Cardiff cash crisis after grants held up

Delays in funding for voluntary groups in Cardiff have caused
serious financial shortfalls for many service providers.

At a crisis meeting last week to discuss the implications of a
four-month wait for money from Cardiff Council, delegates were told
that groups were now facing the prospect of redundancies and
service cuts.

Paul Warren, of special needs support group Snap, said the problems
were the result of a lack of consultation “and very little, if any,
thought about what the repercussions of the cuts would be for
various organisations”.

He warned: “This is particularly serious for smaller groups, some
of whom rely solely on the council for funding. For them the
situation is critical.”
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said the grants to local
organisations played an important role in the delivery of services
to local people.

“The importance of that contribution is reflected in the fact that
the value of these grants is now close to £5m a year,” she
said.

“When we are dealing with such large sums of money, it is important
that our decisions are taken properly and with due regard to all of
the information required to make the right decision.”

She added that the system had undergone major changes to improve
accountability and transparency but that all organisations should
by now have received their grant offers.