Detail on local government cuts revealed (10/06)
Jill Theobald, NewStart
Funding for programmes including the Working Neighbourhood Fund, Local Enterprise Growth Initiative and Prevent will be cut as part of local government’s £1.166bn contribution towards the overall £6.2bn deficit. The three programmes will face grant cuts totalling nearly £75m between them, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has revealed. Other programmes to feel the pinch include Housing Market Renewal (£50m), Connecting Communities (£19.1m) and Kickstart (£5m). The Gypsy and Traveller site grant will also drop by £30m.
Radical solutions needed to create Big Society, says Maude (09/06)
Celina Ribeiro, Civil Society magazine
The coalition government will strive to find ways to properly resource civil society to enable it to be in the vanguard of the Big Society, Francis Maude told an audience of sector representatives today.
…. “We want to change how public services work and not just to save money,” he said. “We will give more power to charities and social enterprise and the individuals they serve.”
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Hurd confirms the end of Futurebuilders (09/06)
Vibeka Mair, Civil Society magazine
Nick Hurd, minister for civil society, has confirmed that future revenue from the £200m Futurebuilders programme will be used to provide grants to stimulate the creation and development of neighbourhood groups, the stated goal of the government’s Big Society concept.
….He also said his biggest priorities were to make it easier to run a charity or social enterprise, to encourage more resources for the sector and strengthen its independence through the expansion of the social investment market, and to make life easier for charities that do business with government.
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