A joint response to Leicester City's budget consultation

Voluntary Action LeicesterShire and six other of Leicester's prominent voluntary organisations have made a joint response to the City Council's budget consultation.

Care & Repair, The Centre Project, Lighthouse Learning; LASS, Apex, New Dawn New Day Ltd together with Voluntary Action LeicesterShire fed back their unease over funding cuts to the voluntary sector.

Key areas of concern the organisations highlighted in their response included:

• The contribution of the voluntary sector
  The sector offers considerable value for money; the overall value of the VCS to Leicester's economy is calculated in the range £113.3 - £139.5 million, between 3 and 4 times the value of the initial public investment.
• Impact of cuts on communities
  Many VCS groups in the city have already experienced reductions in funding and groups report that uncertainty over future funding is having a significant impact on their organisation and beneficiaries.
• Cuts to the voluntary sector are funding cuts to communities
  Cuts will be most sharply felt by already vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of people in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the city. Services for children and young people and BME communities are particularly badly hit.
• Recommendations
  Before considering any further cuts to voluntary and community groups the Council must ensure that they;
  • Understand the impact of cuts on local people in order that cuts do not disproportionately affect particular groups or locations
  • Offer practical, flexible and imaginative support to help maintain services wherever possible and mitigate the effects of cuts if funding does have to be reduced
  • Prioritise reinvestment to areas where there has been disproportionate harm to particular groups of people and communities.

Download the full joint budget consultation response

response-to-budget-consultation.pdf