Voluntary organisations and services set to have funding cut as Dudley Council looks to make savings.

Some of Halesowen’s essential services to vulnerable people could be scaled back due to cuts from Dudley Council. 

Services including The Multiple Sclerosis Society, The Alzheimer Society, Cancer Support, Halesowen Asian Elders and Summit House, which helps members of the LBGT community, drug addicts and the unemployed, are all expected to have funding cut. 

Councillor Qadar Zada, cabinet member for adult social care at Dudley Council, has said, “In the context of unprecedented cuts to funding from central government we have been forced to review the services we currently commission.”

He continued, "This has led to difficult decisions where we do not have the budget for the range of services we previously offered and has led to a reduction of £3million in our budget.”

Mr Zada added, ”We appreciate the significant anxiety and concern the changes are causing in the voluntary sector and we will continue to work with them to ensure that we protect care services for local people.”

The amount to be cut from each service is yet to be announced, however the Beacon Centre the organisation which provides help to those with site loss, will lose up to £250,000 per year. 

There is frustration within the council over what the cabinet is choosing to spend council money on. Karen Shakespeare, the Conservative Councillor for Halesowen North has said, "We need to know what Dudley Council is cutting and keeping, if they are continuing to fund vanity projects whilst cutting funding to voluntary groups then that is not on.”

Shakespeare continued, "The council spends over £230million on its services and they seem to want to cut services that people see the benefit of every day”