Lanarkshire voluntary groups fear "devastating" threats to their funding

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Voluntary organisations are facing the “devastating” prospect of their local authority funding pot being either halved or scrapped altogether in brutal cost-cutting measures proposed by cash-strapped South Lanarkshire Council (SLC).A total of 24 third sector groups have been contacted by SLC’s administration and legal services department to advise that, in light of “unprecedented financial challenges” and “following a planned review of the council’s various grants schemes,” it is proposed to either withdraw or reduce their grant funding by 50 per cent in 2024/25.Should the council decide to impose the cuts when it agrees its budget in February 2024, the total grants paid to South Lanarkshire’s voluntary groups would plummet from £684,800 in 2023/24 to £344,800 in 2024/25 – that’s a eye-watering reduction of £340,000.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The scale of the proposed cuts – which were tabled at a meeting of the executive committee on Wednesday – has come as a massive blow to those organisations and also to organisers of South Lanarkshire’s summer gala celebrations.Under the proposals, the biggest losers would be Hamilton Information Project for Youth – whose funding would be cut from £56,650 to £28,330 – and Lightburn Elderly Association Project (LEAP), whose grant would tumble from