Friday 11 June 2010

Dame Suzi In A Bit Of A Leather…

...over the threat to her livelihood:
Charities will struggle to fill the gaps left by public service cuts, Dame Suzi Leather, the chair of the Charity Commission warned yesterday, suggesting that vulnerable groups could see vital facilities axed.
Vital facilities like PR staff, consultants, lawyers on retainer..?
She told a charities conference in central London: "So we have a government that says it's committed to developing the sector... That's on the one hand. On the other hand we have the cuts. The cuts are going to come quick and they are going to go deep. The Prime Minister himself confirmed this week that the spending reductions we face will 'affect our whole way of life'. The way of life for charities will have to change along with everyone else's."
Well, yes. Did you think you’d be spared?
Research by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations found that 23,000 charities rely on local government funding for more than half of their income.
Ah. We have a word for these…
She warned that the Charity Commission would have lost 178 staff by March next year, a 30 per cent reduction over the past six years, and said: "I am concerned the Commission can't continue to deliver all its present services and functions while absorbing further significant funding cuts."
If it can lose 178 staff and function at all, then it has too many…

Her own days may be numbered too:
The Conservatives are expected to appoint someone they consider more sympathetic to their approach when the appointment next comes up for renewal.
The bonfire of the hangers-on begins now.

10 comments:

Macheath said...

The bonfire of the hangers-on begins now.

Excellent! I'm getting the marshmallows ready...

HeartAttackSurvivor said...

Sorry, any mention of "Suzi" and "Leather" in the same sentence only brings one image to mind...Phwoar!

DerekP said...

"when the appointment next comes up for renewal"

Why hang about? The county is in financial trouble now, so get someone suitable in the job NOW!

Shift a few of these people out of their ultra-comfortable positions and watch how the rest become more amenable.

g1lgam3sh said...

A perfect candidate for the chop...oh and losing her job as well.




w/v yelhen...I don't even get surprised that they're often so apposite any more :-)

microdave said...

"The bonfire of the hangers-on begins now."

Tell me where it is, and I'll happily donate a gallon of petrol...

banned said...

The Charity Commission has done such a piss-poor job of preventing fake charities presenting themselves as real ones and for allowing others to beome political pressure groups that it should face the chop itself.

JuliaM said...

"...any mention of "Suzi" and "Leather" in the same sentence only brings one image to mind///"

We should get her appointed instead! She'd talk more sense...

"Shift a few of these people out of their ultra-comfortable positions and watch how the rest become more amenable."

Pour encourager les autres, eh? I like it.

"The Charity Commission has done such a piss-poor job of preventing fake charities presenting themselves as real ones and for allowing others to beome political pressure groups that it should face the chop itself."

I see no reason why the duties couldn't be rolled up into one of the other government departments.

In fact, since so many no operate like big businesses, why not the Dept of Trade?

North Northwester said...

Dammit Julia, you tempted me over here with an utterly misleading title.
I thought it was 1974 again and Devil Gate Drive was on on Top Of The Pops. I was only thirteen.
I became a man that day.

SadButMadLad said...

I know, I should stick the topic, but I can't help saying "Suzi" and "Leather" is more Suzi Perry than Suzi Quattro.

Back to the topic. There are probably another few thousand charities that only get their funding from other charities and do nothing of use as well.

David Gillies said...

I always said that someone styling herself "Dame Suzi Leather" should refrain from using the national print media to communicate with the public and stick to the time-honoured method of business cards sellotaped inside phone boxes.