Introduction - setting the scene
Good morning and thank-you for inviting me to take part in this conference.
I am delighted to be here with you.
Before I came to the Commission in 2002, I spent 10 years working as a lawyer in advice centres, delivering front line services to the public. I know what it is like to go to work every day with a queue of customers that goes around the block. I have also chaired the Board of an advice centre and so I have some understanding of the particular challenges and rewards involved in your work as trustees of Citizens Advice Bureaux.
And that work remains very close to my heart. I know what a difference it makes to individual lives.
I spoke at the first Citizens Advice Trustees Conference back 2009 and appreciated that it was clearly a rare and precious chance for trustees to look beyond their own individual charities. To exchange ideas, to gather strength and to look at the bigger picture.
Today is also your chance to feel the relief of a worry shared. The sense of reassurance that comes when you realise you're not the only one with the weight of the world - or a least the weight of your community - on your shoulders.
Because the work of trustees can seem lonely. The particular responsibility you carry marks you out from the volunteers and staff members and managers you work with.
That responsibility probably weighs especially heavily on your shoulders at the moment.
While I usually avoid wallowing in doom and gloom, it is obvious even to optimists like me that the Citizens Advice glass, if not empty, could do with a top-up.
The challenges ahead are well documented. A succession of local and national headlines has brought the plight of local Bureaux across the country to national attention.
They've attracted media interest in part because the figures are so stark.
In February, Gillian Guy went public about her concern that bureaux face losing 45% of their funding overall.
A few weeks earlier, we learnt that Birmingham City Council was cutting all of the support is gives to the city's 5 bureaux.
The Financial Inclusion Fund was axed in early February and redundancy notices issued to hundreds of debt advisers including ten at the Mary Ward Legal Centre, where I used to work. The Government has now found a new funding stream for a year, but the medium term remains uncertain.
While the situation in Birmingham is extreme, similar problems face bureaux across the country.
Many charities, of course, are in a similar situation. Many are seeing their support from local and national government sources taking a hit, just as demand for their services increases.
The Commission's own economic research into the sector bears that out as a consistent trend that began with the downturn in 2009.
We've been referring to it as the ‘double-whammy'.
You don't need me to point out that this double-whammy carries a particularly cruel irony when applied to local Citizens Advice Bureaux.
Because you provide exactly the kind of advice and help needed most by those feeling the impact of downturn, recession and public spending cuts.
I'm talking of:
- the advice you give people who find they can't make their mortgage repayments or rent anymore
- the help you provide to people navigating a changing benefits and housing system
- the support you provide to people hit by changes to the immigration and legal aid systems
As legal aid is cut the range of alternative providers will shrink.
And the people forming the queues outside your door will increase. They are also likely to include those who've never needed your help before.
People who have not previously been considered ‘vulnerable' or ‘at risk' but, following a redundancy or changes in their circumstances, find they can't make ends meet anymore. And that they don't know how to control their spiralling debt.
But it's not just in the CAB's activities that the irony of your current financial challenges is evident.
It's also in your ethos. CABs embody the very spirit the government is hoping to harness as part of the Big Society project. The spirit of localism, of community, of volunteering. Of taking responsibility.
Many of the people you work with, notably your volunteer advisers, are doing exactly what the Big Society asks - they're doing their bit for their communities. As the strap line goes - the Citizens Advice Bureau is ‘the charity for your community'.
Now I understand that this irony might cause you frustration. It can't be easy knowing that your charity has such an important contribution to make, but that that very work is threatened because of funding pressures.
You might feel a little like your feet are being bound, just as you're getting ready to climb a mountain.
But I'd like to encourage you not to let those feelings paralyse you.
Convert them into positive energy and a fighting spirit.
It's your responsibility, as trustees, to protect your charities, to do what you can to steer them through the tough times.
I'm not suggesting that will be possible in all cases - the example of the problems facing the CAB in Birmingham demonstrates that the likelihood of casualties is high.
Perhaps some of you in this room will have to help manage the painful process of winding down your charities.
But there are things you can do that can help avoid that situation from arising; that can help bolster your charities' defences.
I'd like today to focus on three such areas:
- First, I want to talk about collaboration. How you can improve the services you provide by working more closely with other charities.
- Second, diversifying your income. Have you considered all the funding and income options available to your charity?
- Third, technology. Is there more you can do to harness cost-effective ways of providing existing services through the use of emerging communications methods?
