Poorest hit hardest by cuts to local government funding

£1.2bn in cuts to local government announced by the Communities secretary, Eric Pickles, yesterday, will hit the poorest communities hardest, according to a report in the Nursing Times. The cuts as part of local government’s contribution to the £6.2bn in savings across government in 2010-11, will hit funding streams within the Area Based Grant, which is targeted at councils in areas with high levels of deprivation, according to the online magazine.

According to the report, details of the cuts set out by Eric Pickles will include: £108m taken from the ABG, including £49.9m from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund; £17.5m from the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative - a fund aimed at boosting enterprise; as well as £30m from the Supporting People programme, which provides housing related support to vulnerable people.

Source: Nursing Times