2017 General Election: What can the next Government do to support charities?

The next government has a big role to play in supporting the VCSE sector, volunteers, and catalysing wider change in the country. NCVO have published a manifesto with five key asks from the next Government. They are:

Making it easier and more rewarding for people to volunteer

• Allowing employers time off work for volunteering
• Providing a support fund to address barriers to volunteering for people with disabilities.
• Recognise the difference that volunteers make to their communities
• Strengthening volunteer development and management

Supporting local communities for a generation to come

• Create income-generating endowment funds
• Put more assets in community ownership

Facilitating charities and volunteers to support our public services

• Services such as the NHS should be asked to set targets for the management and development of volunteering
• Senior public service leaders should be asked to become volunteering champions - raising greater awareness

Enabling people to develop their skills and employment opportunities

• Replace European Union programmes that help people get back to work
• Make it easier for unemployed people looking for work to volunteer

Giving everybody a stake in post-Brexit Britain

• Ensure the right to stay of EU national is resolved without delay
• Simple and effective visa requirements should be put in place to enable people from overseas.
• In the voluntary sector alone, around 5% of staff are non-UK EEA nationals, with this proportion increasing at a higher rate in recent years than the private or public sectors

““Over the next few weeks, people across our country will be talking about their vision of what a good society looks like, what a more social economy looks like, and what post-Brexit Britain looks like. Our message to candidates from all political parties is that this is a good time to think about how we can support and encourage the people and charities who want to help in their communities.””

— Karl Wilding, Director for Public Policy and Volunteering at NCVO

These five areas all draw upon the idea of the next government acting as an enabler for the sector to develop and flourish even further. Charities and volunteers across the country and in all communities are already making a difference to people’s lives and changing things for the better. With the right support and opportunities, they can do even more.

For further details, NCVO's full manifesto is available here.