Charities are feeling the pinch from ministers

THE charity fundraising scandal has been a major story south of the Border for two months but has barely registered in Scotland. David Cameron’s announcement of a crackdown on aggressive fundraisers may have left many people in this country wondering what the fuss was about.

But charities here are to come under scrutiny after the Scottish Government asked third-sector umbrella body the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) to conduct a separate review.

The crisis in the sector in England is already causing severe damage to the reputations of major UK charities. Some of the revelations about call centres and direct mail firms acting on behalf of charities have been alarming. Allegations have included routine disregard for the telephone preference service that lets people opt out of cold calls, and an attitude that pensioners with serious illnesses such as cancer are fair game. Call centres regularly used by charities for fundraising are accused of paying lip service to “vulnerable donor” guidelines and one company is claimed to have targeted people for fundraising even though they were known to have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The company concerned denies this.

Some of the footage from training centres for charity-call handlers shows an alarming lack of sympathy for any suggestion that fund-raisers should be cautious when targeting elderly donors.

But is this a story with ramifications in Scotland? It seems to have grown arms and legs despite comments from the family of Olive Cooke, the 92-yearold poppy seller whose death sparked the initial concerns. Relatives insist the attentions of charities had been a burden to her but were not to blame for her death. Has this all been blown out of proportion, or is there a wider anticharity agenda? The SCVO’s John Downie thinks there might be. Anxious not to be branded a conspiracy theorist, he nevertheless points to the increasingly bitter feelings between charities and Conservative ministers in the-then Coalition Government before the General Election.

Then charities minister Brooks Newmark told charities last year to stay out of politics and “go back to your knitting”. A Tory MP tried to report Oxfam for breaking charity laws when it campaigned on welfare cuts and zero hours contracts. Meanwhile, the Government has repeatedly clashed with charities over the rise in food banks and whether or not this is linked to welfare cuts and sanctions.

“The timing of the UK Government’s latest attack on the third sector, coming so soon after £35 billion of welfare cuts were announced in the Chancellor’s budget, doesn’t strike me as a coincidence,” Mr Downie says.

He accepts there are problems with some charity fundraising tactics. But a government that has repeatedly clashed with charities seems content to attempt to tar all with the same brush. Scottish charities may be dragged into this messy inquest, although the Scottish Government believes self-regulation works well. As Mr Downie points out, only by having their house in order can voluntary organisations ensure they remain a strong voice on behalf of vulnerable people and communities.

‘‘ The crisis in the sector in England is already causing severe damage to the reputations of major UK charities