Third sector pleads with George Osborne not to hit 'most vulnerable'

The MHF's Peter Baker is one of 370 voluntary sector chief executives who have written to the chancellor George Osborne to express concern about public spending cuts.

The letter, organised by ACEVO, the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, calls on the government not to forget the commitment given in the coalition document that 'fairness' would be at the 'heart' of these 'difficult decisions'. The letter says: 'Our fear is that without that commitment being at the heart of your decision making on public spending, we will slip unintentionally into cuts that hit the most vulnerable hardest.'

The third sector leaders go on to offer their help with this, urging the chancellor, right, to set up a Fairness Panel made up from among their number to scrutinise the final stages of the spending review.

'Fairness is important to everyone,' said Peter Baker, 'but particularly to us because we're talking about being fair to men. Men are advantaged in so many ways in our society, it is easy to overlook how seriously disadvantaged they are when it comes to health and health care. A Fairness Panel is the best way to ensure this sort of thing doesn't happen.'

From 4children to the Youth Federation, AbilityNet to the Youth Hostel Association, the list of signatories to the letter reads like a who's who of the nation's voluntary sector.

• Read the letter