Council to make £1.4m available to services hit by cuts
"Transitional funding" will give some organisations extra time to adapt to cuts
WEST Berkshire Council will use the £1.4m “transitional” funding it received from central government to give some of the organisations affected by cuts more time to adapt.
The council will make £395,000 of that money available to help certain groups who can show they can use it to deliver services in a more cost efficient way in the future.
Council leader Roger Croft promised that all of the £1.4m would be “made available” to soften the impact of the cuts and would not go into council coffers.
However, he warned that the council would not be giving the money away “because it’s there” and stressed the importance of organisations making a case for it.
In total, £170,000 will be made available for short breaks for disabled children.
The original proposal to reduce funding by £375,000 was met with widespread anger when it was first announced last year.
West Berkshire Mencap – one of the eight charities affected by the proposals – campaigned tirelessly and recently presented a petition to the council signed by almost 4,000 people.
The charity warned that it would have to stop its after school and Saturday clubs if plans to cut its funding by £136,000 went ahead.
It prompted parents of children who use the service to plead with councillors not to take away their ‘lifeline’.
Another £100,000 of transitional funding will be made available to the Step by Step Support Lodgings, which provides accommodation for vulnerable 16- to 21-year-olds at risk of homelessness and placements for mothers and babies.
The council had originally proposed to cut funding to the service by £100,000.
A total of £25,000 transitional funding will be made available to Empowering West Berkshire.
The council had previously proposed to cut funding by £50,000.
And finally, £100,000 will be made available for Learning Disability Clients funding, which will allow the council to continue delivering the Transforming Care programme.
This is a national programme helping adults with learning disabilities to be supported in community-based settings.
