I fully support the Conservatives ideas for the future to shift from "state welfare" to "social welfare" as set out in David Cameron’s speech to the NCVO last week.
As a politically neutral social enterprise we support all parties which acknowledge the importance of the third sector, particularly in the crucial role of delivering public services and community cohesion.
However, I would warn the party that this shift will only work if they truly engage with the communities working at grassroots level, to find out how social welfare would work for them and their beneficiaries.
The community groups QED works with have the enthusiasm, the motivation and the skills to grow, but find that a lack of resources and finance holds them back from expanding on a large scale. We welcome Cameron’s policy towards making funds more accessible to smaller organisations and to increase funding cycles. Only by empowering these groups can social welfare really make a difference.
QED is already delivering welfare services to the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities across the UK, through a number of education and employment initiatives and our success comes from engaging with the government and feeding back to the grassroots communities we work with.
Dr Mohammed Ali OBE
Chief Executive
QED-UK
m.ali@qed-uk.org
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