Small charities are ‘under threat’ because central and local government are using ‘shockingly complicated’ and ‘inappropriate’ commissioning processes to secure vital public services.
A new report by Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales has revealed the experience of small charities taking part in commissioning processes is frequently poor and has left some threatened with closure.
The report—entitled Commissioning in Crisis—drew on the experiences of small charities who had taken part in 120 tenders and found many had been subjected to poor scrutiny, penalised for irrelevant requirements, and forced into unnecessary mergers.
Lloyds concluded the report revealed a system that ‘routinely discriminated’ against small charities on the basis of their size and prevented them from competing fairly.
This means they are not always able to access public funds which can lead them them facing closure.
‘This report should be a real wake up call to commissioners of local public services,’ said Paul Streets OBE, chief executive of Lloyds.
‘We are alarmed at the scale of the commissioning crisis which is engulfing small charities and threatening their very survival. Small charities are struggling to respond to bureaucratic, complex and inappropriate requests by commissioners.’
‘When it comes to commissioning services, it seems common sense has failed,’ he continued.
‘It’s not just charities that stand to lose, but communities and individuals in need.’
Mr Streets urged the Government to ‘redress this imbalance’ and change how services are commissioned.
