Affluent areas will benefit most from big society, warns charity chief executive

Toby Blume, chief executive of Urban Forum, which supports communities to have a greater say over decisions affecting them, told delegates at Haymarket Media’s Big Society conference that the concept risks "exacerbating inequality".

"Communities that are affluent and have resources and aspirations will be able to take advantage of it," he said. "Those who lack power and other resources face a big challenge."

He added that ongoing cuts are making it difficult for those working in the voluntary sector to deliver the government’s ambitions. "[Cuts] are destroying much of the fabric and foundations of the big society," he said. "I think we have to be honest about that."

Speaking later at the conference, Nick Hurd, minister for civil society, defended cuts to voluntary sector funding.

"We have got to find savings and we are having to manage an incredibly difficult situation," he said. "It is not enough to say [the voluntary sector] must be immune from this process – it is just not a responsible position to take.

"[The big society] is about more than just traditional volunteering. It is about more than just organisations and charities, and how much public money goes into the voluntary sector. It is about giving people control over how public services are delivered."