Now, I realise Citizens Advice Bureaux are already streets ahead of many other charities in the way in which they approach all three areas.
But I am also convinced that, even in the best managed, most innovative charities, there can be room for improvement.
Sadly today I can't give you perfect solutions that are appropriate for all your individual charities.
What I hope to do is help kick-start your thinking process. To help inspire you to develop your own ideas, based on the knowledge you have of your own charities.
I would also like to take this opportunity to update you on some of the changes happening within the Charity Commission itself.
Collaboration
When it comes to collaboration and partnership working, I know that, in a sense, I am preaching to the converted.
The very nature of your work is collaborative.
The people you help have often been referred by other agencies and charities.
So it's part of your ethos to be collaborative, to build networks, forge relationships, both in your local areas and, through Citizens Advice, at a strategic, national level.
A recent report by the charity New Philanthropy Capital indeed highlighted your connectedness.
The report looks at what NPC term ‘impact networks' - whereby charities work together to increase the impact they have in the lives of their beneficiaries.
The report includes a series of ‘in practice' case studies of collaboration in action.
You won't be surprised to hear that Citizens Advice is mentioned more than once as a key link within a collaborative chain.
And it's clear that, at a national level, the Citizens Advice charity is aware of the benefits collaborative working can have.
In 2008, it published a guidance sheet for individual bureaux setting out how they can use collaboration to improve their services and cut costs.
So, I hope that none of this is completely new to you.
But, I would suggest that many bureaux will not have fully explored all the options available to them.
Those options start with very simple principles - such as sharing.
The Commission recently conducted research into patterns of collaboration between charities with incomes of less than £250,000.
That report, Strength in Numbers, revealed that sharing is among the most common forms of joint working between charities.
You could, for instance, consider sharing office space with another charity, or sharing administrative functions such as IT or HR.
Some groups of charities have developed quite sophisticated networks.
For instance in Wrexham, around 70 local charities come together to form AVOW, the Association of Voluntary Organisations Wrexham.
Membership for charities means access to meeting rooms, to photocopying and scanning facilities. It means access to computers, to administrative support, and to a payroll service.
It's a great model that is likely to have the additional side effect of getting trustees and volunteers physically in the same room, as you are now, sharing ideas and exchanging best practise.
So that's one approach to collaboration based broadly on the idea of sharing.
Another approach can see two or more charities coordinating their services to provide the best possible outcome for beneficiaries.
An example of this, which we highlighted in our last Annual Report, is the collaboration between Thames Reach and Blenheim CDP.
Both are London-based; Blenheim CDP provides services to people with drug problems, while Thames Reach works with homeless people.
They got together once on a particular project to help homeless people with drug problems and realised by doing that how complementary their work was.
How much more they could achieve by working together.
So they signed an agreement and now collaborate on a whole range of projects, sharing resources and exchanging knowledge.
The aim is to help their beneficiaries, but I've no doubt that their form of collaboration also saves both charities precious resources - certainly in the long run.
Collaboration can also take more formal, contractual forms. Such as forming consortia to apply jointly for public contracts, which is a step many charities are taking, not least because those partnerships are favoured by a lot of authorities.
An example is the Young Peoples Training Consortium, a group of voluntary groups and charities in Hull that got together about 7 years ago to bid, successfully, for a Learning and Skills Council contract.
Of course many charities, often as a result of having worked together informally, are deciding to merge.
It goes without saying that this is serious step to take - the Commission advises that mergers should not be entered into lightly.
But when successful they can improve services for charity beneficiaries.
They can reduce duplication, focus resources, cut costs and prevent charities from going under.
Examples of recent collaborations include the merger between Help the Aged and Age Concern to form Age UK.
More recently, youth charities Fairbridge and the Princes Trust announced their plans to merge - a process expected to be complete next month (April 2011).
That decision was motivated partly by economics - the Princes Trust saw its income reduce by £6 m over the past year.
The option of merger is likely to appear on the agenda of Citizens Advice trustees across the country in coming months and years.
I can imagine that for some, joining forces with a neighbouring bureau will be the only real alternative to closure.
This of course is not new: My own Aunty is a trustee of the Board that led the merger of Cannock CAB and Rugeley CAB on 1st October 2008 to form The Chase CAB
For those considering taking that step - please remember there's advice and help available.
The Commission has produced guidance - ‘making mergers work' - which is easy to find on our website.
