Cut would have major impact

South Lanarkshire Council have shown‘scant regard’for people dependent on community support services, a leading charity have said.

Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire (VASLan) spoke out as the local authority proposed slashing their funding allocation for 2017/18 by £181,000.

Of that, £166,000 was core funding to maintain the basic functioning of the organisation who support charities and third sector groups to deliver health and wellbeing initiatives to every age group, from birth to old age.

VASLan this week said the planned cut to their budget would put a raft of schemes offering training, employment and volunteering opportunities for vulnerable people at risk.

Gordon Bennie, chief executive officer of VASLan, said:“The severity of the proposed cuts presented by council officers to elected members places scant regard to communities across South Lanarkshire with potentially devastating impacts for community support.

“To identify the organisations supporting those communities within the proposed savings reflects a complete lack of understanding and appreciation of what they deliver and has a potentially shocking impact on some of our poorest communities.”

He added:“To withdraw investment in the development of the third sector at this time is utterly baffling given recent legislation – such as Community Empowerment, Integrated Health and Social Care, Children and Families acts – that recognises and heavily endorses the involvement of the third sector in seeking local solutions towards reducing the pressures on overstretched public services.

“Any cuts within vulnerable communities can be devastating and a false economy. It lays waste to communities, deadens the area and takes the life out of them. It does the opposite of empowering.

“It is therefore my hope that the council recognise the importance and worth of the sector.

“I also hope that the council continue to support the third sector as a valued partner and as such enhances the level of services delivered by the third sector rather than considering the significant or severe cuts contained within the ill-informed officer briefing proposals”.