BIG response to regenerate recession-hit communities in Wales

17 Aug 2009

The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) – the largest distributor of National Lottery good-causes funding – has today (Friday August 14 2009) announced a package of measures worth an estimated £5.5 million, including an additional £2.5 million pot of new money, to help Welsh communities combat the effects of the recession.

Hot on the heels of the announcement of the results of its Big thinking consultation and how it plans to spend around £250 million on a varied range of programmes in Wales over the next six years, BIG has also been busy talking to voluntary and charitable organisations about how it should respond to the pressing economic downturn.

Following these extensive discussions, BIG has decided to invest an additional £2.5 million in new grants across Wales to tackle the effects of the economic downturn. Through applications to its People and Places programme, it is also estimated that up to £3 million will be available to projects which provide direct support to communities most affected by the recession.

The new ‘Recession Package’ contains three elements aimed at providing a rapid response to the effects of the credit crunch on communities and support to those voluntary and charitable organisations currently providing essential advice services to members of the public.

Recent reports highlight that organisations such as the Citizens’ Advice Bureaux and other advice agencies have recorded sharp and sustained increases in the demand for advice about debt and income problems, with a significant proportion of their clients displaying recognised characteristics of poverty.

In response, the first element of the Recession Package will see BIG offering grants of up to £50,000 over two years to voluntary organisations and charities currently providing advice services. A total of £2 million will be available to enable these organisations to recruit and train additional members of staff and expand their services to meet this extra demand, providing people with improved access to the advice and support they need.

Applications will be invited from organisations providing advice services including (but not limited to) benefits advice, financial literacy, debt advice and advice on mental health and domestic violence issues.

Under the second element of the package, BIG is making £500,000 available to top-up awards to existing grant holders who have demonstrated that their project is suffering as a direct result of the recession.

And last but not least, BIG’s People and Places programme will also adopt ‘recession’ as a priority when deciding which projects to fund. The People and Places award-making Committee has agreed to prioritise applications for projects which are likely to support communities withstand the impact of the recession. This will be implemented from the Committee’s September 2009 meeting and it is estimated that this should result in grants of up to £3 million being made available to projects which provide direct support to communities most affected by the recession.

Delighted to announce the new package, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee Member and Chair of the People and Places Committee, Janet Reed, said: "We know that many of the projects we are funding have been affected by the economic downturn and that’s why we are providing extra support for our existing grant holders and in some cases, increasing funding for organisations which provide existing services to communities which are ‘feeling the pinch’ as a result of the recession."

"With growing levels of unemployment, increasing levels of personal debt and mounting pressures on health and family relationships, the recession is impacting on homes across the nation. We want the projects we support with this extra funding to revitalise communities by giving people improved access to advice and advocacy services. By channelling more money through our existing People and Places programme, we can respond immediately to the increasing demand from local groups and organisations struggling to cope with the crunch."

She added: "If one of our projects is struggling to deliver its outcomes due to the effects of the recession, our grants officers would like to hear from them at the earliest opportunity. The sooner we know about a problem, the more likely it is that we can help."

Potential applicants will be able to view the guidance notes for the new Recession Package from today (Friday August 14 2009). The additional £2.5 million will be allocated in two rounds during the financial years ending 31st March 2010 and 31st March 2011.

For further information about the People and Places programme and the recession package, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk or call the Big Lottery Fund helpline on 01686 611 700.