Briefings
Briefing No:2 Update Voluntary Sector Cuts in Manchester by Nigel Rose Strategic Lead Worker (Commissioning)
Manchester City Council announced some revisions in its original budget options on 8 January. This update covers the revisions that impact on the direct funding of voluntary and community sector organisations.
Council Budget Update 8 January 2015
The news in December about the Council’s budget and the impact it would have on dozens of voluntary and community sector organisations left many of us reeling. Today I went to a Council briefing which announced a decision to invest most of the £11million airport dividend to offset some of the cuts. This was a recommendation from the Voluntary Sector Assembly in December so I welcome it and hope it will lead to good (or at least “less bad”) news for a few organisations and services. However, it’s not going to be enough. The scale of the proposed cuts is still huge: we need to continue to tell the Council about the impact on services and communities and keep making that case right up to the day the Council makes its final decisions. This briefing is a summary of what we know so far and a reminder of what your organisation needs to do to get your message across and the support available from Macc. Keep in touch. Mike Wild, Chief Executive, Macc
Statement on the City Council Budget Cuts from the Voluntary and Community Sector
This statement was agreed at an Emergency Voluntary Sector Assembly held on 11 December 2014.
A Guide to filling in Manchester City Council’s Impact Assessment Form
If you get funding from Manchester City Council and are facing a cut you should have received an impact assessment form to complete. This is your opportunity to let them know how the proposed cuts will affect your organisation and your service users and it is very important that you fill it in fully. This guide will help you to do that.
Voluntary Sector Cuts in Manchester - Briefing 2 by Nigel Rose Strategic Lead Worker (Commissioning)
This briefing shows the proposals for budget cuts detailed at the Manchester City Council (MCC) meeting for the VCS held on 1 December and other MCC cuts that are likely to impact in the period 2015 to 2017.
Briefing on the Budget Options 2015-2017 VCS information event on 1 December 2014
Over 100 voluntary and community sector groups (VCS) from across Manchester gathered on 1 December 2014 at Manchester Town Hall to find out more about what is going to be a devastating round of funding cuts.
Lobbying Councillors in Manchester about Cuts by Nigel Rose Strategic Lead Worker (Commissioning)
Manchester councillors do not want to cut services. They are faced with a series of extremely difficult decisions about what to keep and what to cut and there is no purely logical way of deciding what should be kept. Lobbying is a way of influencing councillors and promoting your cause. It’s one of the key ways that councillors find out about what is going on and what is valued by their constituents.
Voluntary Sector Cuts in Manchester Briefing 1 by Nigel Rose Strategic Lead Worker (Commissioning)
This briefing focuses on the impact on voluntary and community sector organisations but does not attempt to quantify the impact on the people who rely on the services provided by VCS organisations.
Manchester City Council Budget Options
The Council has published details of options to address an estimated funding shortfall of £59m in 2015/16, possibly rising to £91 million in 2016/17. As you will probably know this has major implications for local voluntary and community groups
• briefing on the options
• options for consultation
Media coverage
Domestic abuse survivors: 'Council cuts could leave victims trapped in violent relationships' - Manchester Evening News article, 26 November 2014
Charities warn domestic abuse victim lifelines could be cut in latest set of council cuts - Manchester Evening News article, 21 November 2014
Auditors' warning over council cuts - BBC news article, 19 November 2014
Latest council cuts 'last straw' for charities - Manchester Evening News article, 12 November 2014
Manchester City Council set to axe 600 posts for save £59m - BBC North West news article, 12 November 2014
BBC North West Tonight news item from 12 November 2014, featuring Bernie Wood from Talbot House and Mike Wild from Macc