“Running a charity or voluntary organisation is hard at the best of times. With rising demand and less predictable income it has got even harder. In this situation I think Government has got to ask itself the question "what can we do to make life easier?". The right place to start is the tangle of bureaucracy and regulation that soaks up time and money; causes so much frustration and turns off people who want to give time. So I am really pleased that we are running major reviews of Health and Safety and the Vetting and Barring regime. Soon I will be announcing a joint task force with the Department for Business which will ask itself the question "what can we do to cut red tape for small organisations?" They will be free to look at a range of issues including employment law; licensing; and Gift Aid. So this is an appeal to the front line. Let us know what bureaucracy gets in the way and stops you doing good work. Be specific because we can work back and find out where it came from. Every pound or hour we can save you is a pound and hour you can put to better use. We are determined to clear the thicket of bureaucracy but we need your help in identifying where to apply the machete. Please email your ideas to psnickhurd@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk”