By David Williams
11 November 2010
The third sector could grow by billions of pounds a year as a result of the government’s public service reforms, charity leaders were told today.
Stephen Bubb, chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, told the organisation’s annual conference that the next five years offer opportunities for growth despite tough cuts to public budgets.
But, he added, the growth will not be universal, and many charities face ‘tough and turbulent times’, with some shrinking or closing altogether.
Bubb pointed to ‘opportunities amidst the gloom’, particularly in areas where ministers are considering setting guidelines for the proportion of services that should be outsourced.
The Comprehensive Spending Review identified areas the government considered ripe for more outsourcing, including adult social care, early years, community health services, youth services and court and tribunal services.
The third sector could grow by £2bn a year by 2015, he said, just through increased involvement in offender rehabilitation and public health.
In community health, charities only currently see about 7% of the £7bn spent a year, Bubb argued. ‘These are areas where the potential of our sector is almost entirely untapped.’
Bubb also called for the government to collect and publish more data on what it commissions from voluntary organisations, to make it easier to tell whether it succeeds in opening the market up to charities. ‘Otherwise, it will be shaping policy and spending public money in the dark.’
