Voluntary organisations 'face cuts in new year'

6:50am Sunday 29th August 2010

By Christine Fleming

Voluntary organisations are being reassured there will be no funding cuts this year - but they will face a review to see where savings can be made in April 2011’s budget.

Services across the borough will be subject to intense scrutiny over the coming months as the council prepares for national funding cuts and look at how to make the sector more efficient.

Councillor Pamela Fleming, Richmond Council's cabinet member for community development, was keen to stress that despite a review of voluntary sector grants starting next month there was no need to worry.

She said: “It is a challenging time for the voluntary sector in the present financial climate [but] we will not make any cuts in our grants in this financial year.

“There is an uncertainty - it is very difficult for the sector and we understand that but we are determined to work with them.

“We will be working with them [the voluntary sector] - and we are absolutely determined as we know how important they are to so many people and to us as a council.”

After a broad consultation an outline of what services will be judged against has been drawn up.

The review, which begins next month, will see organisations assessed according to the extent to which they meet the needs of the most vulnerable clients, how well they engage with the community and encourage value, how financially sustainable they are, and if the services they provide will help people over the long term.

Ultimately the council hopes to find savings by bringing services together and encouraging them to collaborate with one another but it could potentially lead to some organisations facing cuts next year.

David Sidonio, chief executive at Richmond’s voluntary service, said he hoped the suggestions made by the borough’s organisations to the council would help both parties work together to meet targets.

He said: “We’re currently hopeful that decisions will be made on a range of criteria.

“We hope we can fully participate in the process and hope our views and experiences are taken into account when decisions are made.

“The grants are safe for this financial year but our concern is for the next financial year.

“For organisations affected [it will be a case of] how they will meet these cuts and then organisations will have to do the job for themselves assessing how they can still deliver with reduced capacity.”