• a Big Society Bank using £60m funds from dormant bank accounts will be established by April 2011 to enable charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to have access to funding to take over the running of public services;
• a taskforce has been set up to investigate bureaucratic burdens and 'red-tape' on the voluntary and community sector and provide recommendations on how to reduce them (see Big Society 'red tape' purge);
• a Transition Fund will be available from January 2011 to support voluntary groups, charities and social enterprises in modernising, and becoming more entrepreneurial;
• a National Citizen Service pilot programme aimed at encouraging volunteering and social action from 16 year olds, will be in place from September 2011, with 30,000 involved by September 2012.

The Big Society has been the focus of much debate since the General Election with various descriptions of what it might be being put forward by politicians and other commentators. Now at last with the publication of the Business Plan we have definite proposals - for better or worse - to debate.

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