Forcing community and voluntary groups to work across cultural divides as a condition of grant aid is “potentially dangerous and could reinforce segregation”, warned the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service, writes Shirley Kumar.
Reacting to an inquiry into social cohesion by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister select committee, NACVS chief executive Kevin Curley said: “There is a potential danger in this type of approach. Local authorities may use it as an excuse to withdraw funding.
“Groups that are well-funded by their local authority take part in city- or district-wide policies. If you turn back the clock, these groups may retreat within themselves and that will perpetuate segregation.”
The report, launched on Friday, was set-up in response to the riots in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford in 2001.
Committee chair Andrew Bennett MP told Community Care: “It is not an excuse for local authorities to cut grants, but they must make sure when making grant allocations that they serve all communities.
“Providing aid to a religious organisation is acceptable, but providing grants for a separate luncheon club specifically for an ethnic minority elderly group, as an example, is not.”
The report adds that the Audit Commission should put social cohesion on a par with performance in education and social services in the comprehensive performance assessment process.
N Sixth report on Social Cohesion from http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmodpm/45/45.pdf
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