Shelter, which routinely criticises lettings agents and landlords, has been slammed for the huge amount of public funding it receives ā while at the same time criticising the public sector for various policies.
The Taxpayers Alliance says the UK has a wealth of organisations operating to influence policy: some, it says, like the Alliance itself and eco group Greenpeace, rely entirely on private donations but others, like Shelter, get substantial public funding.
It says that between 2017 and 2019 Shelter received £15,204,000 in public money from multiple local authorities, government departments, public bodies and the London Councils organisation.
This sum is a large chunk of the £39,584,171 identified by the Taxpayers Alliance for over 20 organisations ā including Shelter ā which are recipients of public cash.
The Alliance claims that this “taxpayer funding of lobbying and political campaigning” has a number of negative effects including:
ā distorting decision making in favour of the interests and ideological preoccupations of a narrow political elite;
ā slowing adjustments in the direction of policy in reaction to new evidence or circumstances;
ā increasing political apathy among the public;
ā obliging taxpayers to fund views they may seriously disagree with.
The Taxpayers’ Alliance is hugely critical of such organisations and you can see its entire report on the subject here.
