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David Robinson’s second letter to David Cameron
11 Feb 2011
Veteran community worker David Robinson - whose open letter to David Cameron over Christmas set off a series of recent attacks on the Big Society from charity figures – has written again to the Prime Minister urging him, and the charity sector, to move on from the debate about cuts and focus on saving the Big Society project.
His letter, published in the Guardian on Saturday, includes a series of ideas for boosting the voluntary sector, including using underspend in Whitehall departments to bolster the charity Transition fund, and giving local authorities more time in which to reorganise services provided by voluntary groups.
Robinson describes the Big Society an ‘admirable vision’ that has ‘taken a kicking not because it has suddenly become a bad idea’ but because of the way spending cuts are ‘destroying the services on which the most vulnerable depend.’
The highly-respected community worker, who was one of a select group invited to Number 10 for the launch of the Big Society project back in May, first wrote to the Prime Minister over Christmas highlighting his concerns about the impact cuts would have on voluntary groups. Community Links, the east London charity Robinson co-founded 35 years ago, has over 70 staff on redundancy notice and 8 community centres at risk of closure.
In the letter Robinson claims the £800m bank tax announced last week – dismissed as ‘fairly modest’ by financial commentators – would have a phenomenal impact on deprived communities and local charities, urging government to ‘commit every penny to the transition fund.’ He acknowledges that this is a ‘big call’ that would ‘set back the repayment of the national debt by a week or two’, but cautions that a failure to act could result in years of social and financial cost.
To arrange an interview with David please contact Will Horwitz on 07966 344506