NAVCA has welcomed the publication of the first ever House of Commons Select Committee Report into the Third Sector.

The report: Public Services and the Third Sector: Rhetoric and Reality by the Public Administration Select Committee looks at third sector involvement in the delivery of public services.

The Committee points to evidence showing that third sector provision can provide a more flexible and joined up approach and gain the trust of service users.

They stress however, that there is not the evidence to support the view that third sector provision can be more innovative, provide a greater focus on users and provides greater specialist knowledge and expertise.

NAVCA supports some of the key findings of the Committee: notably the finding of a lack of a level playing field between different sectors, a call for more ‘intelligent commissioning’ and training for key commissioners to enable this.

Neil Cleeveley, Navca director of policy and communications, said: “NAVCA welcomes the first ever select committee report on the third sector. Although for those in the third sector there is little new in this report, it is significant that the Public Administration Select Committee have felt that they need to look at this issue.

"Coming so soon after the Conservatives’ Green Paper covering similar issues it shows that third sector issues are in the mainstream of policy debate.”