1. fromcommunitytopolicy
Managing Change in Challenging
Times: How cuts and the Big Society
affect the VCS
Caitlin McMullin
www.urbanforum.org.uk

2. fromcommunitytopolicy
Spending Review - overview
• £81bn cuts to public spending over next 4 years
• 19% reduction (on average) to Gov departments
•Significant variation across budgets (-51% at CLG
and +37% for international aid)

3. fromcommunitytopolicy
Spending Review - effects
• Poorest 10% of
households
affected the
most
• 500,000 public sector job losses
• £7bn cuts to Welfare (in addition to £11bn)

4. fromcommunitytopolicy
Public Service Reform
• £200m to support councils with reform (in 2011/ 2012)
• Merging ‘health’ with ‘social care’
• Personalisation agenda and efficiency savings
• NHS to fund £1bn for new ways to provide services
•‘Payment by results’ ( part of the ‘Work Programme’)

5. fromcommunitytopolicy
Welfare Reform
£18bn cuts (inc the 11bn in June)
No child benefit to higher income taxpayers – to save
£2.5bn
Employment and Support Allowance limited to 1 year
10% cut to the council tax benefit budget
But-- Fuel allowance, bus passes and TV licences
protected

6. fromcommunitytopolicy
Localism & public service
reform
• Local Authorities to get a General Power of
Competence
• Public sector workers to get the right to
form employee-owned co-operatives and
bid to take over services
• Communities to get powers to take over
local state run services and facilities
• Residents to get powers to instigate local
referendums
• From targets to transparency – a new ‘right
to data’
Decentralisation &
Localism Bill
Expected in November
Aim is to
“devolve greater powers to
councils and neighbourhoods
and give local communities
control over housing and
planning decisions.”

7. fromcommunitytopolicy
“The Big Society is about a huge culture change where
people, in their everyday lives, in their homes, in their
neighbourhoods, in their workplace don’t always turn to
officials, local authorities or central government for
answers to the problems they face …
…but instead feel both free and powerful enough to
help themselves and their own communities”
David Cameron, July 2010

8. fromcommunitytopolicy
Opportunities
£470m allocated to
support:
• £100m Transition Fund
(until 2012)
• Funding for
Communities First
• National Citizen Service
pilot
Big Society Bank
Regional Growth Fund
Cutting red tape
for community
groups task
force set up
4 vanguard
communities
Training 5,000
community
organisers

9. fromcommunitytopolicy
Assessment…Winners & Losers
Where’s the ‘Fairness’?
(poorest, NE, women,
children)
Cuts not evenly spread
(CLG)
Investment
‘Transition Fund’
Regional Growth Fund
Nef: need to take account of social justice,
equality and cohesion.
Young Foundation: need to emphasise
new rights, not government programmes

10. fromcommunitytopolicy
Survival Tips
1. Remember- this is a long-term game
2. Reach out to local government
3. Things need to change

11. fromcommunitytopolicy
Find out more:
Policy briefings: Spending Review, Big Society mini-
briefings and more…
www.urbanforum.org.uk/briefings
Whitehall Watch blog: the latest on what government is
up to including reaction to the Big Society & the Spending
Review
www.urbanforum.org.uk/whitehall-watch/blog
Big Society Policy Page: A collection of all our information
resources on Big Society
www.urbanforum.org.uk/policy-pages/big-society