A report on social cohesion in response to the riots in Oldham, Bradford and Burnley has recommended that more should be done to make community and voluntary groups work across cultural divides. The House of Commons select committee report suggests that in some cases grants could be withdrawn from organisations that fail to put cohesion at the top of their agenda. However, the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service says that the threat to remove grants could perpetuate segregation by making groups turn inwards.

Martin Green, chief executive,Counsel and Care
"The issue of how groups work across cultural boundaries is very complex. However, the idea of forcing groups to work together by withholding grants is not going to improve social integration and will probably do great harm to community relations. We need to see all organisations being encouraged to develop their work in ways that are appropriate to diverse communities, but there are some groups with particular social and cultural needs that may require specialist support. One size fits all is not a sensible way to proceed and is in contradiction to other areas of government policy that champion diversity."

Felicity Collier, chief executive, Baaf Adoption and Fostering
"This is a challenging report but, providing there are sufficient safeguards for existing projects, we should welcome the principles of greater inclusion. None of us can afford to bury our heads in the sand and protest at sensible change. Where additional cost arises as a result of providing interpreter and translation services, for example, the grant giver has a responsibility to fund it. What is not acceptable is the assumption that the commitment has only to come from the voluntary sector."

Karen Squillino, children's services manager, Barnardo's
"To make this plan workable there needs to be consideration on a case-by-case basis. Services should be encouraged to put together business cases where there are concerns about segregation. We need to be promoting inclusive, accessible services, but there are service user groups which can only have their needs met through separate provision."

Bill Badham, development officer, National Youth Agency
"The Cantle report following the race riots said: 'We were inspired by the many young people we spoke to, but they seemed to be participating in regeneration and other programmes against the odds and with very limited and fragile resources.' The report is welcome for highlighting the problems these nationally driven initiatives can cause, cutting across local accountabilities and community needs."

Julia Ross, social services director, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
"Remember the debate prompted by Margaret Thatcher over whether or not there was such a thing as society? The social cohesion debate reminds me of this. Some daft things can be done or not done in the name of social cohesion, which is, like society, an important but sometimes nebulous concept. It means different things to different folks, so I wouldn't favour including it in the comprehensive performance assessment. I also think we need to support some specific cultural groups while we move towards mainstreaming in the medium term."