Government £42 million bail-out for charities ‘not
enough’
9th February 2009
The government’s £42 million bail-out for
recession-hit charities is a step in the right direction, but won’t
be enough in the long-term, Unite, the largest union in the
country, said today (Monday, 9 February).
Rachael Maskell, Unite’s national officer,
community and non profit sector, called on ministers to give the
voluntary sector the same concentrated attention that they were
giving to bailing out the financial sector.
Said Rachael Maskell: “When you put this £42
million in context, given that voluntary organisations employ more
than 600,000 staff and look after the growing recession-driven
needs of millions of people, it is a drop in the ocean.
“This money needs to be used strategically to
provide stability for the third sector; to halt the job cuts and
maintain vital services – but it is simply not enough. We will be
raising the level of government funding, once more, with the
minister for the third sector, Kevin Brennan. The figure we are
looking at is £200 million as a starting point, with regular
reviews as the recession progresses.”
The finances of the UK’s voluntary sector are
under mounting pressure from losses in the Icelandic banks’
debacle; a decline in donations from the general public as the
recession bites; and cut backs from local authorities as they
struggle to keep council tax increases under control. Also, many
charities have few assets to draw on to plug the gaps in their
budgets.
Rachael Maskell said: “For many charities, the
financial situation is bleak. However, ministers have lavished
attention and vast sums of money on the bankers who contributed to
this financial crisis.
“We are calling for more of this ministerial
energy to be diverted to the voluntary and community sector, whose
caseloads are rising dramatically because of the present situation.
Resources should also be committed to preventative services, such
as community arts.”
She said that there needs to be investment in
a separate fund to support good employment practice, which is
urgently needed for the sector.
Unite, which has 60,000 members in the
voluntary sector, has launched a Recession Charter with the aim of
creating stability over the next the ten years, so that services
and jobs can be maintained.
ENDS
Shaun Noble, communications officer (third
sector) 020 7420 8951 or 07768 693 940
Email to a friend
Want to share this story? These sites allow you to tag and share links across the internet enabling you to share these links with friends and people with similar interests. You can also access your links from any computer you happen to be using.
