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Community Links co-founder urges Prime Minister not to undermine the Big Society
29 Dec 2010
David Robinson, the veteran community worker invited by the Prime Minister to the Big Society launch in May, has written an open letter praising David Cameron for his commitment to the Big Society but expressing concerns about the future of organisations like Community Links, which Robinson founded over 30 years ago.
In the letter to the Prime Minister, Robinson writes:
“I thought the Big Society would be over by Christmas… but six months in, there is scarcely any corner of the public domain that isn’t looking to embrace new forms of participation, ownership and management. I am glad that I was wrong.”
He says he admires and respects Cameron’s “big hearted vision and …clear sighted perseverance in pursuing it”, recognising that “The idea that we should all have the opportunity and the encouragement to play a part in the communities we share is not a new one but it is a good one.”
However he raises the impact government policies will have on communities like that in east London, where Community Links runs community centres, children and youth projects, and employment support. The charity Robinson co-founded in his local area over 30 years ago has grown to be one of the largest local charities in the UK.
“Next year those who need our services – many amongst the most vulnerable in the country - will need them more. The expenditure cuts are a double whammy in communities like ours, increasing unemployment (the public sector is the biggest local employer) and closing services at the same time.
Robinson was one of about 20 representatives from the Community Sector invited to Downing Street in May for the launch of Cameron’s Big Society programme, just a week into the new government.
Cameron has described Community Links as “one of Britain’s most inspiring community organisations” but Robinson says that the future of much of its work is uncertain and potentially at risk.
“We are surely the bedrock of the Big Society and we are wobbling. Without buildings, leadership, training, and support we can’t grow our “little platoons” quickly enough to fill the gaps.
Of the wider sector he says, “Our most desperate need now is to maintain those essential services for the most vulnerable which will never be self sustaining. It is these that are least likely to survive and it is the public funding of this provision that marks out our economy as that of a civilised and compassionate society.”
Robinson says he wrote the letter in the spirit of ‘critical friendship’, believing that Cameron is genuinely committed to the ideas behind Big Society, but unaware of the overall impact that a combination of government policies will have on the organisations that underpin it, and on the UK’s most vulnerable communities.
Robinson urges Cameron to conduct an urgent and thorough assessment of the impact of government policy on community organisations:
“I sense that there is the will in much of the sector to reset the business model but it can’t be done overnight. Allow us to draw breath or you will kill off the agencies you need to build the society you seek.”
He also asks the Prime Minister to resurrect and enlarge the proposed bankers’ contribution to the Big Society Bank, and spend it on essential preventative work with those most at risk:
“Make it big and bold. We need £5bn in this sector to sustain our position.”
Finally he urges the Prime Minister to prioritise “early action” work that tackles social problems before they arise, building “a society that no longer needs the resources to respond because it has developed the strengths to prevent.”
Robinson ends the letter with an appeal:
“On that sunny day in May you spoke with such passion about building the Big Society together. Don’t let us down.”
The full text of the letter is available on the Community Links blog