Review delay halts access to funding

A delay in the publication of the £93m review into the
capacity and infrastructure of the voluntary sector means that
voluntary organisations may not be able to access funding until
April next year.

The review, which is funded by the Treasury, will set out plans for
building the capacity of the sector to enable it to play a bigger
role in the delivery of public services.

It was envisaged that the money would be spent over three years to
April 2006 but the original timetable may now have to be abandoned
and the fund only last for two years.

Chief executive of the National Association of Councils for
Voluntary Service Kevin Curley said he was “disappointed” that the
review, due this month, would now not be published until
September.

He said: “It has caused a lot of inconvenience because councils for
voluntary services have been organising consultation events because
they thought the money would be available from July.”

At a meeting organised by NACVS last week, chancellor Gordon Brown
revealed that £60m of the money would be given to local
groups.

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