Speaking at a recent charity event, he said that as the organisations at the top end of the sector get closer to government, they “increasingly mirror its thinking and behaviour”.

“I fear Big Charity has coalesced around narrowly accepted ways of thinking,” he said. “Big children’s charities don’t appear to believe in improving the welfare of children by strengthening marriage. Big international development charities don’t appear to appreciate the importance of promoting abstinence in tackling the AIDS crisis.

“In contact, I find representative diversity among the ‘awkward squad’ of poverty-fighters in small charities and community groups. They are vigorously committed to defeating the most pressing social problems. Part of their success is due to being able to deliver personal care in a way that one-size-fits-all government never can.”

However, he acknowledged that problems often occur, or are exaggerated by, inadequate funding arrangements. He cites fear of being made responsible for funding failures as having resulted in a “safety first mentality” among civil servants, which in turn has stifled innovation.

He urged a new approach towards grant making by government, which would allow service users and local people to have a say over which organisations benefited from tax-payers money.

Duncan Smith’s Centre for Social Justice is to launch a joint inquiry with the Conservative think tank, the Centre for Policy Studies, into how a new system of funding could work. Further details are to be announced at a later date.

The full text of his speech is available from www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk