Government responds to criticism from charities over family funding

CHARITIES have criticised the Welsh Government for cutting £5.5m from a fund that helps low-income families with severely ill or disabled children.

National charity Family Fund gives grants to thousands of families to help them with buying essentials as well as contributing to days out and short holidays.

But the Welsh Government, which previously provided around £2.5m a year to the charity, has cut funding to one payment of £1.9m to cover the next three years – a reduction of around £5.5m.

Charities Carers Wales, Contact a Family Cymru, and Learning Disability Wales said the cuts will have “real impact” on disadvantaged families.

Keith Bowen, director of Carers Wales said: “The reduction in funding has come at a time when families with disabled children have been hit time and time again by cuts to welfare payments and disability services and also seems to run counter to wider government policy.

“Ministers need to explain why the choice they have made in responding to challenging budgets has disadvantaged families with sick and disabled children in Wales and only in Wales.”

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “The Sustainable Social Services Third Sector Grant Scheme brought together funding from four previous grant schemes to help third sector organisations deliver our ambitious agenda for social services.

“Given that there was a great deal of interest in the scheme a decision was taken to limit the maximum grant available to any single project to £1,500,000 over three years. As part of a competitive application process, Family Fund was awarded the maximum amount of funding available. While we appreciate that the grant awarded is less than the grant the Family Fund previously received in Wales, we have also provided an additional £400,000 to enable the organisation to refocus its grant model and to seek alternative funding sources.

“We are providing funding to a number of organisations through this fund. Nearly £22m has been awarded over the three years (2016-2019) to 32 projects supporting vulnerable children, young people and their families, looked after children and care leavers, older people, people with learning disabilities, people with physical and/or sensory disabilities and carers.”