Labour’s Civil Society Covenant Must Learn From the Failures of the Big Society

The Government recently began work to co-create a new Civil Society Covenant, aiming to reset the relationship between government and charities. This has the potential to reshape how charities work with Government to achieve their five Missions.

The last reset like this was David Cameron’s Big Society. Big Society promised to empower local places and encourage people to take an active role in their communities. In practice, Big Society rhetoric came alongside a sustained programme of austerity, leaving charities to fill the void left by shrinking public services. Labour must avoid repeating errors that led to the collapse of the Big Society. David Cameron unveiled the Big Society in Liverpool in 2010. By early 2011, Liverpool had dropped out of the programme, citing cuts to local authority budgets as the cause. While Cameron’s Big Society promised to liberate and empower communities, the Coalition Government cut public spending and funding for those same communities. These cuts also meant cuts in public funding for civil society.

Looking back, it was a clear warning when one of the original four “vanguard” areas dropped out so early on in the programme. A strong social sector needs more than government to step aside and leave charities to get on with it. Shrinking the state without investing in the infrastructure that enables the voluntary sector to work effectively left charities struggling to cope.

Austerity meant that demand for support from charities rose as public services were forces to limit eligibility and cut costs. The long-shadow of austerity still affects people today. NHS waiting lists tripled between 2013 and 2023.

This isn’t just about the public sector. Many charities deliver vital public services on behalf of government and local authorities, and research by NCVO says that 73% of charities cannot meet demand for the public services they deliver. Earlier this year, our research found that charities subsidise government contracts by around £2.4bn per year. This is clearly unsustainable.

Ahead of the first Labour budget for 15 years, Rachel Reeves repeatedly promised no return to austerity. The real terms increase in almost all departmental budgets, and the uplift in funding for local authorities, means that she has lived up to that promise. Despite this, there are some concerns about funding for public services in the long term.

A lot of the spending is front loaded, with the NHS is getting £22bn over the next year. After 2026, day-to-day public service spending is set to rise by only 1.3 per cent per year. That might not be enough to avoid budget cuts to some departments.

Despite the ambitions of the budget, we are left with some uncertainty about the long-term strength of public services, and a memory of governments leaving charities to clean up their mess. This is a challenging backdrop for a reset of the relationship between this Government and civil society.

For many, this Government’s reset has been tainted by the inclusion of charities in the increase in Employers’ National Insurance Contributions. This, coupled with the increased minimum wage, will put a real strain on many charities’ finances. For charities that deliver government contracts, there’s no sign they will increase to match these new costs. We know that already charities subsidise government contracts, so if we don’t want charities that deliver vital services for many people to fold, then Labour will need to look at this.

Despite this challenging context, the Covenant is welcome. Many charities were shut out of conversations with the Conservative Government, with some Conservative MPs being actively hostile to charities that were standing up for the people they support. The sector is ready for a reset.

For Labour to make this work, there needs to be accountability mechanisms to support meaningful collaboration. Warm words are nice, and a welcome change, but aren’t going to drive real change. The new relationship can’t echo the Big Society’s reliance on charities, without giving anything back. Charities aren’t in a position to fill gaps. Reassuringly, Rachel Reeves does seem to be serious about rebuilding public services, and avoiding a return to austerity.

There are a few simple ways that Labour and civil society could begin to work together. As a starting point, civil society should be involved in the oversight of the delivery of Labour’s missions and be a part of the Advisory Commissions . These new forums play an important role in this Government’s mission-driven approach to getting things done. Including charities and civil society would broaden the expertise on the Boards, while sending a clear signal that civil society are a valued partner for this Government.

Even more simply, there should be a regular meeting between Secretaries of State and charity leaders. Sending a clear signal to Ministers and civil servants that civil society has a role in tackling the challenges facing society is important. This signal can also be made clear in departments, where there should be a senior civil servant responsible for involving a diverse range of charities and feeding into the meeting between Secretaries of State and charity leaders, and a Non-Executive Director with a civil society background to in each department should oversee this.

The Covenant has four high level principles: Recognition, Partnership, Participation, and Transparency, but p The return in goodwill for these simple measures would be enormous, and failing to establish proper mechanisms will cause many charities to feel that the Covenant is just lip service. Cutting corners will cause more trouble than it’s worth.

At the same time, this should be a two-way street. Just like charities don’t want this to only be about what they can do for Labour, it can’t just be about what Labour can do for civil society. Charities should be thinking about how their work supports Labour’s Missions. This doesn’t mean changing what they do, but is a question of how they frame their impact. If charities are seen to provide solutions, and not just ask for funding and tax breaks, then they will be seen as a valuable partner for Government.

If this Government is serious about working in partnership with civil society there are easy ways to set the tone. The economic situation, and mounting pressure on many charities, means that they are rightly nervous about the future. If Labour want to live up to the promises of the Covenant, they will need more than just warm words.

If you enjoyed this piece, follow the link here to read David Pinto-Duschinsky MP’s recent piece on tackling economic inactivity. 

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