Big Society organisations an ‘easy target’

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Grassroots groups are likely to bear the brunt of public spending cutbacks unless their budgets are ring-fenced, a think tank has warned.

In Investing in social growth – can the Big Society be more than a slogan?, the Young Foundation cautions against the temptation for government departments, agencies and local authorities to treat grassroots projects as an ‘easy target’.

Based on extensive conversations with public sector managers, the research claims social entrepreneurs lack the clout, lobbying power, voice and financial resources of larger state and commercial deliverers of public services.

The report says most departments facing 15-25% budget cuts are planning to cut funding for grassroots organisations by 35-50%. It also points out most departments are not required to audit how their cuts will impact on different social groups and communities.

To avoid the risk that ‘people will turn inwards, to fatalism and resentment, with a risk of divisions becoming more acute’, the foundation wants spending departments to ring-fence budgets for grassroots organisations.

It also calls for a new measurement of ‘social wealth’ that gauges how people feel about themselves, their communities and their resilience in the face of adversity.

Other recommendations include:

• Developing better indicators of social wellbeing
• Establishing teams to spot, nurture and grow the best social enterprises
• Establishing social impact bonds
• Giving communities the right to set up neighbourhood councils and establish community land trusts
• Providing training for those procuring state services
• Ensuring the Big Society Bank focuses on building capacity and skills, not just finance.

Director Geoff Mulgan said: ‘There needs to be a much clearer commitment to protecting civil society’s share in public spending since there is a danger that in the rush to demonstrate responsiveness grassroots programmes will be the first to be cut by commissioners.

‘And there needs to be new ways of measuring whether the Big Society programme really is working which take account of the social impact of severe public sector cuts.’