The 20th has been and gone and the number-crunching has begun. The Government has announced that it will cut £81 billion from public spending, with 490,000 public sector jobs likely to go in the next four years. It plans for the structural deficit to be eliminated by 2015.
What do the cuts mean for the VCS?
The most significant announcement for the VCS is the £100m transition fund to support those Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations most affected by public spending reductions in the short term. Details about how soon this fund will be available, how it will be administered and who will qualify have not been finalised, but some organisations have welcomed the announcement as government’s recognition that many of the cuts will have a significant effect on the sector.
Other references to the VCS:
- Local Authorities will be encouraged to increase their delivery of services through the VCS;
- a commitment to set proportions of appropriate services across the public sector that should be delivered by independent providers, such as the VCS, Social Enterprise and the private sector;
- mention of previously announced changes to Big Lottery funding; and
- reforms to the prison service which will include paying private and voluntary providers by results for delivering reductions in reoffending.
The report states that “The reforms underpinning the Spending Review represent a significant increase in the opportunities and funding available to the voluntary and community sector (VCS) in the medium and longer term.”
What do the cuts mean for the East of England?
Details will be shared as they become available.
Useful links
For more information and to access the full document please visit the Treasury website.
NCVO response
IPPR response
The BBC’s ‘Spending Review in Graphics’
COVER website.