Big Society ‘a big con’ claim as charities feel the pinch

New data released under Freedom of Information laws detail more than 200 voluntary sector organisations in Yorkshire which have been hit by reductions or total cuts to their grants from their cash-strapped local authorities.

The final number of charities being hit is likely to be many times higher because some of the region’s largest councils – including Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, York and Hull – are not included in the data.

Almost every council in the country was forced to slash its budget in March after receiving substantial cuts in their own funding from central Government.

“You can’t really blame the councils for what is happening,” said Judy Robinson, chief executive of Involve Yorkshire and Humber, which represents charities and voluntary-sector groups.

“The biggest cuts from Government have been to the most deprived councils, which in turn will affect the most deprived people.”

A new survey, carried out by the TUC, found 221 voluntary groups are facing reduced funding across eight local authority areas in Yorkshire – Sheffield, Barnsley, North Yorkshire, Rotherham, Scarborough, North East Lincolnshire, Selby and Doncaster.

The largest of the eight authorities concerned, Sheffield City Council, announced plans to cut grants to 140 groups under its former Liberal Democrat leadership. However, following Labour’s victory in city council elections in May, the new regime said it has since found an extra £135,000 to distribute to 37 groups.

Deputy leader Bryan Lodge said: “It’s appalling that at a time when the Government is asking Big Society to play a stronger role, valuable local charities and community groups face the axe.”

TUC regional secretary Bill Adams said the figures showed the Big Society “is looking more and more like a big con”.

But the Government insisted its funding of local authorities is “fair” and attacked authorities for making disproportionate cuts.

A spokesman said: “Councils have challenging decisions to make around how they prioritise spending, but the Government is clear councils must resist any temptation to pass on disproportionate savings to the voluntary sector. Councils that are failing to recognise the importance of the sector are being short-sighted.”