Francis Maude's response to Dame Elisabeth Hoodless is worryingly wide of the mark. He says that the Big Society is not about "pouring money into the voluntary sector", that "too much time is spent asking the taxpayer to prop up traditional organisations" and that charities should respond to spending cuts by making efficiencies just like government.
That is to misunderstand the argument that Dame Elisabeth and the others have been making, and to underestimate the chasm that many voluntary organisations are staring into. We are not calling for money to be "poured" into the voluntary sector. We are pointing out that the scale of the cuts, and the way they are being managed (often by local agencies less keen on the Big Society than Mr Maude), risk decimating our sector and making it impossible for the Big Society vision to be realised.
Since cuts have been made to public services, demand for voluntary sector services has been increasing. Saying that charities just need to "make efficiencies" does the thousands of people working in the voluntary sector a disservice.
Charities aren't just here to do the Government's bidding - charities are here to fill the gaps that the Government has been missing.
We are not making this argument to defend our organisations; we are making it because we fear the cuts will wreak havoc on the communities we exist to serve, and make it impossible for us to play our part in making the UK a great place to live and work.
We are the people who are "hungry for change", as Mr Maude puts it. We want to work with him to make it happen. We deserve a better response to our concerns as to how we are going to get there.
Lesley-Anne Alexander
Chief Executive, RNIB and Chair of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations.