The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has today responded to Christopher Snowdon’s report Sock Puppets: How the government lobbies itself and why.

The report, which has been published today, suggests that charities in receipt of government funding should not be allowed to lobby and often do not have widespread public support.

Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO, said: "This report is woefully short-sighted and ignores the fact that campaigning is a legitimate activity central to the work of many charities and voluntary organisations, regardless of whether they receive money from the state.

"This activity is also well understood and supported; a recent poll showed that the vast majority of the public think campaigning and lobbying is the most cost effective activity that charities engage in.

"Far from 'debasing the concept of charity', campaigning helps charities to advocate for disenfranchised people, or support and encourage them to speak up for themselves.

"The independence of the sector is paramount in helping voices to be heard and bringing major social issues to public attention. Who would question the efficacy and need for recent campaigns such as the London Living Wage Campaign and End Child Poverty?

"Rather than being dragged through the mire, this work should be protected, promoted and celebrated."

Sock Puppets: How the government lobbies itself and why, shows that:

In the last 15 years, state funding of charities in Britain has increased significantly. 27,000 charities are now dependent on the government for more than 75 per cent of their income and the ‘voluntary sector’ receives more money from the state than it receives in voluntary donations.

State funding weakens the independence of charities, making them less inclined to criticise government policy. This can create a ‘sock puppet’ version of civil society giving the illusion of grassroots support for new legislation. These state-funded activists engage in direct lobbying (of politicians) and indirect lobbying (of the public) using taxpayers’ money, thereby blurring the distinction between public and private action.

State-funded charities and NGOs usually campaign for causes which do not enjoy widespread support amongst the general public (e.g. foreign aid, temperance, identity politics). They typically lobby for bigger government, higher taxes, greater regulation and the creation of new agencies to oversee and enforce new laws. In many cases, they call for increased funding for themselves and their associated departments.

Urgent action should be taken, including banning government departments from using taxpayer’s money to engage in advertising campaigns, the abolition of unrestricted grants to charities and the creation of a new category of non-profit organisation, for organisations which receive substantial funds from statutory sources.

To read the paper go here.

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