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Leeds: Voluntary sector 'to feel pain of spending cuts'
Voluntary groups across Leeds will be among the victims of swingeing spending cuts the Government is imposing on local authorities, a senior councillor has warned.
The Government is slashing 1.66 billion in grants paid to councils and Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has given
details of where the axe will fall.
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Leeds's share of the financial pain amount to 15.4m this year, says council leader Coun Keith Wakefield, pictured, and he is particularly concerned about the loss of 5m from a grant the council uses to work in partnership with voluntary organisations.
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Coun Wakefield said: "Voluntary groups use that money to work in inner city areas with vulnerable people and on health projects and training schemes.
"Now it is being taken away and the groups will be badly hit."
He said before the General Election there was much talk of waste being cut and key services being protected.
"It is now clear frontline services are in the firing line and these cuts are just the start, there's worse to come."
"These cuts will hit our schools and undermine support for families in some of our most deprived areas. We are still looking at the detail but it is apparent the cuts will have implications across all our services, affect young people and impact on our work with the voluntary sector."
The future of the city's 254m proposed trolleybus system is also in doubt as it is now one of 15 major transport projects now under review.
Cuts totalling 44m to Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, also signal bad news for Leeds which now stands to lose a 3m contribution from the agency.
Wakefield and Kirklees councils are also grappling with the scale of the spending cuts.
According to the Government's figures, Wakefield faces a 2.37m reduction in grants and Kirklees 2.3m. Road schemes and services to young people are among those likely to be hit, say both authorities.
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 25 May 2012
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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