Giving independence the Coalition Way

Quote from BBC News: "The government has said it will be investing £470m over the next four years in funding for charities and voluntary groups to give them independence from state money."


You only need to translate this to a different context to expose the cant. 


What would the media and government reaction be if a parent were to announce that they were going to give their toddler "independence from parental sustenance" by buying them a set of cooking utensils and a few packets of dried food, but thereafter ceasing to take responsibility for feeding them?


Cutting off funds does not "give independence". It has become quite the rage for governments to offer "transitional" funding to help charities develop new funding streams - but the sad truth is that even if much of the work is done by volunteers, helping people costs money - and however hard you look, you're not going to find a way to pay training and admin staff, rents, phone bills or heating costs with fresh air.


If we guess that 10% of the population are beneficiaries of some sort of activity provided by the voluntary and charitable sector, then that £470m works out at £77 per beneficiary. 


That's not even £77 per beneficiary to be spent on maintaining the services for a few more months whilst society tries to work how to fill the gaps that Government is leaving by its savage funding cuts.


That is £77 per beneficiary to develop ground-breaking initiatives that will identify and develop replacements for the many streams of public funds (directly from government, via local authorities or PCTs) that current allow voluntary groups and other charities to provide key services to keep life bearable for the vulnerable.


If the Government has found some magical recipe, then give the charities case studies that show how to do this on a replicable basis and save the £470m. If not, then £470m is no more going to help charities work out how to manage without money than it would help bus companies work out how to run without fuel.


If the Government really believe that this "transitional" money will allow the same activities to be delivered for far less, then it is really scary to realise how little they understand.


Or perhaps they fully realise that they are setting off a collapse of a swathe of services that many would consider basic and essential - but they think we are all too dim to spot what they are doing if they wrap it up in cuddly words. Even more scary.