Brighton & Hove Budget Cuts To Have 'Devastating' Effect On Disadvantaged

Proposed spending cuts put forward by Brighton and Hove City Council in its 2024-25 budget will have a “disproportionate and devastating effect” on the most disadvantaged people.

Community Works, which represents the voluntary and community sector in Brighton and Hove, has spelt out its concerns to councillors after combing through the draft budget.

The budget is due to be set next Thursday (February 22) with the full council required to agree a package of cuts and savings to deal with a £30 million shortfall as costs increase.

The £1.1 billion budget includes capital spending – or big projects – totalling more than £210 million on top of the £925 million costs of delivering day-to-day council services.

Since the initial report went before senior councillors on the Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee on Thursday, February 8, a better than expected funding allocation from the government has enabled the council to allocate an extra £500,000.

The council said that it planned to use the windfall to ease some – but not all – of the pressures raised with councillors by Community Works.

One proposal is to allocate £307,000 towards mitigating the potential loss of the government’s £4 million Household Support Fund.

The fund covers the cost of vouchers for children who are eligible for free school meals in the school holidays as well as emergency fuel and food vouchers and much of the direct support to local food banks.

A planned £80,000 cut, wiping out the youth grants programme, could also change as a result of the extra money, with half of the money – £40,000 – now allocated to the scheme.

The Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project looked likely to lose £11,000 funding for its play room and Oasis Creche was down to lose £2,000 but both proposed cuts have been dropped.

Community Works said that the voluntary and community sector – also known as the third sector– had worked “collaboratively” with the council during the budget-setting process.

The organisation said that it needed a “longer lead-in” to find alternative ways to achieve savings and redesign services to match reduced funding.

But funding reductions would destablilise the sector, Community Works said, and bring services and organisations “to breaking point”.

The budget response document said:

“Significant reductions to budgets within adult social care, violence against women and girls (VAWG), hate crime reporting and youth services put people and communities at risk.

“A 10 per cent cut to existing third sector commission agreements is disproportionate in terms of the overall budget savings and will necessitate significant scaling back or closure of key services.

“Organisations state they will have to consider handing back contracts that are not financially viable to deliver as a result.”

Community Works gave examples of services under threat including a £140,000 contract with UOK, a network of 17 organisations providing mental health support. If the service ended, it would “likely to lead to increase in mental health crises”.

Amaze, which provides advice and support services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), expects to have to reduce its staffing by up to three full-time equivalent roles – or 12 people – representing 14 per cent of its workforce, if its funding goes as recommended in the budget.

A proposed £60,000 cut affecting specialist organisations helping disabled, LGBTQ+ and people from black and ethnic minorities who do not feel safe to report hate crimes will no longer receive support through services delivered by Possability People, Rainbow Hub and the Racial Harassment Forum.

The budget council meeting is due to start at 4.30pm on Thursday, February 22 at Hove Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.