Issued on 13th June 2008.
‘Stop right there CLG with your Cohesion Guidance’
Voice4Change England has demanded that Communities & Local Government radically change its attitude to funding BME Third Sector organisations by abandoning its proposed Cohesion Guidance for Funders and instead engage in positive dialogue with the sector in addressing the wider causes of inequality in society.
The call comes in V4CE’s response to the CLG consultation on the draft Cohesion Guidance for Funders.
“If the Guidance becomes official government policy and is implemented, then the very existence of the BME Third Sector organisations is threatened and we could see an end to much of the badly needed support such groups provide to marginalised diverse communities. CLG’s thinking is out of step with what is happening on the ground and doesn’t fit with other government policies that recognise the vital contribution of the BME Third Sector,” says V4CE Director Vandna Gohil.
According to V4CE the basis of the CLG’s hostility to single group funding is based on a false premise that BME communities organised by faith, culture or ethnicity are somehow the cause of segregation and not the vehicle through which such communities are given support and access to services provided by the mainstream. In addition to meeting the specific needs of diverse communities BME Third Sector organisations are already engaged in bridging communities and promoting cohesion.
Vandna Gohil states, “The Guidance presents a narrow understanding of bridging which undermines the diversity of BME communities. There needs to be a broader understanding of bridging to understand cohesion within and across BME communities in which BME Third Sector organisations play a significant role.”
She added, “The Government hasn’t looked at its own research or the evidence from service delivery organisations. The proposal is not grounded in the reality or the context of how BME Third Sector organisations work and deliver support services to diverse communities.”
V4CE has called upon CLG to revisit its approach on cohesion and give recognition to the role of the BME Third Sector in addressing inequality, promoting equality and in bonding social capital as a prerequisite to bridging.
V4CE was able to raise these concerns with Office of the Third Sector Minister Phil Hope MP when he visited the Newham Black and Ethnic Minority Community Care Forum on Tuesday 10th June.
Vandna Gohil further added, “When he met with representatives from across Newham the Minister heard first hand the serious worries the draft guidance has created. The Minister said that he was championing the Third Sector and we look to him to defend the BME Third Sector’s right to exist in shaping the outcome from the consultation process. We have already seen with the example of Southall Black Sisters in Ealing how disastrous such a policy would be and the Government must act immediately to ensure that BME Third Sector organisations are protected and supported to ensure better outcomes for BME communities.”
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For further information please contact Martin Ball on 020-7843 6131.