Sector will rely on cash from public

Jul 2 2010 Bill Midgley, The Journal

MR OSBORNE’S words have now been given a considerable airing, and the opinions written about them leave us in no doubt as to the hard times ahead.

But we still need to see whether his plans can actually be delivered, particularly in the area of efficiencies and the impact they will have on the community.

The Government has long indicated that it will expect the voluntary, or “third sector”, to deliver a greater share of community and social services, particularly those provided now by the public sector. That may be fine in theory given the view that the voluntary sector can deliver such services at a lower cost, but whether it has the capacity remains to be seen.

It will come as a surprise to many that the voluntary sector is far from a free service – it has to meet costs of employment, recruiting skilled staff and paying a market rate for such people, in addition to normal establishment demands.

What it does however, is make up any shortfall in any payments for its services by its appeal to the public to subsidise its activities. It remains to be seen whether with a real fall in income and the continuing problems of business as to whether the increased financial requirement placed upon the voluntary sector will enable it to meet the Government’s expectations.

An example of this is the hospice movement which provides such an invaluable service to the terminally ill in bringing comfort and dignity for those who have reached the end of their lives.

The National Health Service provides for a set number of days of care in hospices, but people do not die to order, at least not yet, and the continuing skilled and intensive nursing that is required has to be paid for beyond any NHS funding.

That quite simply comes from the goodwill of the public, companies and charitable trusts of which fortunately we have a number in our region. Hospices of course are only one part of the broader ranger of social services that will be needed, and where there has to be, the real question is how they will be funded.

The need for funding is going to be ever greater as expectations rise and the traditional sources of funding shrink. Not an encouraging picture, but a challenge that we will all need to rise to if the move to provide quality social services meets the needs of people in the 21st Century.

This is an area in which we can all assist, individually and in the commercial world, in spite of the pressures on our pockets. These are services which any of us may need.

Bill Midgley is a North East business executive