25 February 2005
The way public services are contracted and delivered could be transformed if an innovative funding model is rolled out across the country, charities minister Fiona Mactaggart said this week.
She was speaking as Futurebuilders, the consortium which distributes government grants and loans to voluntary bodies, announced its first round of grants on February 22.
The government is determined that the voluntary sector should play a larger role in delivering public services and Mactaggart told Public Finance that Futurebuilders' investment would remove many of the complications that prevented charities from bidding for public services.
But she added: 'My ambition is bigger. We need to see if we can use it as a model for changing the way we do business.'
Mactaggart said private sector organisations could also usefully copy the Futurebuilders example. 'It may be a cleverer form of social responsibility for an investment bank,' she said.
According to Futurebuilders' chief executive Richard Gutch, the investment scheme is unique. 'Our groundbreaking approach to funding will unleash the potential of organisations working in fields as diverse as social care and crime prevention,' he said.
The largest single investment went to the Who Cares? Trust, which received £1.3m to develop an online support service for children living in care.
Smaller investments were given to a housing project for Albanian refugees and a Merseyside-based scheme, which helps people with mental health issues access work.
PFfeb2005
