Fall in grants for disadvantaged groups

The amount of grants the community fund awards to disadvantaged
groups is to fall from £287 million in 2002-03 to around
£215 million from 2004 onwards.

Community fund chairperson Lady Brittan said less money was
available to distribute because its income from the National
Lottery had been reduced. She said: “We have had to make some very
tough, but clear decisions over who to fund. We’ve currently
got less money, but we want to ensure the money we do have works
harder.”

Grants will now be targeted to local authority areas in the UK
with high levels of disadvantaged groups. The priority groups for
funding are children and young people; those in areas disadvantaged
by social or economic change; people with disabilities and their
carers; black and minority ethnic people; refugees and asylum
seekers; and older people and their carers.