The Civil Society Covenant: a step in the right direction

After almost a year of consultation and negotiation with civil society, the UK government has published the Civil Society Covenant.

This is an agreement between civil society and government which hopes to “create an environment in which civil society is respected, supported and listened to by government, both when working in partnership with civil society and independently, when civil society is holding government to account”.  

The covenant is a step in the right direction after several very difficult years for civil society in the UK. It includes welcome commitments on advocacy, protest, partnerships, engagement, funding, democratic participation and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).  

But to have any impact, these warm words must be backed up by concrete actions, including policy and even legislative reform. Here is our analysis of the covenant and the practical changes it needs to bring about.  

Who does the Civil Society Covenant apply to?  

The covenant sets out the core principles and expectations that will apply to the relationship between government and civil society in the UK. It is relevant to all UK-based civil society organisations, including those working internationally.  It’s not clear whether or how it will inform the government’s approach to working with international civil society or organisations from low- and middle-income countries.   

On the government side, it applies to all UK government departments (including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), executive agencies and arms-length bodies, local authorities in England and public sector bodies. It covers UK government policy issues, such as foreign affairs and defence, and is intended to complement existing civil society partnership arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  

Advocacy, campaigning and protest rights 

The covenant includes an important commitment to respect “the independence and legitimacy of civil society organisations to advocate and campaign… and to hold the government to account to make better laws, regulation and decisions”. Distancing itself from the last government’s approach, it includes a promise not to treat those who speak out against government policies “any less favourably by excluding them from policy discussions or funding opportunities”.  

The covenant also states that the government will protect the right of civil society organisations to engage in peaceful protest. While these words are welcome, they are at odds with the lived reality of many in civil society, who have seen their right to protest eroded by successive anti-protest laws. To break with the past, the government must abandon plans to introduce yet more restrictions on protest rights through the Crime and Policing Bill, including broad powers to ban face coverings at protests and to prevent marches passing near places of worship. There are also concerns about the use of counter-terrorism powers to proscribe protest groups.  

Partnership, engagement and funding 

Working in partnership with civil society lies at the heart of the covenant.  

In it, the government commits to “early, regular and ongoing engagement” with civil society, enabling civil society “to contribute insights and expertise to define the problem, create a shared purpose and agree outcomes to inform both policy development and service design”. The government also commits to provide civil society with feedback after it engages on government policy as a way to support learning and improvement.  

While there were no new announcements on funding, the covenant states that the government will encourage “partnerships based on long-term funding arrangements where possible”. It will also support “collaborative commissioning and procurement models” which provide civil society with “adequate funding to achieve the required outcomes”, offer more flexibility and require “proportionate monitoring”. The government will also aim to offer feedback on funding decisions.   

Alongside the launch of the covenant, the Cabinet Office announced it has reviewed existing policies and guidance on its model grant and service contract templates to ensure they are “consistent with the principles of the Covenant”, and work to update the guidance is now taking place. We hope this means an end to the use of anti-advocacy and gagging clauses in government funding agreements.  

Equity, diversity and inclusion 

This is an area where there is scope to do much more in practice, and the covenant must result in significant changes to ensure excluded and marginalised groups are fully engaged in policy and decision making and the co-creation of programmes.   

The covenant states that the government will work with civil society “to ensure that all relevant groups are represented in policy-making, through whichever method is most appropriate, particularly those who may experience barriers or exclusion, and listens to those impacted by decisions”. Government and civil society will also work together “to co-produce solutions with those communities and citizens that are most affected”, while it is expected that civil society organisations will involve those with “lived experience” in their work where relevant and “represent the interests of the people or causes they have been established to support”.  

The covenant must be more than a declaration of intent. It must lead to sustained, well-resourced and transparent mechanisms which put those most affected by policy and programme delivery at the centre of decision making.  

Only by investing in genuine co-production and tackling the attitudinal, structural and resource-based barriers that marginalised communities face can we move from tokenistic representation to meaningful, equitable participation. We would like to see the government commit to long-term, embedded engagement with marginalised communities by creating and resourcing permanent participatory structures within government decision making.  

Democratic participation 

Finally, the covenant states that the government and civil society will “work together to build a healthy democracy and to champion democratic participation” and “remove barriers”. This is a tacit acknowledgement that all is not well with our democracy.  

An independent and vibrant civil society is integral to a strong democracy so it’s good to see this recognised. But steps need to be taken to improve civic space, including by making changes to the non-party campaigning rules (also known as the Lobbying Act) so that charities feel more able to continue campaigning ahead of elections.  

We will continue to engage with the government as they rollout the covenant, so look out for updates on our website, newsletter and social channels.