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If Hazel Blears is to be believed, the news that £10m has been provided to NHS staff to set up social enterprises should be looked upon with apprehension, as she believes it could be used as a step towards privatisation. Meanwhile the Arts Council has made its priorities known in announcing that its cuts to 206 organisations will make the arts sector more resilient. 

Arts Council cuts funding to more than 200 organisations
  

The impact of the government's cuts to the Arts Council budget has now been felt by arts organisations themselves, with 206 previously-funded organisations losing out in the funders' latest round.

Hazel Blears says social enterprises could be used to privatise public services
  

Hazel Blears, former secretary of state for communities and local government, has warned that some members of the coalition government see the social enterprise sector as a way to privatise public services.

Lloyds TSB Foundation sees 24 per cent increase in applications
  

The Lloyds TSB Foundation, one of the biggest grantmakers in England and Wales, saw a sharp increase in both eligible and total funding applications last year as charities tried to plug funding shortages.

Charity Commission's policy chief takes voluntary exit
  

Rosie Chapman, executive director of policy and effectiveness at the Charity Commission, has elected to take advantage of its voluntary exit programme and will leave the regulator at the end of May.

Franklin Mint case had trustee Hind fearful of personal bankruptcy
  

Franklin Mint's counter-lawsuit against the Diana Fund in 2003 personally named all the trustees and was for a sum of "well over a hundred million dollars", Andrew Hind revealed in his opening plenary at the Trustee Exchange conference yesterday.

Big Society Bank will make measuring impact a priority, says government adviser
  

The Big Society Bank will make it a priority to be actively involved in developing and encouraging impact measurement, according to one of the advisers developing the framework for the Bank.

Health secretary announces £10m for NHS staff to set up social enterprises
  

Health secretary Andrew Lansley has announced up to £10m in funding to help NHS staff who want to start social enterprises as part of the government's Right to Provide agenda. 

Liberal influence: Andrew Hind interviews Lord Rennard
  

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Rennard is chairing Acevo's Commission on Big Society. He told Andrew Hind that the voluntary sector should do more to help shape the government's Big Society plans.

Rising pressure - 25 years of charities and companies
  

Most of the top 50 charities in 1985 are still amongst the UK's biggest charities, yet few of the 50 largest companies 25 years ago exist in the same form today. Tania Mason investigates why, and identifies growing pressure for the sector to change. 

Inheritance tax and the Big Society
  

The change to Inheritance Tax Relief announced in last week's Budget may not be the panacea for charities that it appears, says Richard Fairbairn.

Civil society needs to start thinking much, much bigger
  

Tania Mason worries that the scale and ambitions of civil society are no match for the mighty markets that are driving unprecedented consumption of our planet's resources.

"I agree with Richard Molineaux. I don't think Sheila Bailey should worry about anybody seeking to, or helping to, ruin Amanda McLean's reputation. The facts speak for themselves. Something has clearly gone very wrong in the recruitment process and it has ended up being very costly in terms of real monetary expense on recruitment, ultimately a cost to the members of the IOF, and in wasted time."

"All I say to this is TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More). There is power in numbers and I believe as Age UK brand partners we are in a stronger position to raise the issues of older people globally, nationally and locally."

"Small charities and social enterprises can't afford the absurd and elephantine application and reporting mechanisms of previous schemes or huge administrative overheads."

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