City charities face £870k cash grab

DOZENS of city charities and voluntary groups are facing swingeing grant cuts as part of the latest council efficiency drive.

Reports leaked to the News have revealed city leaders are considering making £874,297 worth of savings in the grants they give out – with everything from small sports clubs to the Royal Zoological Society in the firing line.

Some organisations today said they will close if they lose all their funding as proposed, while others from the 31 groups affected have said they would face an uphill struggle to continue.

Among the big losers could be Gorgie City Farm, which would see 75 per cent of its annual £95,600 grant from council chiefs disappear under the plans.

Edinburgh Leisure also stands to lose £300,000 from its annual £8 million grant under the proposals, though this is not thought to put any of its frontline services in jeopardy.

The leaked papers also revealed a planned 42 per cent cut in the £121,291 available for the city's playgroups to make grant applications for items such as new equipment or transport costs.

The proposed cuts come just two months after city leaders revealed plans to spend £3m less on learning and care services from the voluntary sector. The savings are part of a wider bid to save £11m from the way the council purchases services it doesn't directly provide.

Council chiefs today insisted the leaked plans were just a work in progress with nothing being finalised before the council's budget is settled on February 21.

But volunteer groups and politicians hit-out at the "shortsightedness" of the proposals.

Ewan Aitken, leader of the city's Labour group, said: "This is an absolute scandal. In their panic to deal with issues which we dealt with on a regular basis, they are attacking the poorest and most vulnerable. Their incompetence means years of suffering.

"The social fabric of the city is so dependent on the work and commitment of the voluntary sector, and this is just cutting a swathe through it. The knock-on consequences will be far greater than the money saved.

"It's also about trust. We built up trust with the voluntary sector over many years, which they have destroyed in just eight months."

Research published last year showed that for every £1 the council invests in the voluntary sector, it actually "raises" £9.78 in the city. A spokesman for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations said: "Cutting funding to voluntary organisations would be an incredibly shortsighted move on the part of the council.

"The sector offers a proven and efficient way of providing public services, and the council knows that it is underpaying for the services they get from these organisations in terms of the value they generate for the city."

Green councillor Maggie Chapman, said the proposals would cause "huge damage" for "a relatively small saving".

"These proposals are remarkably shortsighted. Some of these services reach the most vulnerable people in Edinburgh and their true worth would only be realised when they are gone," she said.

City leader Jenny Dawe, said: "These are simply background papers which contain a range of financial options, recommended by officers, which have been prepared for members as part of the council's normal budget setting process.

"All political groups on the council will have access to budget information, as in the past, and it is up to each group to set their own budget priorities which will then be submitted to the council for a decision.

"The papers are a work in progress and at present it is unhelpful to make them public as they are not the finalised documents."


'Our funding has not gone up in 10 years'

THE GORGIE AND DALRY PARTNERSHIP – PROPOSED FUNDING CUT, £14,000
THE Gorgie and Dalry Partnership faces certain closure if it loses all its funding as proposed.

The organisation, which was launched in 1987 to run community groups and organise events, has an annual budget of just over £20,000 – almost three quarters of which comes from the city council.

It is based in Dalry Road and the offices it rents are also used by other voluntary groups who would find themselves homeless if the partnership closed.

Elaine Brand, project manager, said: "Our funding has not gone up at all in the last ten years.

"We asked for extra money so we could employ a new member of staff.

"However, this would result in the closure of the partnership and would be a disaster for the area.

"It is not just the services we provide directly, but also the groups we assist who use our resources here.

"I had not heard anything from the department saying our funding was likely to be cut. To be treated like this is a real kick in the teeth."


'These sorts of cuts seem really shortsighted to me'

NORTH MERCHISTON CLUB – PROPOSED FUNDING CUT, £12,829
DATING back to 1921, the North Merchiston Club has helped thousands of city youngsters take up and excel at a variety of sports ranging from canoeing to martial arts.

But the club will face real hardship under the proposed funding cuts.

Club leader John Summers today said the proposed cuts – which would see the club's grant of £17,105 cut by 75 per cent – would have a big impact on its ability to continue.

He said: "This would be a disaster, our grant application for this year is based on the very real costs we face such as gas and electric bills.

"The council grant isn't the only money we get but it does allow us to keep the prices down for the kids.

"It seems the more successful you are, the more chance you have of having your funding cut.

"These sorts of cuts seem really shortsighted to me when you think of the good that the club is doing locally."

Mr Summers said the funding cut would put the club's long-running campaign to build a new clubhouse on hold.


'The loss of this would be devastating'

CA(I)RE – PROPOSED FUNDING CUT, £27,064
CA(I)RE is planning crisis talks after learning that its funding faces being slashed by two-thirds.

At best the organisation, which offers support, training and educational courses for carers, will run a dramatically reduced service, but there is also a very real risk it will close.

The organisation, which regularly helps 170 people, and has more than 600 on its books, is a lifeline for carers who often struggle without support to look after an ill or disabled loved one, while trying to maintain some kind of life of their own.

Council officials have recommended slashing more than £27,000 from its grant for 2007/2008.

Bob Rendall, convener of Ca(i)re and chief executive of the Eric Liddel Centre, in Morningside Road, where it is based, said: "The loss of this key grant from our principal partner on what was set up as a joint initiative, would be a devastating blow to the project."

• Swingeing cuts across the board - click here to see list of charities affected