DISADVANTAGED & UNEMPLOYED FACE CUTS OF MILLIONS

Organisations working with London’s disadvantaged and unemployed
receive further cuts in millions from London Councils

Organisations that work with London’s most disadvantaged and unemployed are due to receive further cuts from London Councils across two different grant programmes.

In December 2011 London’s Local Authority leaders agreed a 50 per cent reduction in their contribution to the pan-London ESF grant programme, of which London Councils is a co-financer. The London boroughs’ contribution will be £1 million, reduced from £2 million. The boroughs’ contribution is matched by ESF money, so the total loss of funding for the scheme is £2million. The programme focuses on improving the employability and skills of the most excluded and unemployed Londoners.

This could not come at a worse time for London’s most disadvantaged and unemployed people as London Councils leaders have also voted to cut its London Boroughs Grants Scheme down to £8million a year from 2013 onwards. This is a reduction of nearly 70 per cent compared with the budget of £26million in 2010/11.

The pan-London scheme supports a range of valuable services delivered by voluntary and community organisations across London in areas such as domestic violence, homelessness and capacity building.

Over 80 representatives from a range of organisations currently commissioned through the scheme held a conference today to discuss the priorities of the reduced grant scheme and how these meet needs in London. Representatives reviewed how London Councils might work with voluntary and community sector partners to find solutions.

It is hoped discussions will inform London Councils' decision-making on the future of the grant scheme and a response from Voluntary Sector Forum (VSF), the network of organisations funded by London Councils and co-ordinated by LVSC, will be submitted in March 2012.