Charity challenge to Council
Following the Scottish Government budget announcements, Edinburgh charity VOCAL (Voice of Carers Across Lothian) has challenged City of Edinburgh Council to act now to avoid hundreds of New Year redundancy notices being issued to the city’s voluntary sector workforce. With much of the Council’s voluntary sector funding due to come to an end in March 2011, charities will be forced to make cuts even though threats to the services they provide may not materialise.
In a letter to the Leader of Edinburgh Council, Councillor Jenny Dawe, VOCAL urges the Council to consider a formal undertaking to continue the funding of voluntary sector agencies, on the current basis, for the first six months of the next financial year. The Council has previously taken similar action and it would go a long way to stabilising valuable service provision until exact funding decisions have been agreed.
New VOCAL Chairperson Patrick Layden QC says;
‘Strict charity and company law will force charities to issue redundancy notices if no continuation funding can be confirmed, destabilising support for carers and many other vulnerable people in the city, in an unprecedented period of financial insecurity’.
City of Edinburgh Council has recently reinforced the voluntary sector’s legal obligations in a letter to organisations in receipt of Fairer Scotland funding. The letter states that ‘it is vital that organisations consider their own statutory staff responsibilities as employers and, where appropriate serve notice of the possibility of reductions’.
VOCAL Chief Executive Sebastian Fischer comments;
‘It is preposterous, in a time of uncertainty, to add fuel to the fire and force charities to issue redundancy notices to hundreds of workers, when the extent of the funding cuts is still unknown. Investment in the charities sector is crucial, particularly when a reduction in public spending is liable to increase the demand for services’.
A copy of VOCAL’s letter to the Leader of Edinburgh Council can be downloaded using the links (right), as well as a full copy of the City of Edinburgh Council’s letter to organisations in receipt of Fairer Scotland funding.
Contacts
Rosie McLoughlin, Carer Information and Communication manager, 0131 622 6666
Sebastian Fischer, VOCAL Chief Executive, 0131 622 6666
