I WRITE to raise awareness of your readers of events at recent open Lancaster City Council sub-committee meetings where neither the public nor press were present. All three meetings discussed the allocation of grants to local organisations, which left me very concerned about the commitment of the majority of councillors to the 'voluntary' organisations in the district.

By 'voluntary' I mean those organisations which provide local services, not run by the council, but which receive some form of grant - anything between £50 to several thousands of pounds.

Examples of services range from the essential (such as Meals on Wheels provided by Age Concern) to sports and leisure (such as provided by The Girl Guides) to those improving quality of life (such as local playgroups and day centres.)

The allocation of the big grants, for example to the Citizen Advice Bureaux, has yet to be made. But judging by the attitude of councillors when discussing the small grants, I fear that applicants for the larger grants may be facing serious funding cuts. I am all for the committees scrutinising applications and taking seriously their role in making sure that public money is not wasted. (Although I would be more reassured if as much time and consideration, per pound spent, went in to discussion about funding of the large capital projects this council has so far agreed -such as £450,000 for the new tennis centre.)

I am also keen that the council tries to ensure quality of service provided by these organisations, but again would like to think that as much energy is going in to making sure that the council's own services are quality-led. I believe that the community highly values the range of 'voluntary' sector services in this district.

I will argue strongly for enough council funding to ensure that these services are properly managed, well organised and deliver a quality service.

Cllr Gina Dowding

via e-mail

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