Big Society idea ‘no help to charities’

The head of one of Britain’s biggest charities has questioned whether David Cameron’s Big Society project has contributed anything to the voluntary sector.

Paul Boissier, chief executive of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), also criticised the recent VAT increases as a government raid on donations.

Mr Boissier, 57, said: “If I understand the Big Society, it is about engaging members of the public to get involved in their communities. Well, the public has been doing that for a long time.

“Of course, we and other charities would say more volunteers are very welcome, but to be quite honest we don’t need the assistance of politicians to do that.

“The people who are motivated to do it are doing it already, and I’m not sure what the value added has been in making it part of political debate.”

The former Royal Navy officer said of the VAT rise to 20 per cent: “The people who give money to charities want to see it go to good works, not into the government coffers.”