general election
profi le
You Hurd it here
Celina Ribeiro meets the Conservative spokesman for charities, volunteering and social enterprise.
IF THE SHADOW charities minister seems not to be proposing any radical reform for the sector, that would be his party’s principle of “do no harm” rearing its head. In his interview with Civil Society, Nick
Hurd oscillates between criticising the government for going too far, and then not far enough, in creating a vibrant and independent civil society. But, should the fourth-generation Tory MP get into office his reign is likely to be characterised by incremental changes rather than revolution. “We do have a concern that the
state is now the biggest source of funding for the sector,” he said. “That’s OK and we support the move for the sector to have a better chance to deliver public services, but for us what’s really important about the sector is its value to society in light of its robust independence from the state.” Under a Conservative government,
Hurd says, the proportion of public service contracts that are awarded to sector organisations should rise above the current level of around 2 per cent, though he warns that under a government of any hue the number and value of contracts available will shrink.
www.civilsociety.co.uk
But, he suggests, government cutbacks might prompt a growth of civil society activity. “It’s possible that as the state has to withdraw in certain areas because of financial constraints, people may step forward and say ‘we’ll do this’. I think that’s a positive because the chances are they’ll do it better.” Civil society is critical in the repair of ‘broken Britain’, with Hurd suggesting that such organisations will help to empower local communities and shape local policy. But while expanding on its commissioning policies, Hurd is cagey about the future of grants if the Conservatives win power. “We certainly want to do our bit to get a fair deal on grants and we’ll be announcing more on that, I hope,” he says. “I can’t say for sure what will happen in terms of government grants,” he adds, though he reiterates the long-held Tory policy of returning the entirety of the Big Lottery Fund’s spending to the sector. The Conservatives have also been bandying about their desire to push up the rate of private philanthropy up to 1 per cent of national wealth, but Hurd does not have any specific reforms in mind to boost giving. “It’s a big challenge and it’s complex because you’re talking about trying to shift cultural attitudes. This isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight.” While acknowledging that
cultural differences make it likely that philanthropy in the UK will never mimic US levels, Hurd says he would like to “develop more systematic giving”, engaging people in a giving culture young and exploring ways to increase uptake of payroll giving. Hurd says a Conservative Treasury
is unlikely to do much to increase the use of gift aid or the amount of gift aid offered to donors. He would not commit to extending transitional rate relief beyond its
April 2011 end point, but expected that “some decision about structural reform would be taken in good time for that”. Lifetime legacies are on his radar.
“I’ve just started to discuss them with my colleague in my treasury team. I think it’s an idea whose time will come,” he says. Social enterprise is clearly something
Hurd has an affinity for. A trustee of the Hillingdon Partnership Trust, a grouping of businesses in the Hillingdon area which creates partnerships between local businesses and charities, he says his government would create links between private investors and social entrepreneurs. But while repeating frustration at the progress of the Social Investment Bank – which he fears could become “a Futurebuilders III” under Labour – of creating the conditions for social enterprise to grow he says: “A lot of it isn’t about social policy, it is about economic policy”, such as tax breaks for small business. Structurally, according to Hurd, sector
bodies have little to worry about. “We’ll keep the Office of the Third Sector. We’ll keep it in the Cabinet Office,” he says. “But we’ll go further in that we’ll create a new select committee here for civil society.” Select committees, he hastens to add, will have real influence under Conservative parliamentary reform. The Charity Commission too, it would
seem, is safe, although Hurd has already warned the body that they will have to make “savings efficiencies”. In balancing its obligations to charities and the public, Hurd says, the Commission plays “an extremely important function and on the whole I think they do it well”. However, pressed for his thoughts
hurdn@parliament.uk, should readers wish to. ■
Charity Finance April 2010
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