COUNCIL bosses plan to spend millions of pounds in a bid to ensure voluntary groups in Newcastle do not bear the brunt of cuts in Government funding.
Newcastle City Council has drawn up plans to make £3.5m available to the voluntary and community sector in the next financial year.
The sector would receive £1.6m in the year 2012-13 and £900,000 the following year. The proposal will go before the council’s executive on Monday.
Despite the planned spending there are fears that some community groups will not be able to continue their work because of cuts in grants from central government. A spokeswoman for Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East said the funding announced represented a cut of 68% which was “wholly disproportionate” to the overall reductions the city council was facing.
She said: “We understand the extremely difficult situation the council is under. The settlement received from Government puts them between a rock and hard place.
“As a result of the decision charities and community groups in Newcastle will fold. Valuable services will be lost and people in vulnerable communities will lose their safety nets.”
The city council’s policy director, Andrew Lewis, said: “We recognise the significant contribution of the voluntary and community sector in the city.
“All councils face severe pressure on their budgets, but it’s a sign of our commitment that we have launched the Newcastle Fund. We have also made it easier for groups to apply for grants and created a much more transparent process.
“Not every group will have received the level of funding they applied for – but our support for them remains undiminished.”
The Newcastle Fund would support more than 100 organisations in the city that provide support to different groups including the elderly and the vulnerable. Sally Young, chief executive of the Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service, said the city council had been put in a difficult position by central government. She said: “The Government fails to understand the role played by the voluntary sector in Newcastle.”
Stephen Bell, chief executive of The Cyrenians, a charity which supports vulnerable people, said the council was showing “real vision” by deciding to continue supporting the sector.
