Funding for children's charities cut by £150m
Jess Brown
Monday, June 8, 2015
Charities working with children and young people have lost more than £150m of government funding in the past year, it has emerged.
An annual survey of charity accounts found that income from government fell by £152.6m for charities that work primarily with children and young people.
Charities that work with children and young people, as well as other beneficiaries, suffered a drop of £175.2m in funding from government.
The research, conducted by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and The Children’s Partnership, a group of children's charities led by the National Children's Bureau (NCB) and 4Children, found that income from individuals increased over the period by £26.4m, but it was not enough to compensate for steep reductions in income from government.
Anna Feuchtwang, chief executive of the NCB, said the data shows that "austerity measures are beginning to bite as local and central government purse strings are tightened”.
"This will significantly affect children’s charities that have shown that with their good community knowledge they can provide cost-effective and high-quality services at a local level," she said.
Susanne Rauprich, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS), said the analysis tallies with evidence her organisation is gathering at the moment about the financial health of charities working with young people.
"It is especially concerning as there appear to be few effective strategies for mitigating the impact of government spending reductions."
"The report findings are a clear call for collaborative action to avoid outcomes for children and young people being affected."
News of the scale of cuts for children's charities comes just days after the government announced £450m savings from its non-schools budget for the current financial year.
