Charities helping the most vulnerable in Bath and North East Somerset say they are not being involved in plans to cut £800k of their funding, despite a promise that they would be.
The Guildhall in Bath
Bath & North East Somerset Council’s proposals to cut £802k from the funding it gives to charities like Julian House and DHI were watered down in February after warnings that it would be “catastrophic” for the area’s most vulnerable residents.
The cut was instead spread over two years and the council promised charities it would carry out a review “with them” and not impose things on them.
But now charities have warned that the council is not involving them in the discussions and they still do not know what cuts they are facing.
Kate Morton, chair of the group 3SG which represents charities and third sector groups in the area, told the council’s cabinet: “We had a commitment from cabinet that our concerns around the adult, children’s, and housing savings that were required would be discussed with us and with you in partnership having a collaborative scoping session and that we would work through some of these challenges with creative solutions.
“There was that commitment however that has not happened.”
Speaking at the council cabinet meeting on 12th September, Ms Morton said that 3SG had been told the day before that a “scoping exercise” had been completed by council officers and a “case of change” drawn up.
She said: “That is really disappointing because in this meeting [in February] we were promised we would be part of the solution around the case for change and would be working with the officers rather than it being done to us.”
She added that 3SG director Becky Brooks had had some meetings with a senior council officer but it was “too little, too late”.
When the council set its budget for the 2024/25 financial year in February, it changed the £802k cut to a £400k cut in the current financial year, and a £402k cut next year.
But Ms Morton said charities still did not know where that cut was falling. She said: “We are over six months into the 2024/25 annual budget and we still do not know whether we have to make cuts.”
In a meeting of the council’s scrutiny panel on children, adults, health and wellbeing earlier on Monday 9th September, it was stated by a council officer that there would be no cut to charities in the current year, with the money to be found elsewhere.
But charities have not had this confirmed to them by the council, the Local Democracy Reporting Service was told.
Alison Born, the council’s cabinet member for adult services, told Ms Morton: “We are committed to working with you and with other sector partners and we’re not planning any surprises so I’m really sorry it’s got to this stage where this is how you feel about the work we are doing.”
She added that she and the council’s cabinet member for children’s services Paul May would be happy to meet with 3SG about their concerns.
When the council set its budget in February, council cabinet member for resources Mark Elliot said at the time that he had given guarantees to the charities and organisations that the council would carry out a systematic review “with them”.
He said: “We have talked to them. We have agreed to spread the cost. We have agreed to deal with them directly and talk to them and negotiate with them. There is no cliff edge cut in their spending.”
He added: “Where services can be shown to be saving the council money by preventing people calling on council-run services, those services will obviously not be cut. If it turns out that the savings we’ve proposed really aren’t achievable when assessed in that way, then so-be-it.
“But we spend over £9m on over 40 contracts in this space, and they haven’t been looked at for quite some time, so it seems reasonable to think that some savings can be made.”
Among the people to warn against the cut being made in the weeks running up to the budget being approved was Michael Dixon, who slept rough for eight years on and off before a Julian House outreach team met him and brought him to the Manvers Street Hostel.
He said: “This is a vital ground service that leads to a lot of other services. If services like this were cut, it could lead to people not getting services higher up.”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
