24/03/10

By Andrew Holt

As charity leaders await the outcome of the final Budget before the General Election, a new survey shows they are increasingly concerned about the state of the sector.

Published today, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations' Charity Forecast Survey shows the lowest proportion of sector leaders have confidence in the "general situation" of their organisation since the survey began and increasingly believe they will have to reduce staff numbers in the next three months.

The quarterly survey also shows that although charity services continue to increase, the rate of expansion has been falling since August 2008.

The impact of the recession, impending public sector funding cuts and uncertainty about the next Comprehensive Spending Review mean voluntary sector leaders will be looking to today's Budget for help.

Specific asks from NCVO, the UK's largest membership body for charities, include capitalisation for a Social Investment Bank, measures to allow charities to recover VAT and simplify Gift Aid, and more support for grassroots organisations.

NCVO also supports calls for a Robin Hood Tax, a tiny tax of about 0.05 per cent on banking transactions to raise money to protect public services in the UK and tackle poverty and climate change here and abroad.

Stuart Etherington, NCVO's chief executive, said: "Charities have proved extremely resilient in the changing economic climate but our latest survey shows leaders are increasingly concerned about the state of their organisation, the voluntary sector and the UK economy at large.

"I hope today's Budget will demonstrate that the Government understands and values the work they do to help some of the most disadvantaged people in our society."

The survey revealed 42 per cent of respondents thought the general situation of their organisation would get worse in the next 12 months - the lowest level of confidence recorded since the survey started in February 2008.

Almost half (49%) said they expected their organisation's financial situation to get worse in the next 12 months and 66 per cent thought the wider UK economic conditions would be negative throughout the next year.

A fifth (21%) of respondents said they planned to reduce paid staff numbers in the next three months.

While 26 per cent said they intended to take on more staff in the same period, the net increase for the sector is at its lowest level since the survey began: The net increase is calculated by subtracting the percentage reducing staff from the percentage increasing staff.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) said they expected to collaborate more and half (51%) said they expected to compete more in the next year.

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