Local community groups are helping in this crisis, but they are also hurting with funding drying up and support disappearing just when these groups are most needed.
The Chancellor’s announcement yesterday is a step in the right direction but I am concerned that it will not be enough and vital community support will be lost now and in the near future.
After 10 years of public spending cuts many local groups have had to survive on fundraising and trading – the two sources of income completely choked off by the Coronavirus lockdown. We are in an immediate battle for our health, and local communities need their local groups and charities to support them through this crisis. Many are providing that immediate help with no thought about what may lie ahead. Schemes to allow organisations to lay off staff are no good to community groups who have seen demand for their support rocket.
These groups need immediate access to cash to keep going, here at VAL we fear for the survival of many local groups. The Chancellor has offered £750 million nationally; a big figure, but we are yet to see if it will be big enough.
Kevan Liles
Chief Executive – VAL