It explains the key regulatory and legal issues you need to consider before going ahead with any formal proceedings, and it explains what some of the most common pitfalls.
The guidance is drawn from the Commission's case work, and so are full of practical examples and case studies.
We've also produced a toolkit on collaborative working more broadly.
It's called ‘Choosing to Collaborate'. It includes many more examples of the ways in which charities across the country are getting together to improve their effectiveness and cut costs.
I'd really urge you to take a look at it. And do so with a positive attitude - say to yourself - there is a way in which we can improve through collaboration, we just need to find the right approach for our charity.
I doubt there is a single charity in England and Wales that couldn't benefit in some way from working more closely with others.
Indeed, I'd like to share a short quote that I recently saw posted on the blog of Belinda Vernon, Head of Research at New Philanthropy Capital.
She said that:
“Collaboration challenges the very existence of an organisation - does it primarily exist for itself or does it exist for its beneficiaries? The extent to which an organisation collaborates or competes could be a clue.”
I think she's quite right about that.
Diversifying income
The next area I'd like to talk about is income diversification.
CABs individually are heavily reliant on statutory funding, as is the national charity. More so than most other charities.
The Commission's latest research suggests that, overall, only 15% of registered charities receive income from public grants and contracts. Only 8% of charities say that public funding is their main source of income.
I am sure that all Citizens Advice Bureaux are among that 8%.
A quick glance at the accounts of an individual bureau in southern England reveals that, of the 30 organisations that helped fund the charity in 2009-10, 19 were local or parish councils.
Of the remaining 11 funders, at least four were other charities, some of which, in turn, receive public funds.
That of course makes you vulnerable to the current wave of government cuts.
But even during boom times, the Commission recommends that charities avoid relying too heavily on a single source of income.
Our guidance - Hallmarks of an Effective Charity - stresses that charities should always try to develop and maintain a broad range and type of funders and givers.
Nationally, Citizens Advice recognises this and that's why it launched its ‘Individual Giving Project'.
Locally, there is a range of other ways you can tackle this issue.
One is to make a targeted effort to increase the income you raise through commercial sponsorship.
There's some evidence of a changing relationship between charities and companies.
We've all heard of CSR, or corporate social responsibility, whereby companies provide support or funds to charities, in part to promote a positive image. I used to use these programs in legal and accountancy firms as a way of securing regular volunteering.
It's clear the government is keen to encourage this.
Nick Hurd, the minister for Civil Society said last October that business, so far, had been absent from the Big Society debate.
He said companies had a key role to play in helping support voluntary groups, especially as the role of state is being pulled back.
But I would urge charities to look beyond CSR and consider whether they could benefit from a formal partnership with a company.
Recently, a consortium between the charity the Careers Development Network and the company Maximus UK bid to for the government's work programme in seven regions of England.
Similarly, two charities, Turning Point and Catch22 were recently awarded a contract to run a London prison together with the company Serco.
Of course there are rules here - any collaboration with a company must be in direct furtherance of your aims.
And you as trustees must make sure you're preserving your charity's independence at all times and that you're managing any conflict of interest that might arise.
It's also vital that you're mindful of any reputational risks your charity incurs by working with a private company.
I know only too well the imperfections of such relationships, but there can be significant benefits too.
Long term relationships can be fostered and these can reap surprising benefits.
In the difficult times ahead I would urge you to consider how you might improve your charities' situation through relationships with the private sector.
As public spending is reduced, a partnership at local or regional level with a large company might prove a life line for Citizens Advice Bureaux.
Individual private donations are also a potential source of income.
Branding is key here.
I bet, if you asked random people on the street what type of organisation Citizens Advice is, many would not recognise it as a charity.
The Commission's research into public trust and confidence published last year revealed that to be a wide-spread issue.
Many people don't realise when they're using charity services. They don't know the gallery they visited is a charity, often they don't realise their son's scout group is a registered charity.
Obviously if people aren't aware of your status, it won't occur to them to consider supporting you financially.
So think about how you can make more of your charitable status - it's your key asset.
The media interest in the threats facing many local bureaux is a great opportunity to get that ball rolling.
Technology
Technology is the third area trustees should focus on.
Is there more you can do to provide advice online or through email? And are you doing enough to make people aware of the online help you can offer?
Can you use social marketing tools to recruit new volunteers or encourage private donations?
