On 21 March 2007, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced that £80m will be made available from the 2007 budget to the provide core funding for grass-roots community organisations. This is seen as the first part of the Government's response to the Local Community Sector Task Force and the Third Sector Review.
This is a positive recognition from the Government of the valuable role that community organisations have to play in effecting change in local communities across the country.
It is expected that the fund will be delivered through community foundations and agencies with a track record of grass-roots grant making, such as the Scarman Trust. Officials at the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) who are setting up the fund, have asked to meet with the DTA. The DTA has already informed the OTS that we would like to explore whether some of the money can be made available to community anchor organisations such as development trusts to make small grants at neighbourhood level, and that the process should be as simple as possible for intended recipients.
Further Information
The DTA and its partners in the Community Alliance were among those that have lobbied the Government for greater investment into the sector during the Government's consultation with the third sector which will shape the outcomes of a Review into the future role of the third sector in social and economic regeneration, to feed into the 2007 comprehensive spending review (CSR). Read the DTA's full response to the review.
The interim report, of the first stage of the consultation was published alongside the 2006 Pre-Budget Report which had announced measures to boost communities, through a Community Assets Fund and additional funding for the Safer and Stronger Communities block of local area agreements. Read the interim report.
Following the interim report, a second stage of analysis and engagement with the third sector is taking place and the final recommendations of the third sector review will be published later in the year under the five key themes of the review: enabling voice and campaigning; strengthening communities; transforming public services; encouraging social enterprise; and supporting the environment for a healthy third sector.
Community Alliance has released a response to the budget announcement. Read the Community Alliance press release.
Find out more about Budget 2007.
