CUTS TO VOLUNTARY GROUPS 'A RETROGRADE STEP' SAYS MP

9.55.29am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 6th Oct 2008

Cuts of 15% to grants to be made to local voluntary organisations and groups by Powys County Council have been described as a "retrograde step" by Brecon & Radnorshire's Liberal Democrat MP, Roger Williams.

Commenting on the news, Mr. Williams said:

" Voluntary groups will now be receiving letters from the council confirming their reductions in funding from April next year. This will come as a bitter blow to many of them and may well result in some of them closing down. At a time when the county council and health service are struggling to maintain the services they themselves deliver, it seems a retrograde step to me to reduce funding to these voluntary bodies. They fill the gaps and provide the services that the council and health service could not provide."

" These cuts are a direct result of a series of very poor grant settlements to Powys County Council from the Welsh Assembly Government, which has not recognised the huge surge in demand in recent years for services such as adult social care. That is why my colleagues Kirsty Williams AM and Mick Bates AM have already helped to organise meetings between Assembly Ministers and the council to discuss next year's grant settlement."

" But it is also the case that these voluntary sector grants are paid out of the council's adult social care budget only, when in fact the services the voluntary bodies provide cover a much wider range, including transport, advice services, volunteer support, and so on. The cost of funding these services should be spread across the council's departments and there needs to be a contribution from the health service, which would greatly relieve the pressure on the adult social care budget."

" I shall be seeking meetings with the Chief Executives of Powys County Council and the Powys Local Health Board to discuss this important issue," concluded Mr. Williams.