February 9, 2011
Do councils realise how much they need the community sector?
As Councils across the country finalise their budgets for next year, the grim reality of these cuts to the funding of frontline services is starting to become clear. The concern felt by many is that the statutory authorities have little idea of how much their own services actually depend on this community provision - and if it disappears they may become completely overwhelmed. A coalition of local projects in one part of Edinburgh has made a film to state their case
A contribution from LPL supporter, Dave Pickering:
I chair the Forth Voluntary Sector Forum in North Edinburgh and we recently produced a video for presentation at a local Neighbourhood Partnership meeting, highlighting the wide range of activities undertaken by voluntary organisations in our area to support the most vulnerable members of our community. All of these organisations are still waiting to hear if they will have any future come 1 April.
The film can be found at:
http://vimeo.com/18737319
North Edinburgh has built up a strong community network over many years, with a wide variety of groups and organisations working together to support vulnerable people in one of the city’s most deprived areas. The scale of the recommended cuts will destroy much of the good work that’s been done, wreck long-established partnerships and set our area back thirty years. Our worry is that the statutory agencies, with strains on their own budgets and without the experience and local knowledge of community-based groups, will be unable to provide a safety net to meet the needs of the people who need help most. It’s tragic.