Are children's charities too afraid now to ‘bite the hand that feeds'?

Whether it was homeless families living in cramped bed-and-breakfast accommodation for months at a time or the increasing numbers of children arriving at school with no lunch, 2012 provided ample evidence that the youngest in society are bearing the brunt of austerity.

The local government finance settlement, published days before Christmas, confirmed that 2013 is likely to offer little in the way of respite, with council budgets set to be slashed by up to eight per cent.

More than ever, the onus is on those working with children, young people and families to advocate on their behalf. The voluntary sector, in particular, has traditionally been prized for its independence in championing the needs of children and families. But many children’s charities are struggling to find a voice.

Enver Solomon, director of evidence and impact at the National Children’s Bureau, believes they are finding it difficult to adapt to the power shift that has seen Whitehall take a more hands-off approach to services. “Central government is saying that it is up to local authorities to make decisions and to get things right,” he says. “So charities are having to think about how they influence not just Whitehall and Westminster, but also lead members and directors of children’s services.

“That involves a totally different way of operating. I don’t think the sector has really worked out how best to do that local influencing yet.” As councils increasingly commission voluntary sector organisations to run the full spectrum of children’s services, charities become more reluctant to “bite the hand that feeds them”, Solomon says.

“It’s particularly difficult for charities where a significant proportion of their income comes from providing services for councils,” he explains. “If a charity wants to work with a local authority to try and improve services, it becomes quite a tricky balancing act not to be seen as too critical of that authority’s failings or shortcomings.”

Giving families a voice
Helen Dent, soon-to-retire chief executive at Family Action, says the fact that so much funding for the voluntary sector comes from local government is “a real worry”, given that council resources are “being cut to the bone”. “As funding becomes tighter, charities have to focus on safeguarding the services they have, so that the families they work with don’t miss out on vital support,” she says. “We need more joined-up thinking and charities are ideally placed to highlight how different elements and decisions – say, on welfare cuts – can affect our ability to help government in turning families’ lives around.

“Charities should stand up and shout out for their service users. We have a responsibility to campaign against changes that will negatively affect the families we support. If we don’t give families a voice, then who will?”

Solomon argues that charities are however starting to be bolder in speaking out against central government policies they believe could harm children and families – such as the proposed welfare reforms. But he says organisations need to put aside organisational interests and campaign on common causes as a matter of course.

“It’s taken a while for the sector to feel comfortable enough to challenge central government and find its voice on some critical issues,” he says. “When the coalition government came in, no one wanted to be frozen out. That is starting to change now, but we are yet to see any very powerful campaigning that has been really collaborative across the sector.

Collaborative working
“The sector has a history of coming together through consortia to influence through engaging with government officials and working collaboratively. But I don’t think there’s the same history of coming together to campaign overtly and noisily on issues in the same way as the international development sector, for example.”

However, the four biggest domestic children’s charities – Action for Children, Barnardo’s, The Children’s Society and NSPCC – have resolved to pool their energies and resources to speak more as one over the coming year in championing children’s wellbeing. Details of exactly how this will be executed are yet to be confirmed, but CYP Now understands the chief executives have started to meet regularly with a view to more collaboration.

Family Action’s Dent believes that partnerships between charities do have the potential to influence government policy more powerfully, given that they speak with a coherent voice. “We’ve seen this really effectively with the Welfare Reform Consortium and to an extent the End Child Poverty campaign,” she says.

“Charity partnerships enable organisations to put their heads above the parapet on some of these issues. Given that lots of charities are seeing the same thing, these groupings can be powerful ways to spread the message about cuts affecting families and the sector.”

Children England is the membership organisation for the children’s voluntary sector. Its deputy chief executive, Kathy Evans, credits the likes of Action for Children and The Children’s Society with maintaining high-profile and influential campaigns amid rising levels of poverty and neglect.

But she warns that many organisations are struggling to stay afloat, let alone get involved in the kind of policy work that would allow them to sway local and central government decisions.

“Most organisations would be very keen to say that their funding does not constrain them in speaking out,” she says. “But in practice, some are struggling to prioritise the resources or the time to do so. For most organisations, the idea of having a policy specialist or a campaigning department is a luxury. Many have had to trim back the communications, policy and campaigning activity and focus the resources they have on the frontline. It is also fair to say that some feel more free to speak than others.”

Keeping up to speed
Evans adds that pressures on frontline delivery also make it difficult for organisations to keep up to speed with the sheer weight of service reform. “Some organisations don’t know where to focus their voice given enormous changes in the education system, health services and local authority provision,” she says. “There is very little that is actually staying the same, so it’s quite hard to make an impact on one area.”

On a wider level, the Panel on the Independence of the Voluntary Sector was established 18 months ago to address concerns about protecting the integrity of charities at large. Chaired by former Barnardo’s chief executive Sir Roger Singleton, it will publish an annual report later this month to shed light on the issue. In particular, it will say that niche charities serving socially excluded people that are less popular, donor-friendly causes tend to rely more on public funding and are therefore less able to speak up for their client groups. These include young people with issues relating to substance misuse, learning disabilities and poor mental health.

“We are concerned about self-censorship, where organisations are afraid of biting the hand that feeds them as cuts fall,” says Singleton. “But it’s vital for our democracy that the voluntary sector continues as an independent voice, speaking truth to power, representing unpopular causes and widening political debate.”

National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS) deputy chief executive Faiza Khan is concerned about the capacity of youth organisations to speak out. NCVYS is in the process of seeking funding for a youth policy unit that will attempt to tackle the issue.

“We need to address the reduced capacity for youth organisations to carve out time to be a voice, as well as delivering on the frontline,” she says. “Services are the most important thing, but we can’t afford to ignore policy. We have to be able to make a case for where funding is most needed and co-ordinate feedback on young people’s views.

“The aim of the unit will be to address that and act as a sector hub, bringing together evidence from organisations that deliver services for young people to inform policy.” 

Meanwhile, Children’s Society chief executive Matthew Reed says the sector must put the needs of children, not organisations, first. “Large systemic issues facing children at the moment include public attitudes, poverty and neglect,” he says.

“It is critically important that there is joined-up, cohesive action around these issues. ?That partly requires direct political advocacy on an individual basis, partly public campaigning and partly campaigning through the media.

“It’s really important that we speak out, although it’s not just about being critical, but also being constructive. Sometimes by speaking out we can actually support ministers to do what they might want to do privately.”


Finding their voice