London’s voluntary and community sector provides essential services to some of our most disadvantaged communities
London Voluntary Service Council’s annual Big Squeeze survey is a very useful addition to the evidence of the impact of the recession on London’s voluntary and community sector.
2010
Increasing unemployment levels, rising workloads, and a greater number of social challenges to meet, including a rise in mental health problems: these are some of the less than rosy third sector findings reported by London Voluntary Service Council (LVSC) in its second Big Squeeze report.
The study of the impact of the recession on London polled 60 organisations to measure the effect of the recession on them and the communities they serve. Over 90% report that they have taken some form of preventative action, such as generating more income, in order to survive the downturn. 97% say that the recession had a detrimental effect on their communities and that the groups worst affected are those already at high risk of marginalisation - disabled people, BME communities and the young.
Recommendations from the report include:
• ensuring any cuts to public services do not hit those already most marginalised
• discussing any cuts in advance with the appropriate VCS organisations
• engaging the London Skills and Employment Board to address increasing employment rates of deaf, disabled and BAME (black, Asian, minority ethnic) Londoners, and ensure delivery partners have sufficient resources to tackle increasing worklessness levels
• encouraging the Mayor to prioritise the delivery of his health inequalities strategy to help minimise the impact of the recession on London's poorest communities.
2009
The survey 2009 was open to responses from the VCS from January to April, asking any London-based organisations and community groups how they were affected by the downturn, and how the communities they worked with had been affected. It sought to measure increased workloads and levels of confidence about meeting demand, and to dig out information on some of the strategies being adopted by the VCs to cope with hard times. An overriding message is that the recession is compounding problems that were already there for the VCS. In general terms, advice services have been first and hardest hit (advice on finance and debt, legal issues and benefits). Mental health and broader community services are seeing more people experiencing depression and anxiety. In different ways, many groups say of their communities the recession is “the last thing they need” – the marginalised being further marginalised.
The report now published, in short form and in full, contains good analysis of the survey material, ties in the findings with other action being taken in London and lists recommendations for LVSC itself, funded organisations and both statutory and other funders. The report recognises that “the role of London Funders in supporting London’s most vulnerable communities will be crucial over the next few years, as demand for public services (especially at local levels) continues to rise whilst public sector spending is widely expected to fall”.
- A recognised need amongst funders for effective collaboration as the mixed economy of funding available to VCS groups falls;
- A reaffirmation of funders’ commitment to working with the VCS for the benefit of Londoners, along the lines expressed by the Mayor of London within his Economic recovery Action Plan (ERAP). Regional statutory groups and statutory-led partnerships should show leadership in this area.
- For all funders to work together to develop and maintain an agreed evidence base and mechanisms for forecasting, so that the recession’s impact on London’s communities can be effectively tackled;
- For all funders to recognise the potential of the recession to compound many of the issues VCS groups were already facing prior to the downturn – including the challenge of public service delivery, moves to commissioning-based systems, demonstrating the economic value of social activity and the (often unfunded) costs of engaging with the statutory sector. “
For the VCS, recommendations include better strategic planning for the recession and advise strong links with infrastructure bodies, recording of demand to understand and have evidence for changes, and to talk to existing funders in good time.
London Funders continues to encourage sharing of information through our “recession response” website and to work with London Councils on the third bullet point above in bringing together thinking on the economic progress of the recession, its impact on the ground and the implications for funders’ own policy and direction. We will be happy to talk to any of our members about additional ways of responding to the crisis.
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