5 things Emmaus UK has called for in response to the government’s new Civil Society Covenant
At the end of 2024, the government launched a public consultation to help shape a new Civil Society Covenant Framework. The idea behind it is to “reset the relationship with civil society” and build stronger partnerships with charities and organisations to help achieve its key national priorities.
At Emmaus UK, having a good relationship with government is really important – not just so our voice is heard, but so that the voices of people with lived experience of homelessness and our frontline staff can be heard too. That’s why we took the opportunity to respond to this consultation.
Most of our policy and campaigning work focuses on ending homelessness. But we believe that building a better relationship between the government and civil society will help us achieve that goal and also support the vital work of many other organisations across the country. The government’s draft framework included four principles to guide its work: recognition, partnership, participation, and transparency.
So, what did Emmaus UK say in our response? Here are five key things we called for – and how they connect to the policy work we’re already doing.
- Involving people with lived experience
It is vital people with lived experience of a service or policy area are given the opportunity to help shape its future. There must be clear ways for them to share views and experiences, including through discussions with Secretaries of State, Ministers, and high-level officials, and in government consultations and research.
We are championing this approach in one of Emmaus UK’s key policy projects on the Supported Housing Act. This legislation will introduce new national standards for supported accommodation, and we want to ensure people with lived experience of supported housing have the chance to shape what these standards look like. We are undertaking a peer-led research project to do this, led by Emmaus companions with lived experience of homelessness, gathering views through focus groups, interviews and surveys. This will result in a research report to help shape how the Supported Housing Act is implemented.
The government should draw on research with people with lived experience like this, and create ways for those with lived experience to advise on policy, such as through the Supported Housing Advisory Panel being set up.
- Engaging a wider range of organisations including small providers
A wide variety of organisations need to be engaged by the government through its policy-making. This has to include not only large organisations who are already closely engaged in political affairs, with policy and campaigns teams, but also those who may be disengaged from politics, as well as smaller providers of services who lack the capacity or resources to spend a lot of time on government engagement. Only by deliberately and actively reaching out to organisations with a range of sizes and delivery models will government policy be representative of a particular sector. The government must also make a particular effort to engage with organisations who work with disadvantaged or under-represented groups.
This is an approach Emmaus UK are trying to take through our project on the Supported Housing Act, by creating a Small Provider Alliance of organisations with a focus on supporting women, LGBTQ+ people, and those from minority ethnic backgrounds – all groups under-represented within the Emmaus federation.
- Involving civil society from the start
Too often, government only asks for feedback when decisions have already been made. We believe that charities and people with lived experience should be involved from the beginning, helping to shape proposals before they are finalised. That’s especially important for the implementation of the Supported Housing Act. We’re calling for future government consultations to involve people early on — not just asking them to comment on a fully formed plan, but inviting their ideas before the plan is even written.
- Making sure the Covenant has real power
For the Civil Society Covenant to make a real difference, government departments need to be held accountable for following it. What happens if they don’t? At the moment, that’s unclear. We’ve recommended annual reviews of each department’s performance, measured against the Covenant’s goals. These should be carried out by an independent organisation, to make sure the process is fair and transparent. We also think it’s vital that the government puts time and resources into communicating the Covenant once it’s agreed — especially to smaller organisations that may not already have links with government. Only then will the full range of civil society organisations be able to hold government to account.
- Properly funding civil society
To build a strong partnership with civil society, organisations need to be on stable financial footing. When a charity is struggling to survive, it doesn’t have the capacity to influence policy or take part in government discussions. That’s why last year we joined more than 7,000 charities in signing NCVO’s open letter, calling on the government to cover the additional National Insurance costs facing the sector – a cost that could hit many organisations hard. We’re also calling for clearer information on future homelessness funding, so organisations know in advance what support is coming, and can plan accordingly.
We’re pleased to see the government prioritising a reset in its relationship with civil society – especially at a time when our policy and campaigning work at Emmaus UK is gaining momentum.
If these five key asks are built into the new Civil Society Covenant Framework, we believe it will help create stronger partnerships between government and organisations like ours. And that means we’ll be better placed to improve supported housing and make real progress towards ending homelessness.
This response to the Civil Society Covenant is part of our wider influencing work with government. We’re also helping to shape the Supported Housing Act – another important opportunity to improve housing standards and ensure people with lived experience are heard.
Find out more about our work on the Supported Housing Act.