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| SECTOR
UNDER PRESSURE FROM INEFFECTIVE WORKING PRACTICES |
18/02/04 |
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High
levels of bureaucracy and poor commissioning practices are endangering public
services delivered by charities, according to ACEVO.
A detailed submission by the umbrella body for chief executives to Sir Peter
Gershon’s Efficiency Review of public services claims the voluntary sector
is being "stifled by bureaucracy, bad contracts, and bungling".
Following a meeting with Sir Peter Gershon, head of the Office for Government
Commerce, ACEVO consulted its members on the inefficiencies of regulation
and contracts. Over 70 detailed responses were received in three weeks.
Problems highlighted include:
- Annual contracts for service delivery remain the norm, with most public
sector commissioners waiting until late February or March before confirming
funding for the coming year.
- Charities are torn between issuing redundancy notices in January then
seeking to rehire staff once the decisions are made, or keeping staff on
until the end of the financial year then downsizing rapidly, risking breaches
of employment law.
- Decisions on some funding streams, such as the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund,
are not made until March 31, giving charities less than 24 hours to plan
their budgets and staffing for the coming year.
- Many charities are struggling to service the paperwork of their many public
sector partners.
- Many charities are struggling to service the requirements of their regulators.
To register and comply with the National Care Standards Commission currently
involves over fourteen staff days in servicing.
Stephen Bubb, head of ACEVO, says: “Many projects and even organisations
risk collapse under the sheer weight of red tape.”
He is calling on the Efficiency Review to recognise the vital role of third
sector organisations in delivering public services, and to recommend a drastic
pruning of bureaucracy to increase efficiency. ACEVO has also made a submission
to the Conservative Party’s review of government waste, led by David James.
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