Earlier this month, Children Now revealed that Chancellor Gordon Brown had backed the principle of full-cost recovery (News, 7-13 July). Now he has charged the Home Office with finding ways to bring that about.
The taskforce was established in response to the Gershon Review into the efficient delivery of public services, published alongside the spending review two weeks ago.
The Treasury accepted Sir Michael Gershon's recommendation that the Government should improve its funding relationship with the voluntary and community sector by moving to multi-year funding schemes and "making further progress towards full acceptance of the principle of full-cost recovery".
Voluntary organisations are often paid for the service they provide at the coalface, but not for overheads such as administrative staff costs, which rise when charities take on council contracts. The shortfall has to be made up by seeking public donations - a job that is becoming increasingly difficult.
Stephen Bubb, chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, said: "This is great news. But we must ensure the Home Office delivers." Paul Ennals, chief executive of the National Children's Bureau, said: "This is an important step and it looks like the Government is moving towards making full-cost recovery a reality."
