Cuts Watch #57: removing ring fencing

11 Jun 2010, by Richard Exell in Cuts Watch

The Department for Communities and Local Government’s list of services where ring-fences are being removed includes plenty of services that may not be so well-known. This will mean that they may be particularly vulnerable when local authorities come to making cuts.

Yesterday, Nicola described the Think Family Grant; the AIDS support grant and the Learning Disability Campus Closure Programme. Other valuable initiatives we could be about to say goodbye to include:

• The Youth Opportunity Fund supports activities that young people – and especially disadvantaged young people – identify as most needed in their areas. An evaluation found that the Fund is ‘significantly’ increasing young people’s participation in decision-making about services for young people, and helping to increase participation by disadvantaged young people.
• Challenge and Support, which funds local authorities to help them make sure that young people who receive an ASBO are also given help and support to change their behaviour.
• The final year of local authority funding under the Stroke Strategy to help people deal with the longer-term problems faced by people who have had a stroke.
• The Bus Challenge fund and Kickstart, providing bus services for areas that would not otherwise have them, especially deprived areas.