Voluntary action under threat: what privatisation means for charities and community groups

With the publication of the White Paper on the future of public services, come timely arguments from the National Coalition for Independent Action (NCIA) presenting evidence about the dangers of commissioning, localism and ‘big society,’ all part of the government’s privatisation agenda.

“Privatisation is not about delivering new or needed services but about making profit out of existing services, where they cannot be abolished entirely. Some voluntary sector organisations have helped to further this agenda by entering into competitions to deliver services on their local authority’s terms. They fail to recognise that, although they themselves are not the private sector, they are still conspiring with a practice which turns community provision into a market place. As a result of taking on contracts, many of these organisations have surrendered their autonomy, sacrificed the authenticity of their relationships with their staff and their users and blunted their campaigning role.”

The evidence, and NCIA analysis, is for those who wish to argue the case for good public services and resist the privatisation of voluntary action. You can download these papers here:

[Four page leaflet: ‘privatisation’] http://www.independentaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/privatisation-web.pdf

[Four page leaflet: ‘big society’] http://www.independentaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/big-society-web.pdf

[Full policy paper] http://www.independentaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/NCIAprivatisation-paper2011.pdf

[Ten page summary paper] http://www.independentaction.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/NCIAprivatisation-10page.pdf