NO - Anthony Lawton, chief executive, Centrepoint
Many aspects of society require leadership. The voluntary sector can, but often fails to bring distinctive practices and values to bear. The State can facilitate that distinctive contribution. But the voluntary sector should not lead in services for young people. Not if we mean lead in the sense of set and steer strategic direction. Nor if we mean actually doing most of the youth work. Action and leadership should be distributed around people, institutions and the state, market and voluntary sectors. No single sector should be in the lead. But democratically legitimate local government has a particular leadership role in the community. The voluntary sector does not have and cannot lay claim to formal democratic legitimacy. Organisations and people from the sector - but not, please, yet more bigger intermediary and infrastructure organisations - can lay claim to other leadership roles.
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