Recent research by the trade body the Internet Advertising Bureau suggests 61% of charities think their website is underperforming.
They've now developed a toolkit to help charities improve their web presence, which includes tips such as getting your landing page right and making sure you're targeting your audience properly.
The Media Trust also provides help and support to charities that want to improve the way they use communication technology, either to reach donors or get their message across to government.
Technology clearly isn't a miracle cure. But don't underestimate the difference it can make.
The Commission itself, over previous funding cycles, was able to make significant savings by pushing more of our services online - we've got a target of 2012 for providing all our services online.
So far, that strategy has helped make our services faster, better - and cheaper for charities to access. Over the last 10 years we have reduced registration times from over 100 days to 30, whilst also reducing our staffing resources going into this area by over 60%.
So I'd urge you to think hard about what technology could do for your charity.
Charity Commission
Finally, I'd like to use this chance to update you on changes taking place at the Commission.
As you may know, we've not been immune from the cuts. In fact we've taken quite a hit.
The spending review last autumn revealed that our funding will drop by 33% over four years. We have to lose approximately 140 staff which represents a third of our workforce.
This requires us to take some pretty tough decisions.
In response, Sam Younger, who joined as chief executive last September, launched a comprehensive strategy review.
The aim was to establish what the key priorities of a charity regulator should be over the coming 4 years.
The review started with a public consultation, which closed in January. We were really overwhelmed with the level and quality of responses we received to that. We received a great many imaginative ideas and constructive suggestions - so many thanks if you were among those that took part.
The consultation found that nearly all our stakeholders think the role of charity regulator is absolutely vital.
That was heartening.
Another key principle that emerged from the consultation is that the Commission exists primarily to serve the public - as donors, taxpayers, beneficiaries and volunteers.
We might work with charities, but we don't act on their behalf.
That also came out clearly from the focus groups we held with members of the public.
People don't cut charities any slack when it comes to accounting for the privileges associated with charitable status. In fact the public don't consider that incompetence in trustee boards should be treated any more leniently than wilful misconduct.
People expect charities to go through a rigorous registration process and they expect trustees to account for the way in which they spend public donations.
They are less concerned about charities receiving tailored advice and guidance from their regulator.
In a way these responses surprised us - we expected people to be a little softer on charities, reflecting the high levels of public trust in the sector over all.
All this means that the Commission does need to focus on the things only we as regulator can do.
And it means that in everything we do, we must focus on sustaining and promoting public confidence in charities.
Using those principles as guides, we've now set out some themes for our work in future.
A brief summary:
We will focus on holding charities accountable for the privileges associated with charitable status.
We'll follow the principle, that trustees should, as far as possible take their own decisions - rather than having to come to the Commission for permissions.
We'll focus on producing good, clear, generic guidance
And we will be more targeted in our compliance work, launching formal investigations only in cases where deliberate wrong doing has led to serious risks to public confidence.
What this means is that, over time, we will provide less one-to-one advice to individual charities.
These changes won't be introduced overnight. We're aware of the strains the sector is currently under so we're keen to keep disruption to charities to a minimum.
So the Commission will undergo a process of evolution, gradually, over the course of coming months and years, changing the focus of our work, adapting to a more austere funding arrangement.
We're keen to keep in touch with charities throughout that process and if you have any comments or questions about our new strategy, please get in touch.
There's a special blogsite for the review, which you can find at www.charitycommissionreview.blogspot.com
A final note on our strategic review consultation - some of the members of the public who took part in our focus groups suggested that Citizens Advice Bureaux take over our public telephone helpline service!
A reflection, perhaps, of how much trust the public have in your work - but also a reminder that there are huge expectations out there of what CABs can do - you probably won't be able to meet all of those expectations in the years ahead.
What you can do though, is fulfil your basic mission in the best possible way.
And I know there's plenty of help out there to guide you.
For instance: I'd recommend you consider the Citizens Advice Service Leadership progamme, which has just been launched.
I'm sure that programme can provide the kind of support that can turn good leaders into excellent leaders - the kind that really make a difference.
I know from my own experience what a difference good leadership can make, the impact an individual can have on the performance and the level of wellbeing of those around him or her.
Don't underestimate that.
And I'm convinced that, if you do focus on your basic mission of your charities, and your personal leadership, CABs can retain their place at the heart of our communities - despite the tough times ahead. You are brilliant and I applaud the work that you, your staff and volunteers do day in day out.
Thank-you