As our new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, forms his government, we look ahead to what this change might mean for the charity sector and the policies and practices in urgent need of reform.
17 July 2024
At the start of this year, the Foundation was pleased to sponsor an event organised by Pro Bono Economics at which Keir Starmer laid out his vision for how civil society can be involved in his Government’s Five “Missions” – economic growth, clean energy, the NHS, justice and raising education. While we would want any government to make tackling poverty and inequality an equally important mission, it was good to hear how a potential Prime Minister-in-waiting saw the partnership between the state and civil society working in practice.
It was even better for some of the small charities we support to get the chance to question and challenge shadow ministers on their approaches. Week-in, week-out, for years now, charity leaders have been feeding back to us their concerns about the extent and intensity of the challenges the people they serve are facing. And they have also been telling us about the challenges of keeping small and local charities going against a backdrop of austerity, funding cuts and the ongoing cost of living crisis.
The Ministerial Team Keir Starmer has appointed has ended up being a bit different to his Shadow Team. After Thangam Debbonaire lost her seat, Lisa Nandy MP has been appointed as Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, and Lilian Greenwood, the Shadow Minister for Civil Society has ended up moving to the Department of Transport. We are still waiting to hear who will cover the civil society brief. We are grateful for how Thangam and Lilian engaged with the sector in a positive way over the past couple of years and hope that their successors will continue to build on this.
One of our key concerns is the growing numbers of people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, at the sharp end of the nation’s housing crisis. We are funding several charities in England and Wales – Emmaus, Justlife Foundation, Bevan Foundation and Shelter Cymru – that are seeking to influence their respective governments on this issue. We are also supporting seven Local Collaborations seeking to influence homelessness policy and practice at a local authority level.
Our Trustees have just agreed for the Foundation to join the Nationwide Foundation in funding the Renters Reform Coalition (RRC) to continue its work to end section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. This group of 20 homelessness charities, tenant unions, advice agencies and law centres has been at the forefront of the challenge to the previous government over its failure to deliver its promise to protect tenants when the legislation was filleted and then dropped before the election. As well as campaigning to end section 21, we will support the RRC in trying to secure other reforms to improve physical and management standards in the private rented sector and improved affordability.
On the issue of social security, our National Influencing Programme is supporting charities campaigning on the issues of Carer’s Allowance, disability benefits and Universal Credit. Achieving change in this policy area will undoubtedly be tough, especially if the new Government sticks to its chosen fiscal ‘rules’. However, we hope the appointment of former Work & Pensions Select Committee Chair, Sir Stephen Timms MP, as the new Minister for Social Security is a positive sign that some of their previous criticisms will be taken on board within a Department that has too long ignored the suffering and injustice of its policies.
Of all the charities we are supporting, those working with refugees, migrants and asylum seekers probably have the toughest job influencing the incoming Government. Keir Starmer’s decision to put a stop to the awful scheme to remove asylum seekers to Rwanda is good in itself, but this was only ever the most extreme aspect of the previous Government’s ‘hostile environment’. We don’t imagine immediate progress, but hope that Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, and her team will give the many organisations working in this area a fair hearing and make policy decisions on their merit, instead of chasing newspaper headlines.
These are exciting times for those working for the charities we support, as well as the new ministers and hundreds of new MPs. We will be doing everything we can to back up our charity partners' campaigning efforts in the months and years ahead so that, together, we can build the just and compassionate society we want to see.
