Big Society Bites Back

Has a ‘loved one’ recently ‘passed away’? Perhaps they were ‘embalmed’ at the ‘funeral home’? Every trade has its own particular lingo, and the funeral trade is no different. Funerary historian Dr Julian Litten wonders when we’ll stop using this meaningless verbiage...

Julian Litten, author of ‘The English Way of Death’ is a funeral historian. Here, he explains why, for him, burial is infinitely preferable to cremation.

The new budget helps motorists but offers nothing for the stricken local charities and community care services affected by the cuts. So what happened to the ‘Big Society’? Eulogy’s Katerina Webb-Bourne investigates how the very people who can help create it are being undermined by the government’s actions.

Earlier this month, the view from the public gallery in Hendon town hall was of a bad day for David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’. The mood was truculent. Councillors in the north London borough of Barnet, which includes the Hendon area, are planning £53.4 million worth of ‘savings’, as the central government slashes their budget by 26%. Over 80 residents gathered for the budget proposal, and after arguing with security, extra attendees were siphoned off into a smaller, audio-only chamber. The anger in this room was palpable, with one resident shouting: ‘Are you scared to face the residents of Barnet?’

The people of Barnet will see £17.5 million cut from adult social services and voluntary groups over the next three years, and scenes like these are being repeated in town halls up and down the country. Cameron has asserted that we can take control of our destinies by giving charities and social enterprises more power to provide public services. However, this is proposed at a time when the voluntary sector’s abilities and dynamism has been severely restricted by government cuts.

New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), a think-tank and consultant for charities and fundraisers, has produced a report painting an unbecoming picture of the sector. Almost a quarter of UK charities receive funds from the government; as many as 13% get half their income from statutory funding. In 2008-2009, a third of the voluntary sector income – £12.8 billion – came from the government. NPC predicts this investment will be cut by 40%, leaving many charities struggling to cope.

Charities providing end of life care are expected to be hit hard. The National Council for Palliative Care and Help the Hospices have surveyed end of life carers to gauge the perceived impact these cuts will have on services. As of December 2010, nearly 30% of voluntary and NHS adult palliative care providers had already experienced statutory funding cuts. Looking forward to 2011-2012, 30% of all respondents (75% from the voluntary sector) anticipated further decreases in funding. Many care providers expressed a pressing concern that those in need of palliative care could ‘slip through the cracks in the system over the next four years.’

Each organisation currently receiving statutory funds faces a uniform reduction in its budget of 13% each year. Programmes run by the Barnet Alzheimer’s Society such as Dementia and Carers Support, and Carer Breaks, face a slash in funds. Money will also be withdrawn from the Barnet Bereavement Service. The council caused further controversy by proposing to scrap the provision of wardens for the elderly. Not even in death can locals expect respite from this austere economic direction: the cost of grave plots is also set to rise.

Residents and voluntary workers have felt they have been prevented from engaging in a purposeful dialogue about cuts. Barnet Voice, a grass-roots mental health organisation, faces a significant reduction in its modest £80,019 budget. Elsie Lyons, co-ordinator, asks: ‘With a threat of a third of one’s income disappearing in two years, how can the council expect the preventative arm of their investment to still continue to work effectively?’ Barnet Voice cannot predict exactly how funding cuts will impact the organisation, but Ms. Lyons is certain that ‘Service users and carers are not being heard.’

Barnet Alliance for Public Services (BAPS) has co-ordinated community protests against the council. The organisation – comprised of residents, union members and voluntary workers – led a 600 strong demonstration through the streets of Finchley in late January. Julian Silverman, a BAPS member, said that petitions, consultations and questionnaires ‘all show an immense dissatisfaction with the council.’ BAPS will continue to lead Barnet residents in their revolt, all the way to the town hall.

As the final budget meeting commenced, the mayor of Barnet cautioned local residents. No jeering, no shouting and no interfering, he told them, aware of the vitriol the cuts had instilled in the audience. But, in the end, the community had little say over what one local governor dubbed ‘Doing the must do’s at the expense of the nice to do’s.’ These ‘nice to do’s’ are vital services: child and adult social care, mental health initiatives, respite for carers, wardens for the elderly, and end of life care. With cuts like these, the people of Barnet and many other communities around the country will find themselves citizens of a ‘Big Society’ built on very shaky foundations.

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