New report reveals extent of local authority cuts
August 2011
More than 2,000 charities and community groups are facing budget cuts
as local authorities reduce their funding – or in some cases completely withdraw it – according to research published on 6 August 2011 by False Economy, a resource hub for the anti-cuts movement supported by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The research, based on hundreds of Freedom of Information responses from local councils across England, shows that one year on from the launch of the Big Society, many charities and voluntary groups face deep funding cuts.
The research shows that charities face net funding reductions of more than £110m this year, though the final figure is likely to be far higher given that some large authorities have not yet finalised where the cuts will hit.
And False Economy is still awaiting responses from a number of major authorities, including Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds and Westminster, despite having made Freedom of Information requests to them several months ago. It promises to update the data as it becomes available.
All charities or voluntary groups receiving a funding cut of at least five per cent are listed in the research, although most of the cuts are far deeper – and many groups have had their funding cancelled completely.
The list of charities facing funding cuts includes:
· 73 adult care charities
· 97 elderly-related charities
· 204 children’s and young people-related charities
· 99 disability-related charities.
The full research can be accessed
here.
Note: All information in the list has been provided through Freedom of Information requests from local councils collected between March and July 2011. The figure for the number of groups funded is a net figure. Some councils may have revised decisions since submitting their data or supplied inaccurate data.
In response to the report, the government said although councils had "challenging decisions" to make around how they prioritise spending, they must resist passing on "disproportionate" savings to the voluntary sector.
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: "In their approach to budget setting, the best councils are showing that they understand that a strong, thriving voluntary sector is more important now than ever and could be the key to providing high quality, good value services to their residents. But this is not the case everywhere.Councils that are failing to recognise the importance of the sector are being short-sighted in their approach."
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Author: Clarissa Dann
Clarissa Dann was the editor of Caritas as well as an HR and management online service,he People Bulletin until July 2011.
She is now the editor of the specialist trade finance magazine, Trade and Forfaiting Review which can be viewed at www.tfreview.com but does write on charity finance and investment from time to time.
Clarissa has a background in legal and professional publishing, as well as business journalism and holds an MBA from Cass Business School. She has been one of the judges for the non-profit category of the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Excellence in Marketing Awards for the second year running.
She has also acted as clerk to the trustees of a small almshouses charity and as a member nominated trustee to a pension scheme of a multinational publishing company.
Click here for other articles written by Clarissa Dann
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