LIB DEMS CUT FUNDING TO THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

Lib Dem Somerset County Council voted this week to cut the County's funding to the voluntary sector.

This is just one of many cuts that the cash-strapped Council chose to make. It threatens the viability of many small voluntary organisations. This cut has been described by the Council's own officers as 'High-Risk'.

Christine Lawrence, Conservative Group spokesperson on Adult Primary Care, said "This puts a great many small, voluntary organisations under threat, who often support the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach members of our society. Who will these people turn to if these voluntary organisations have to close due to this Lib Dem cut?''

Ken Maddock, Leader of Somerset County Council's Conservative Group, added, "Voluntary organisations are the bedrock of many communities and deserve to be well supported and financed. But the Lib Dems do not see it that way. They seem happy to risk these organisations going to the wall. Conservatives will take a fresh look at this whole area, putting local people's interests first.''