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Third Sector Review

The review makes it clear that many charities are held back from campaigning—indeed, charities often silence themselves, because of the present restrictions. We need to create an atmosphere in which they feel free to use their expertise in order to gain changes in the law. It is worthwhile our understanding where their voice comes from. It comes from expertise—for example, bodies such as Citizens Advice provide advice and advocacy—and from a connection with the most excluded people in society, who often do not vote or even manage to make their way to our advice surgeries. The capacity to provide a voice is a critical part of the role of the third sector, and I urge the Minister to do more in that regard. I am glad that the Minister has proposed in the review the creation of a more permissive atmosphere for political campaigning for charities. May I draw to his attention the fact that the Department for Education and Skills is planning to axe the small but effective community champions fund, which provides £3 million a year to enable individuals to tackle issues around them? It is one of the central Government funds to go to individuals. I have seen it promote initiatives that range from creating the national charity for foetal alcohol syndrome to mums fixing things for their children here. I am sure that the Minister did not mug up on this before the debate, but I strongly urge him to point out to his colleagues at the Department for Education and Skills how, for example, the community champions initiative can create the activism, volunteering and civic engagement that so many in this debate have talked about. The hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (James Duddridge) described the issue well when he said that charities are in MPs' blood. We are politicians; we want to change the world—although some of us want it to go backwards and others want it to go forwards. Nevertheless, we are interested in using politics and social action to achieve an end. In current discourse, many people think politics a rather unsavoury way of achieving social ends, but find charitable action appropriate for achieving them. By getting involved—starting by shaking a tin for poppy day next week or whatever—people become more aware that they have a role in society, that things are not just decided by others and that they can change them. They become more capable of organising things in their neighbourhood, thereby creating a more autonomous society with more powerful citizens. The third sector contributes substantially to strengthening communities through all sorts of voluntary organisations. As MPs, we are interested in civic action and politics and should welcome it when organisations are prepared to use their knowledge, contacts and expertise to run overtly political campaigns for change. Without that, some of the changes that we need would not happen.