Charity director warns against ‘sub-contracting’

THE DIRECTOR of a Catholic children’s society has accused the government of subcontracting services to charities. Steven Webb, director of Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society, warned that the lines between charities and the state are becoming blurred as a result.

Asked about the closure of Kids Company, a children’s charity that received grants from central government, Mr Webb claimed the case “shows us how much of what the state used to do is now being done by charities”. Kids Company folded this month following allegations of financial mis­manage­ment.

Mr Webb pointed out that, traditionally, there are three sectors: the state, the private sector and the charitable sector, but a “fourth sector” was emerging. He continued: “The government is farming out contracts to organisations we call charities. Is that really charity, or is it just government subcontracting?” He said his charity does not accept such work in principle, citing Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio “On the Service of Charity”. This states that “The Church’s charitable activity at all levels must avoid the risk of becoming just another form of organised social assistance.”

He also warned against “short-termist” cuts to services: “For every £1 invested in children with emotional or behavioural difficulties, £6-£10 is saved in the longer term. So a government elected for a five-year term with a target to reduce the deficit ends up saying to vulnerable children, ‘You’re going to have to lump it’, because the later costs are another government’s problem.”