There are changing attitudes in government towards charities’ delivery of public services and regulation, a new report issued by nfpSynergy has found.

In his 20 May 2006 letter to Hilary Armstrong following her appointment to the post of minister for the Cabinet Office and social exclusion, Tony Blair wrote: “In many areas of public service delivery, the third sector has the potential for better user focus, better reach and better outcomes than the state - both in terms of service quality for users and value for money for the taxpayer.” Based on this statement, nfpSynergy asked 150 MPs and 100 Peers for their own opinions of the third sector’s ability to deliver public services.

Of those polled, 71% of Tory MPs agreed with the statement made by the Prime Minister, while 15% of Labour MPs and 10% of Liberal Democrat MPs did. Overall, 32% of MPs polled thought that charities probably could deliver public services better than government; an increase from the 28% who thought similarly in a poll in January 2002. Of the Peers polled, 62% agreed with the general stance of the government, that: “charities can probably deliver public services more effectively and efficiently than government,” with 96% of Tory Peers agreeing with the statement. This was compared to 36% of Labour Peers and 40% of Liberal Democrat Peers in agreement.

The poll also looked at attitudes in government towards the regulation of charities and their fundraising techniques. Of all MPs polled, 37% agreed with the statement: “charities should be more closely regulated” – down significantly from the 60% who thought so in 2002. Similar changes in attitude were seen towards fundraising regulation, with 47% of MPs thinking that “fundraising should be more closely regulated” compared to the 64% who thought similarly in 2002.