Funding cuts for community empowerment networks

Up to forty per cent of community empowerment networks (CENs) will lose either all or some of their local authority funding over the next year, a survey has found.

A poll of 79 of the networks, which were set up to support community engagement in drawing up local area agreements, found that 18 per cent were losing all of their funding and 22 per cent were facing a cut.

A further six CENs, or 8 per cent of the sample, had collapsed because they received no funding at all, according to the poll, which was carried out by regeneration groups membership charity Urban Forum.

The reduction means that more than a quarter of the groups will be carrying out less representation work, while 48 per cent will carry out less outreach work.

”The trend is in stark contrast with the Government rhetoric about empowerment and community engagement,” concluded the report.

“Without outreach, equalities work and capacity building, it is unlikely that community representation will reflect the aspirations and concerns of the whole community.”

Download Urban Forum's full policy report on the CEN funding cuts