11/07/2011 – Lasa comments on the Open Public Services White Paper
The prime minister will today (11 July) launch the Open Public Services White Paper that will ensure local populations have "more freedom, more choice and more control" over their public services.
While we welcome the opportunity for voluntary organisations to bid to deliver public services, the government must ensure such opportunities are sustainable. Without sustainable funding, there is a risk that charities will be set up to fail, as we fear will happen with legal aid.
Lasa, a welfare rights and technology charity, is concerned that civil legal aid has already largely been contracted out to third sector providers. Yet the government is proposing cuts to legal aid which will disproportionately affect not-for-profit agencies.
Many of the organisations we work with have invested considerable time and resources in developing high quality legal aid advice services that deliver a vital public service to local communities. There is a risk this expertise will be lost if funding is cut.
A Big Society approach to public sector provision needs to be sustainable so it can make the most of the expertise and skills that charities can offer.
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