The opening plenary of the UK’s Association of Charitable Foundations’ 2011 conference on 18 October was called ‘view from the bridge’. And the view was very much what we might have expected to see: what Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd, speaking at the end of the day, called a ‘challenging environment’.

According to Karl Wilding of NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations), addressing over 300 delegates, we are looking at a ‘perfect storm’ of very rapidly imposed public spending cuts. This is likely to mean 30,000 fewer paid staff in a voluntary sector facing an increased demand for services.