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A government consultation
on how it should spend £80m set aside for charity sector infrastructure
has met with plenty of support from leading groups, according to the Home
Office.
Charities minister Fiona Mactaggart claims the Home Office consultation,
which asked how the infrastructure for voluntary groups could be improved,
confirmed the government's belief that the sector needs to be "sustainable
and independent".
The government has
stated it wants to develop high quality support for local, regional and
national voluntary organisations, delivered where it is needed. Publishing
the responses to the consultation, Mactaggart said the investment would
help charities become key partners in delivering and improving high quality
public services.
Mactaggart said:
"Our main aim is to develop quality public services that meet frontline
needs. This unprecedented investment will help support frontline organisations
and improve their ability to make a real difference in their communities.
It will also be vital to achieving civil renewal, where local people take
an active role in shaping their communities.
"The responses
to the consultation show that the sector shares our goals. It's encouraging
that voluntary organisations want to build a sustainable, independent
voluntary sector.
"The funding
will improve support services for the VCS, including in information technology,
quality standards and finding new ways of raising funds. It will help
frontline organisations make their voice heard in policymaking. Clearly,
we will want to build on what already works well.
"We want to explore
ways of the infrastructure doing things differently where this increases
benefits for citizens and users. For
the voluntary sector to become really strong and not dependent on any
single source of funding, it's vital that infrastructure embraces change.
"This will include
bringing a wider range of funders on board for sector organisations, including
the local public sector. We
share the sector's goal of an infrastructure that is in place for the
long term, so funding will be targeted to reflect this."
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