Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service (NCVS) is facing job losses as a crucial funding agreement it holds with the city council comes to an end.
A £250,000 contract with the council is coming to an end and that could see the service, which is in its 140th year, have to make up for the losses elsewhere by charging for services it previously provided for free.
Ferg Slade, Policy, Communications and Resources Manager for NCVS, said that the loss of funding could see a reduced capacity in the entire workings of the group.
“This blow could mean the potential closure of some services, reduced overall capacity of our volunteer centre and our ability to speak for groups,” he said.
“I think cuts to the voluntary sector will severely damage what we can do to help the most vulnerable people in the area and I don’t know where else they will go for support.”
Video: Ferg Slade explains how services will have to change following funding cuts
Ashley Sheppard has been a volunteer at Stonebridge Farm for many years and believes that volunteer schemes are a great chance to start helping out and gaining work experience from a young age:
Video: Ashley Sheppard talks of the importance of volunteer schemes
Councillor Alex Norris, Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Adults, Commissioning and Health, said the council does value the work done by these organisations.
“We have fought hard to protect the money we give, which is over £2m annually, and have maintained the figure for the past six years despite huge Government cuts to our own funding,” he said.
We have to make some very tough decisions in the face of continuing funding cuts but we remain committed to supporting the voluntary sector as much as we can
Councillor Alex Norris, Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Adults, Commissioning and Health
“The grants allocation has been protected at the current level. However due to huge budget pressures this year we have had to reduce the central fund by £250,000.
“We need to make sure that we continue to get the best value for money from the reduced central fund and are looking at a future model to ensure it meets the priorities of the Voluntary and Community Sector.”
