National Council for Voluntary Organisations, has revealed it is disappointed with the Liberal Democratic manifesto for lacking a coherent vision of how the sector fits into supporting society.

The four main themes of Liberal Democrat manifesto are fair taxes, more chances for children, a fairer and greener economy, and cleaning up politics.

But Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the NCVO, said: "We are disappointed it does not present a coherent vision for the role the voluntary sector plays in supporting and strengthening communities.

"However, there are a number of important commitments, in particular removing the restrictions on the right to protest and proposals for easy-giving accounts."

The main new commitments relating directly to the voluntary sector are:
A commitment to protect free speech and the right to protest: they intend to reform the Public Order Act to safeguard lawful, non-violent protest.

To create "easy-giving" bank accounts to allow people to operate charitable giving accounts alongside their current accounts.

To reform Gift Aid at a single composite rate of 23%. The manifesto says this would give "more money to charity while closing down a loophole for higher rate taxpayers".

Changing the way the National Lottery is taxed - moving to a gross profits tax.
Reforming CRB checks so that volunteers need only one record that is portable, not multiple checks for each activity.

Supporting mutuals, co-operatives and social enterprises, through legislative change to bring legal structures up to date.

Introducing a levy on banks to pay for financial support from tax payers (not - to confused with the Robin Hood Tax)

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