End lottery handouts

Charities should stop getting money from the National Lottery, a
former director of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations
told the Charities Aid Foundation annual conference last week.

Nicholas Hinton, director of Crisis International, said:
‘Voluntary action, at its heart, essentially implies
non-governmental action.’ He claimed the National Lottery Charities
Board would ‘always be constrained by a degree of political
expediency’.

Nicholas Deakin, chairperson of the Commission on the Future of
the Voluntary Sector, gave a review of the initial consultation. He
reported mixed messages on the impact of increased contracting with
statutory agencies. ‘Some people talk about a distortion of their
mission, others welcome the greater security and clarity.’

The commission expects to report next summer.

Alun Michael, shadow minister for the voluntary sector, said
Labour’s review was ‘separate and complementary’ to the
Commission’s. He promised ‘genuine partnership’.

David Williamson, of the European Commission, promised to direct
more EU cash directly to agencies, rather than via governments.