Hurd at the pre-election hustings where he showed some support for the OTS
The new minister responsible for social enterprise is to have the title Minister for Civil Society.
Conservative Nick Hurd was confirmed as having picked up the post this morning although details about his job title were not released.
However, the removal of the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) site from the Cabinet Office’s website pointed to the fact some change in terminology was likely to take place.
Social enterprise and other third sector leaders will now be watching to see whether the name change is a cosmetic decision or the portent of a more radical shift in the role of the sector under the new government.
The Conservatives’ Green Paper on the voluntary sector published in June 2008 proposed scrapping the OTS and replacing it with an Office of Civil Society (OCS). It said the OCS would have ‘enhanced powers and responsibilities’ including community cohesion, and would be populated initially with staff seconded from other areas of Whitehall.
However, speaking at a hustings organised by Social Enterprise London before the election, Hurd had shown some support for OTS.
He said: ‘The truth is it’s really hard to join up government. That’s why we keep talking about it but I think OTS was an important initiative and a good start.’
Hurd added then that it was ‘too soon’ to know whether OTS had achieved its aims.
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