Newtown charities are being put at risk due to council funding cuts and the Welsh Government should do more, says Montgomeryshire AM, Russell George.
The Montgomeryshire AM has taken the opportunity to highlight the work of the voluntary sector in providing citizen advocacy services in north Powys.
Speaking in the National Assembly for Wales, Mr George called on the Welsh Government to support organisations such as Newtown-based “A Voice for You” and others like it.
“A Voice for You” has provided citizen advocacy for people with learning disabilities and some of the most vulnerable residents in Montgomeryshire since 1988 in response to the closure of the two long-stay hospitals in Caersws and Forden.
Mr George said: “I wanted to raise the work of organisations such as “A Voice for You”. This is one organisation of many which receive funding from Powys County Council.
"Powys has received a difficult financial settlement from the Welsh Government, and I am increasingly concerned about the reduced funding that the local authority will have to support the voluntary sector in Montgomeryshire.
“Reduced funding would make it difficult for voluntary sector organisations to secure match funding going forward and I have no doubt that the service, “A Voice for You”, provides a longer-term saving to the public purse as they provide support and promote a person’s independence, choice and control.
“Therefore, I hope that the Welsh Government will look again at conducting an independent review of the local government funding formula to ensure that organisations such as “A Voice for You” and others like it do not suffer from the difficult decisions which have to be made regarding their core funding.”
“The unintended consequences of not adequately funding the voluntary sector could seriously compromise these organisations’ ability to continue to provide these invaluable services to some of the most vulnerable people in Montgomeryshire.”
In response, Jane Hutt AM, Deputy First Minister, said: "Clearly, the funding that we provide to Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations is key to providing that infrastructure support for organisations like A Voice for You, in terms of citizens' advocacy.
"And, we also need to look at the ways in which we support organisations, for example, through the community facilities programme. Capital grants can be extremely helpful, and I'm sure will have welcomed the fact that there's £500,000 in capital grants to two community projects in Montgomeryshire; you're probably aware of them. So, we are trying to find other ways to lever in funding.
But also, the crucial point that we're making in terms of European transition funding—that we are looking into ways that we can support voluntary sector and third-sector organisations of the kind that you mention.
"But, it is a key pillar in terms of sustainability of funding. Much of our discussion last week at gofod3 was about ways in which we can support the voluntary sector and third sector in those communities, of the kinds that you've said today, which are crucial because they are, clearly, volunteer-led and they are providing a service."