Several sector leaders have condemned the decision to move the civil society brief from the Cabinet Office to DCMS, with Social Enterprise UK calling for a breakaway department for social enterprise.
Peter Holbrook, chief executive of Social Enterprise UK, called the proposal “a curious move with potentially serious consequences for our sector’s future” and called for a separate unit to be set up within government to focus specifically on social enterprise, social investment and mutuals.
"Social enterprises are businesses and need to be recognised as such by government," he said. "We would like to see a breakaway unit for social enterprise, social investment and mutuals within the newly created Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
“From the outside looking in, it is difficult to see why civil society is being moved to the DCMS. It’s a curious move with potentially serious consequences for our sector’s future - there is a danger that the needs of social enterprises, social investors and mutuals will be sidelined.”
Holbrook said that former minister for civil society Nick Hurd would be “very well positioned” to head up such a unit within the BEIS.
“Former minister for civil society, Nick Hurd MP, has been moved to the new business department, making him very well positioned to take a lead on social enterprise and investment at the new business department. His knowledge and support of the sector could help to make a new unit a viable option.”
Other sector leaders also suggested that it would be more difficult to drive the charities agenda from within DCMS.
Sir Stephen Bubb, the former chief executive of Acevo and head of the Charity Futures Programme, called the decision "contemptuous" towards charities. And Dan Corry, chief executive of think tank New Philanthropy Capital, said: "I’m not at all sure that DCMS is the best place to get the most out of the sector. As an old Whitehall hand, I know that it simply isn’t taken that seriously compared with other departments. The minister will have a real job on his hands trying to push policy from there.
"It’s also a very strange place from which to promote the big ideas that Rob Wilson has already backed. What has social investment got to do with sport or culture work? There’s a real risk that it will be completely out of place, just when the minister is trying to talk it up. In an ideal world it would be done in the Treasury.
"The civil society wasn’t working perfectly at the Cabinet Office, far from it. But this feels like a retrograde step to me."
Karl Wilding, director of public policy and volunteering at NCVO, said on Twitter that the lack of an official statement by either the OCS or DCMS “indicates that something is going on behind the scenes”.
But he said that SEUK may be “jumping the gun” in regards to their call for a separate social enterprise unit.
Jay Kennedy, director of policy at the Directory of Social Change, said: "So far this reads as a demotion for civil society policy. It’s a sign that the new government is even less serious about constructively engaging the voluntary sector than the last.
"We hope we’re proved wrong, and time will tell - but we don’t see the logic behind this change and there are many questions to be answered."
Andrew O’Brien, head of policy and engagement at CFG, said: “It’s important that charities do not get hung up on which department the portfolio sits in, but there can be no denying that moving from the Cabinet Office to DCMS would be perceived as a backwards step for voluntary sector policies both outside government and within government.
“In a post-Brexit environment, it will be more challenging for charities to make their voice heard given competing priorities. We need a strong minister that is prepared to make a positive case for charities within government.
“Far too often, charities are forgotten about or ignored. The one positive from this move may be that it gives officials the chance to reset relationships with colleagues across Whitehall and ensure that the potential of working with charities is better understood and our needs are taken into account when policies are designed.”
Asheem Singh, interim chief executive of Acevo, said: “We congratulate Rob Wilson on the continuation of his term as minister for civil society. He has the opportunity to be a ‘bigger fish’ in the pond at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
"We hope he uses this to his advantage and makes the case for better understanding of the sector, not only across government, but throughout wider society.
“Social sector leadership is at the heart of civic renewal and the key to more human, more responsive public services.
"Moving the department from the Cabinet Office must not mean removing the opportunity to play a cross-cutting role across delivery and community engagement. There will need to be additional reforms. For a start, that third sector teams in key departments will need to be beefed up."
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