Proposals to cut funding for three voluntary sector organisations in Caerphilly by 40% are “foolish” and need to be reconsidered, a cabinet committee has said.
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s policy and resources scrutiny committee considered proposals to cut funding for Citizens Advice Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent, Gwent Association of Voluntary Organisations (GAVO) and the Groundwork Trust as part of the 2020-21 draft budget proposals.
This would see the total funding for the three groups reduced from £208,604 to £125,162 – a reduction of £83,442.
The committee’s chairman Cllr Jamie Pritchard said it would be foolish for the cut to go ahead.
Cllr Elaine Forehead also expressed her concern, saying: “I am deeply concerned about the proposed cuts to the reduction in the voluntary sector budget.
“Looking at the community, there would be a massive impact.
“We can’t take this service away.
“I would like to propose a motion that this goes back to cabinet for its consideration.”
The motion was passed unanimously by committee members.
Cllr Elizabeth Aldworth said it needed “sympathetic consideration”, while Cllr Colin Mann said the proposal “didn’t make sense.”
The council’s interim head of business improvement services Steve Harris said that it was a common theme coming through the consultation period.
Citizens Advice Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent currently receives £136,714, the most funding out of the three groups.
Under the proposals its funding would be reduced by £54,686.
Cllr Steve Skivens, who isn’t part of the scrutiny committee but has been a trustee at Caerphilly Citizen’s Advice Bureau since 2002, said the cuts “will severely impact on the service and its accessibility.”
He added: “Of all the services to be cut at this time it seems both counterproductive for the authorities themselves and their staff, and pulls the rug from under some of the most needy or troubled people in our communities.
“I ask my colleagues in the controlling Labour Group on Caerphilly Council to re-consider the funding position again.”
A council report says funding for the groups was reduced this year for the first time since 2008, with the authority warning further cuts for next year were likely.
The proposals will be taken back to cabinet, where they will have a chance to consider views of the policy and resources scrutiny committee.