Vote re Third Sector Funding Cuts

Labour Councillor John Rowley proposed the following motion to Council:

"This Council recognises the important front line services that the City’s voluntary and Community Sector make to the lives of some our most disadvantaged residents as well as the wider community of our City.

The Council therefore resolves to remove any requirement for those voluntary organisation that receive grants from the City Council to generate another £200,000 in savings which is in addition to the £750,00 target set last December. If this proposal goes ahead it will see the Council funding for the sector reduced by one third in little over one year."

Supported by Voluntary Groups and Service users across the City, the combined pressure of Labour Group and Voluntary Sector lobbying led the Conservative Group to decide to defer the proposed £200,000 cuts to the Third Sector in the short term.

Cllr Rowley therefore proposed an amendment to his original motion at Full Council as follows:

"This Council recognises the important front line services that the City’s voluntary and Community Sector make to the lives of some our most disadvantaged residents as well as the wider community of our City.

The Council welcomes the remission of a further £200,000 of cuts to the voluntary sector budget. We remain concerned about the way in which some voluntary organisations have been treated in this round of cutbacks. We propose that future funding of voluntary organisations should be subject to pre-decision scrutiny in order to prevent the alarm and concern many organisations have expressed in recent months.”

Sustained community and Labour Group pressure led to a split in the ruling coalition as the Lib Dems voted with Labour and against the Conservatives to support this motion – meaning that Labour won the vote a victory for the community and the Labour Group!