Prime minister Keir Starmer has said that he has been “greatly encouraged” by sector responses to the government’s consultation on its new Civil Society Covenant ahead of its planned formal introduction this spring.
In a letter this week addressed to sector partners, Starmer said that he was “proud of the way we have worked in partnership with civil society over the last six months, and everything you have helped us to achieve”.
The prime minister outlined several initiatives on which the government and civil society have worked together since July 2024 in addition to the covenant, including the new Child Poverty Taskforce; the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime and the National Youth Strategy.
He ended his letter by thanking the sector for responding to the Civil Society Covenant consultation, which closed at the end of 2024, saying: “I am greatly encouraged by your responses, and we will work quickly on the next steps.”
The covenant has previously been billed as a “fundamental reset” by the Starmer government.
Starmer additionally urged civil society organisations to “please continue feeding into our plans to build 1.5 million homes and improve early years’ education, make the Neighbourhood Police Guarantee a reality, and implement Baroness Casey’s independent commission into social care.”
Sector bodies: ‘We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the government’
The letter comes after some in the sector criticised the government for its proposed increase in employers’ national insurance contributions, which umbrella body NCVO warned is set to cost charities an estimated £1.4bn per year.
Sarah Elliott, chief executive of NCVO, said in response to Starmer’s letter: “The charity and voluntary sector are at the front line of tackling some of the country’s biggest issues our society faces today.
“We welcome the prime minister's recognition of civil society’s vital role in addressing the complex challenges our communities face, and to be able to continue to do that, our sector needs partnership, engagement and support.
“We are ready and to support where we can and to challenge where needed.
“We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the government through the development of the covenant and ensuring the voices of the sector and the people we support remain central to decision-making through our advocacy and campaigns."
Meanwhile, Jane Ide, CEO of ACEVO, said: "We know that the prime minister is personally committed to the development of the covenant with civil society and its underpinning principles of partnership, participation, recognition and transparency.
"For our sector that means having a relationship with government that is built on mutual respect and the willingness to have challenging conversations when necessary.
"We hope that as the new year develops we will see this government fully get into its stride with a sense of coherent policy-making and economic sustainability that will bring meaningful benefit not only to our sector but to the people, places and causes that we serve.”
