I was making my customary argument in favour of a strong, vibrant, independent voluntary and community, and social sector when a good friend asked me what I would do if I were the Minister for Civil Society to boost the sector.
It was a fair challenge, which got me thinking, and so I set out below the approach and key policies that I would seek to drive forward.
First let me start by saying to Nick Hurd that I have absolutely no ambition to take over his current role in the Coalition Government!
However, let's just suppose, for a moment, that I was offered the post of Minister for Civil Society. Candidly, I would seek to persuade the Prime Minister this role should be at a more senior level in Government - with the specific remit and authority to act across departments.
As Minister for Civil Society, I would regard my first duty as being to champion the social sector across Government and with the public. A second duty, surely, would have to be that of the sector's critical friend, ready to challenge orthodoxy, vested interest and poor performance. And I would seek to be honest and direct with the sector. Public money will be tight for many years and the Government has wider policy objectives. It cannot and will not always please the sector - this has to be understood and accepted by everyone - which is not the same as accepting all Government policies.
The social sector - including the voluntary and community sector - has so much to offer but must not be complacent or fail to improve its game. Innovation, radical ideas, boldness of purpose and the pursuit of the sector's mission and values in a modern context are undeniably essential. Unless the sector 'steps up to the plate' and demonstrates its own zeal for reform and its effectiveness, then as Minister, I would find my hands tied behind my back as I sought to act as its champion.
My first action would be to meet the key leaders from across the social sector - but not just the usual suspects and the cynics. Most importantly, I would ask social sector practitioners and real innovators from the front line, large and small organisations and across the country to join a Ministerial advisory body. I would task this group with advising government on: policy and strategy; reviewing implementation; and recommending new initiatives. I would provide access for this group to ministerial colleagues across Whitehall and would invite the Local Government Association and others to discussions.
I would make crystal clear to colleagues that it is not Government's role to direct or control this sector but to ensure that its contribution and potential is recognised and valued across society - by businesses, the media and by every other member of the Government and their departments.
There needs to a coherent policy for supporting and working with the sector across Whitehall - and this has to be underpinned by a clear and coherent narrative. Government has to see the sector as more than just another alternative public service provider - important as this role is for some organisations. Government should respect the sector's voice and representative role on behalf of its beneficiaries and their communities - voices that complement but are not substitutes for elected politicians. And as Minister, I would wish to promote this vital role for an independent social sector and, for example, encourage local authorities to recognise that true localism should involve communities and the local voluntary community sector, with appropriate power and resources ceded to them.
At the national level, I would recognise publicly that the sector is entitled to challenge Government policy, including the underlying macro-level policies and economic strategies when the sector believes that these are detrimental to its beneficiaries. Government has to respect this and the Minister for Civil Society has to be the protector of this right across government - just as the sector has to recognise that as a Government Minister, I cannot and will not always be able to join them in that critique, for such is the nature of politics.
As Minister, I would seek to ensure that my government colleagues always involve the sector (which again, does necessarily mean the 'usual suspects') in the review and development of policies and budget decisions.
The evidence and even more strongly, the perception, is that the sector has been disproportionately hurt by public expenditure cuts over the last two years. The sector is understandably increasingly anxious about future cuts and the upcoming Spending Review.
I would do my utmost to persuade my ministerial colleagues to ensure that Treasury and departmental cuts do not fall disproportionately on the social sector. I would want to ensure that the Chancellor, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister truly understand and are fully informed about the importance of such an approach and supported it.
And whilst rightly, I could not as a Minister 'tell' local authority political leaders what to do, I would vocally encourage them to do their utmost to protect the local voluntary and community sectors when planning their council budgets.
I would promote the fact that the Government has taken some bold steps to promote social investment, including the creation of Big Society Capital, but I would acknowledge that it is vital that it facilitates even more affordable capital being made available to the sector - most especially for small community based organisations. As Minister, I would commit to working with Treasury and BIS colleagues to ensuring that the banks, local enterprise partnerships and others make the social sector an absolute priority.
As Minister, I would make it a priority to explore how Government can support and encourage philanthropic investment in the sector without undermining wider tax policy.
I would also want to broker much greater collaboration between the business and social sectors; and explore how there can be more mutual respect and shared benefits.
I would acknowledge openly and honestly that public sector procurement can be an enormous barrier to many social sector organisations - especially small ones. The public procurement rules need to be reviewed to ensure that the sector is able to bid and win a share of contracts. Major business and large social sector providers, when contracted to the public sector, should be obliged to have regard to involving smaller social sector organisations on favourable terms as supplier partners. Government contracts can and should require this, and I would commit to finding common ground with my colleague, the Minister for Small Businesses on this agenda.
As Minister, I would seek to ensure that the sector was always involved in the design of procurement policy and practice so that hopefully the problems incurred in, for example, the Work Programme and the wide adoption of payment by results contracts were not repeated at the expense of the sector and its beneficiaries. Where there are serious problems, I would continue to bang on colleague Ministers' doors until they got the message and took the necessary action to rectify these problems.
And a further action in respect of public procurement would be to drive an understanding and implementation of Chris White's excellent Social Value Act.
I would push hard for central government and the wider public sector to appreciate the value of grants as well as contracts to the social sector. And when there are contracts, that these allow for innovation and enable the sector to serve its mission and beneficiaries rather only than some public sector commissioning professional's specifications. I would be relentless in seeking to persuade Treasury to grant me the funds to support national infrastructure organisations (and through them, local ones too where local authorities are failing to do this) and initiatives like the sector skills programme recently announced. However, let's be clear - I would 'not' dictate how this money should be spent beyond a broad commitment to develop the sector's capacity. This is not the time for more central government-driven initiatives - the sector has to be able to lead itself.
I would initiate a review of charity and social sector statute and regulation.
Undoubtedly, there is a need for some regulation, not least to protect the interests and credibility of the sector but my personal philosophy is that it must be facilitative and supportive, and in particular, not needlessly restrictive. I believe that the sector needs to be well governed, an exemplar and transparent in every aspect of its being - and fully accountable. It is with the latter in mind that I would want to discuss with the new Ministerial advisory board how we should review and where necessary amend legislation.
As a committed localist and champion of local government, I am on record as having welcomed the 'general power of competency' for local authorities that Eric Pickles has introduced. It could go further but it is a start and as Minister, I would push hard to introduce a similar power for charities and the wider social sector. This could offer real opportunity to the sector.
The sector should be an examplar employer so my final thought on my immediate tasks is with regard to developing the skills and talent of the sector's leaders, employees, volunteers and trustees.
Nick Hurd's recent announcement that Dame Mary Marsh is to lead a new initiative on the sector's skills, talent development and leadership is very timely and welcome. The honest truth (and this sector should have the courage to be honest) is that at all levels, there are still too many large 'egos', and self-serving people and those trapped in the past who are failing the sector. This has to be addressed and the sector has to be equipped and ready for today's and tomorrow's challenges. We need collaborators, and not castle builders.
Having responded to the challenge and written this article, it is clear to me that Nick Hurd's agenda should be very exciting. It's also a very important agenda, which needs to be progressive with a real sense of forward movement for the sector.
The Minister for Civil Society can and should play a major role, in partnership with the sector, to turn much of the rhetoric into practical opportunity. As someone of, and currently operating in the sector, my view is that we are ready and willing - and that the country needs this.