Sector bodies flag concerns in raft of pre-election manifestos

A raft of manifestos has been released by sector bodies in an effort to ensure that political parties take notice of civil society priorities in the run-up to the general election and beyond.

Possibly the first to launch a manifesto was the Community Foundation Network (CFN), who issued its Manifesto for Community Philanthropists at its conference in September. It calls on government to promote the teaching of charity in schools, the creation of special giving zones with favourable tax treatment for donors, bank gifting accounts to simplify giving and ensure tax efficiency, and a system of lifetime legacies to enable philanthropists to release funds during their lifetimes rather than having to wait until they die.

More recently, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) in its manifesto launched on 23rd February, calls for five days paid leave for volunteering, more mutuals, co-operatives and credit unions and the right of the voluntary sector to campaign. Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, says: “I believe our organisations really do make a difference. We can provide a different approach and different solutions to the challenges we all face. But we cannot sit back and wait for politicians and business to come to us for those solutions. It simply won’t happen. Instead, it is more important than ever that we define what we want our society to look like and say what role we can play in achieving that.”

Other key manifesto recommendations include support for
• a Robin Hood Tax of 0.05 per cent on banking transactions to raise money to protect public services, fight poverty and tackle climate change.
• Protection of the legal right to protest and campaign, especially in Parliament Square.
• A new Community Day bank holiday.
• Local assets, such as community centres and town halls, to be transferred to communities where they would otherwise stand empty and neglected.

Meanwhile, the Charity Finance Directors' Group (CFDG) is launching a manifesto next week focusing on four key areas to improve the environment in which charities work: a light touch regulatory framework, a level playing field in competing for public service delivery, a simplified system of direct and indirect taxes and support for social investment.
In each of these areas it puts forward concrete proposals, including calling for a government commitment to fundamental reform of the Gift Aid system within one year.

New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) is also releasing a manifesto in March that calls for policy to incentivise giving.

The Institute of Fundraising (IoF) wants commitments on Gift Aid, investment in fundraising skills and action on legacies.

The Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC) aims to raise the profile of social enterprise in the run-up to the next general election and promote it as a more accountable and sustainable business model. Its manifesto calls on government to help social enterprises increase their contribution to the UK's economy by three times over the next 10 years, while acknowledging that the policy framework needed to reach its 2020 target is “ambitious”.

The independent Commission of Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in the UK and Ireland which publishes its final report Making Good Society and manifesto on 15th March, makes 30 recommendations across the areas of finance, low carbon economy, the media and democracy. It calls directly on government to create incentives and change structures to transfer power towards citizens.

Umbrella bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also want the new Westminster government to act on issues affecting the sector that are not devolved.

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) says that the reform of Gift Aid and the VAT system are the most important in its manifesto Doing things differently, which makes its points under three broad headings; 'Making a Difference to Society', 'Economic Value of the Sector' and 'Doing Things Differently'.

Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) wants the new government in Westminster to help create a financially robust sector through compensation for irrecoverable VAT, protection and promotion of Gift Aid, scrapping taxes on the Lottery, and ensuring more lottery cash gets to charities.

NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action) is arguing for a Green New Deal to tackle three issues – rising energy costs, unemployment, and climate change. It would also like to see more pluralism in financial services, with the voluntary sector once again being involved through mutuals and credit unions.