Charity Commission Announce First Full Charity Public Service Delivery Survey

Charities are increasingly involved in public service delivery but the spotlight so far has largely focused on those commissioning these services, rather than on those charities providing them.

As yet, there’s no comprehensive information about the scope and extent of charities undertaking this work and the wider implications for the role of charities. At its conference for charities delivering public services today, the Charity Commission announced a survey of all 160,000 main registered charities in England and Wales.

Today’s conference, chaired by Commissioner Lindsay Driscoll, brought together over 150 representatives of charities delivering public services and other interested organisations to discuss their experiences and concerns, the role of grant giving charities and the relationship between public service delivery and independence.

The survey announced today will be sent to charities later in the Spring. The results will be announced this Summer and will also feed into the Commission’s revised guidance on charities delivering public services.

Chairing today’s conference, Commissioner Lindsay Driscoll, said, “Snapshot surveys of the growing involvement of voluntary organisations delivering public service are useful, but by asking all charities about their work in this area we’ll be able to establish the extent and scope of this activity across the whole charity sector. Today’s conference has provided much food for thought and we welcome the opportunity to find out more.”