DH to honour commitments to section 64 grants

The Department of Health has finally decided to honour its funding commitments to charities in years two and three of their section 64 grants.

The grant recipients received an email from the department just after 4pm today confirming they will receive their full 2006/7 allocation.

The voluntary sector agencies have been on tenterhooks since the beginning of April when the department said it was reviewing all of its budgets and could not guarantee any future funding.

The section 64 programme, worth £18 million last year, pays for health and social care projects.