TIGHT BRACKNELL BUDGET SPELLS MISERY FOR ALL

2.30.00pm GMT Mon 30th Jan 2006

Cuts in community and voluntary grants will reduce vital support

Plans by Bracknell Forest Borough Council to reduce the level of support given to many local groups and organisations, as part of its efforts to produce a balanced budget in 2006-7, will severely affect their ability to maintain services and provide the level of support required. Cuts in excess of £150,000 are proposed, which will affect organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, Bracknell Forest Voluntary Action, Victim Support and various other community associations and bodies that contribute so much to the life of the Borough.

While much of the blame for the Borough Council's predicament can be laid at the door of the Government, which continues to place unfair demands on many local authorities, the decision to rein back funding for community and voluntary groups is both short-sighted and petty. These bodies play a vital role in the community and without their presence many residents would be denied access to the support and advice they often need.

The scope for making alternative savings is unclear because the Council is unwilling to publish a full list of the options available. In the circumstances it is highly unlikely that residents will be able to reach an informed view about the choices that have to be made. Faced with a choice, however, between supporting 'front-line' organisations and accommodating ever-rising administrative costs, there is little doubt which most council taxpayers would prefer!

Bracknell's only Lib-Dem Borough Councillor, Ray Earwicker, is seeking more information from the Council about the cuts proposed and the number of personnel, consultants and agency staff employed by the Council. Speaking after the last meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Commission on 19 January, he said he was 'extremely disappointed that the Conservatives in particular had shown such scant regard for the interests of the bodies concerned and seemed quite prepared to sanction the cuts being proposed. In his view, the Council should be seeking to protect these organisations from such attacks, not simply passing on the pain inflicted on it by the Government.