Vicious Charity Cuts Revealed

Local Liberal Democrats are calling on the Conservative administration in County Hall to be honest about the true impact of the vicious cuts on local charities imposed this year.

Following the recent revelations about Trowbridge based charity Group 5 loosing 100% of their funding, it has now been revealed that a Salisbury based charity offering similar services is also to lose all of its funding from the council this year.

Salisbury charity The Burnbake Trust is set to lose more than £3000 pounds, 100% of the grant from Wiltshire Council. Following the revelation the trust's staff and 54 volunteers had to spend the weekend fundraising to try to make up the newly discovered shortfall.

The extent of these new cuts come just weeks after the discovery that other local charities have also lost all of their funding from Wiltshire Council despite councillors and the public being assured cuts to charity funding would only be 20%.

Like Group 5, the Burnbake Trust is a local charity that provides much needed furniture to some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Local people have reacted angrily to this new discovery.

Local councillor and charity trustee Ian West commented "I'm shocked and ashamed of Wiltshire Council and the shoddy and shameful way that they have treated this popular and well thought of local charity.

"This is a local charity for local people and you would have thought that in a county there everyone matters we would treat them with a little respect.
"Everyone knows and understands the funding pressures that the council faces, but it is unacceptable for us to be publicly saying in the budget this year that charities are facing 20% cuts, but here we have yet another local charity serving local people who are facing a 100% cut.

"I am calling on Jane Scott and her Conservative Colleagues to reconsider their decisions to penalise the poorest and those most in need in our community."

Leader of Wiltshire Liberal Democrats Cllr Jon Hubbard said, "This is a disgrace. In February Councillors were told by the Conservatives that charities would be facing cuts of about 20%, instead we are hearing about yet another charity working for people in our county that is instead facing a 100% cut.

"I have today written to Jane Scott asking for a list of all grant payments made to charities in Wiltshire last financial year with details on what funding they will receive this year. It's time for the truth to come out."