A charity fears for the future of its work supporting survivors of domestic abuse because of proposed budget cuts.
RISE said that the three services run under a contract from Brighton and Hove City Council were at risk.
They are an LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning plus) refuge, a support service for women with multiple disadvantages and wellbeing support for women and children.
The charity said that all three services were at risk because of funding changes in the council’s draft budget and the prospect of “decommissioning” in the next year.
RISE chief of operations Kate Dale said that the council had told the charity that its services were supported by the government’s “new burdens” funding.
The government paid “new burdens” grants after a change in the law – the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 – required councils to provide support in a safe place for survivors of domestic abuse.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities provided the money to cover extra costs incurred by the change in the law from a national pot worth about £500 million over four years.
In 2021-22 the council received £606,000. In 2022-23 it received £608,000. This year, 2023-34, it received £620,000. And in the coming year, 2024-25, it has been allocated £632,000.
The total is almost £2.5 million – but there is uncertainty over the future of the grant such as whether it will continue after March 2025 or whether it was just transition funding.
RISE also expects to be affected by a proposed 10 per cent cut in spending by the council on services that it commissions from charities and voluntary groups, known as the third sector. The council is looking to save about £182,000 as a result.
Ms Dale said that RISE was told that, under the “new burdens” funding, it would receive financial support for the three council-contracted services until the end of March next year.
She said: “That seems to have got lost somewhere and they’re saying these three services are going. It’s not great.”
Ms Dale said that the services run by RISE are under a performance review so “decommissioning” them at this stage “makes no sense”.
The council’s draft budget also proposes spending £120,000 less on services aimed at reducing violence against women and girls.
This is likely to mean less council money is spent with RISE on casework and a “dispersed refuge” contract.
Green councillors are putting forward an amendment to the budget to try to secure £70,000 funding for RISE’s services.
Labour councillor Jacob Taylor said that services provided by RISE were contracted until September and the council was in the process of recommissioning with a proposed £29,000 reduction in the contract value.
Councillor Taylor, who leads on finance for Labour, said: “RISE continue to be a hugely important and valued partner for the council in this vitally important service area.
“It is worth noting that RISE currently holds a budget of £317,640 from council funding, the majority of which is unimpacted by these budget proposals.”
Campaigner groups Rise Up and Brighton Women’s Liberation Collective are expected to protest outside Hove Town Hall before the annual budget council meeting.
The meeting is due to start at 4.30pm on Thursday (22 February) at the town hall and is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
It looks like Cllr Taylor has quickly changed his tone and story from the other day in the other news story, where he was quoted as saying there were no cuts planned that would affect RISE LGBT services. Bit weird to make such a strong previous comment that went against what the charity itself were saying, they are very well respected in the city and people are worried hence the protest. Hopefully they will listen to Rise and change their budget plan? I don’t think Labour would actually want to make it harder for domestic abuse charities to do their work? They have been very suppportive in past
I don’t think they actually care. Labour will say one thing in opposition and then take a completely different position when they are in charge. Looks like they are cutting things like this and lots of other services provided by charities because they don’t then have to deal with the damage made by their cut. Labour have never understood how important the charity sector is here and did lots of damage in 2019 by “pausing” the contracts delivered by charities here – looks like it’s still the same.
But are we paying for two providers of these services?
I think that’s the crux of the matter.
They are already paying for the services in refuge to be delivered by another provider – why pay twice – especially when they have said that council are having to monitor their performance – meaning they are failing to deliver somewhere! Perhaps less time should be spent telling everyone what an amazing job they’re are doing and more time actually doing what they have been paid to do? Also i struggle to understand how a service can run a LGBTQ+ service when they openly affiliate themselves with transphobic and men-hating activist groups??