Angela Smith

January 2010

Angela Smith talks about about animal welfare, training commissioners and sychronised swimming

How did you first get into the charity sector?

I don’t remember ever not being involved – my mum was a local Brown Owl with the Brownies and has run a church play school for 40 years. At school I was always on various fundraising committees. The sector has been part of our family.

How did this lead to your role in the League Against Cruel Sports?

They’d been looking for a deputy director and the person they’d appointed didn’t stay. So they phoned me up and asked me to work for them. I stayed for 12 years in various guises – the main one being a campaigning/political role, working with parliament local councils and authorities. They had not had someone like that before.

Which campaign were you most proud of?

We got hunting with hounds abolished which would not have been possible without a Labour government. We managed to get local authorities to ban hunting on land they owned or controlled. And the Co-op, the largest farm in the country, banned hunting on its land as well. These were quite significant barometers of public opinion.

Tell us how you did it – identify where barriers could be?

It wasn’t enough to talk about being ‘nice to animals’. We got public support by giving people very accurate information – hard facts are very powerful.

What do you think you have brought from those times to your current role?

We all bring something of what we have done into any job. I think of myself first and foremost as a campaigner and in my constituency I have always got one or two campaigns going at a time. The other thing is that I think people do not realise the impact the voluntary sector has on their lives – they know it is good and worthwhile, but there is no concept that, actually, you could not manage without it.

Is there an independence risk to charities who bid to run prisons etc?

Charities must never lose their identity and if they do find themselves making a bid for that kind of work they’ve got to show that they’re doing it as a charity and that the special
characteristics of being a charity remain. If they behave as a business they just won’t get the public support they need. There are all sorts of areas where the voluntary sector is providing services, is engaging with the public directly as a result and it is very positive – because those organisations are offering something unique.

Do you have a ‘to do’ list – in case you don’t return to this job after the election?

I can’t expect the sector to work to my timetable just because of the election – I have to work to its timetable. The priority is to increase public awareness about how huge and valuable the sector is and to develop a climate where the sector is valued.

How do you feel you have done so far?

What I have been trying to do since June 2009 is see the impact and effect that government money has on the ground. In particular, the Hardship Fund and the Modernisation Fund. I have just recently visited a project in Durham where they have transformed a community – there are around 36 projects like that in the UK. And organisations need to collaborate or even merge if this helps release funds to deliver more direct services. In short, I’ve been looking at what is working and where we can develop future sector strength.

What are the main issues facing the sector?

The recession and giving as much help and support as we can. In terms of commissioning we have to make sure that the sector is in good shape to take on the contract and do the work – as well as to bid in the first place. So we are training commissioners to understand what the third sector brings – there is more to be done in embedding this training into the commissioning process.

How do you switch off?

I swim but not as often as I would like. I used to do it competitively, but an appendectomy at 14 put an end to this. So I went into synchronised swimming! Watching Coronation Street (my husband records it for me).

Books and music?

The last book I read was Antonia Fraser’s Gunpowder Plot and I usually have a good murder on the go – Patricia Cornwell is a favourite. I listen to Radio 3 or Classic FM in the car but have quite wide music tastes. I’ve also been with a group of friends to see David Essex and other 70’s acts on the Once in a Lifetime tour.

Best of times

When the Prime Minister asked me to be his parliamentary private secretary and later when we agreed the third sector was the right ministerial job for me. It’s a huge opportunity.

Worst of times

I am an optimist, so don’t dwell on them, but when a close friend died just over a year ago that was tough.

Angela Smith was talking to Clarissa Dann

Author: Angela Smith

Angela Smith MP was appointed Minister for the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office in June 2009. She has also been MP for Basildon and East Thurrock since 1997. She was formerly parliamentary private secretary to the Prime Minister, parliamentary under-secretary of state for the Department for Communities and Local Government. She has been a county councillor at Pitesa, Basildon, a campaigner and head of public relations at the League Against Cruel Sports as well as a trainee accountant at the London Borough of Newham. She is married and interests include swimming, animal welfare and the works of Oscar Wilde.

www.mpangelasmith.org

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