Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised civil society leaders that charities will not be "shut out", or expected to "pick up the bits" during the launch of the new civil society covenant.

The covenant, a principles-based agreement that hopes to reset the relationship between UK government and civil society, was launched today at a summit at the Science Museum.

“We’re not going to shut charities out and then expect you to pick up the bits; that’s what the Tories did year after year," he told charity leaders.

“Nor am I interested in slogans that sound very good, but end up being gimmicks for governments to simply hide behind. I’m interested in solutions," he added.

Partnership

Both the covenant and the Prime Minister’s speech reiterated the notion of charities and the government working in partnership with each other.

The Prime Minister promised not to “blindside” charities with public attacks, and be ready to have “tough conversations” on issues like migration, social cohesion and security as a country.

“These are issues where politicians have often chosen to stoke division instead of bringing people together to fix the problem," he said.

Speaking to trade media, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, assured leaders that “this is the start of a new chapter between government and civil society.”

“We’ve had a decade and a half where civil society organisations have seen their funding cut. They’ve seen demand soar and they’ve been routinely attacked when they’ve tried to speak out on behalf of some of the most marginalised people in the country," she said.

“We believe those voices need to be heard; that those organisations don’t just have a right, but a duty to speak out.”

Nandy explained how she, and the civil society minister, Stephanie Peacock, have spoken to charity and civil society organisations about the challenges they face, learning a lot in the process – and that those organisations have also learned about the challenges the government faces too.

The right to speak up

Nandy also acknowledged that charities have had to step up and fill in the gaps where the government should: “I’m not going to pretend to you that overnight we’re going to find the money to be able to rebuild our public services… it will take time.”

She further expressed her concerns about gag clauses in contracts given to charities when delivering services on behalf of the state, something which the covenant hopes to correct.

“[It must be] clear that when charities are delivering services on behalf of the state, not only are they properly remunerated for that, but they have a right to speak up,” she said.

The covenant states that the government will “respect the independence of civil society organisations and ensure they can advocate for those they serve and hold government to account without fear of reprisal.”

Beliefs and promises

The covenant outlines the government's beliefs and promises for the partnership between civil society and government.

These include beliefs that "civil society should never be expected to step in and replace government. Rather government should lean in to work in partnership with civil society."

The document promises that the government will "recognise and value" those who give their time to civil society, respect the independence of sector organisations and allow them to hold government to account, partner across every department of government, fund and deliver policies in "genuine partnership", promote participation and inclusion and strengthen trust "with open communication".

In a foreword from the civil society advisory group, who worked with the government on the covenant, it said that tangible change is needed to implement the covenant and that trust needs to be built.

“It presents the opportunity to forge a new relationship where government, both national and local, can partner with civil society to create change that lasts generations. Equally important, the covenant will protect the independence of civil society to hold government to account, whether working together or independently.”

Read the full covenant here.

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