31/03/2010 – Tory government plans for Futurebuilders
Speaking today at the launch of a new Conservative manifesto outlining a range of ideas for what David Cameron calls the "big society", the Conservative Leader said that his government would close the Futurebuilders programme in its present form; Income from its loan book would be diverted to fund a "neighbourhood army" of 5,000 organisers who would help community groups to raise funds and meet social challenges.
In the document ‘Big Society, Not Big Government’, the Tory government set out their vision for the Futurebuilders programme.
Cameron promises a Big Society Bank funded from unclaimed assets, not too different from the social investment wholesale bank promised by the Government in the recent Budget. The tory document says that it would provide "hundreds of millions of pounds" for social enterprise.
Nick Hurd, the shadow third sector minister says that the Futurebuilders programme has served a useful purpose in proving that the sector could access loan capital, however any future lending to the third sector should be carried out through the Big Society Bank.