Post's reports on impact of cuts praised in Parliament

AN INVESTIGATION by the Nottingham Post revealing the impact of cuts on voluntary services in the city has been praised during a debate in Parliament.

Nottingham South MP Lilian Greenwood said the paper's work showed voluntary groups were in crisis because of Government spending cuts happening "too far and too fast".

But in a tetchy debate Conservative MPs from Notts also highlighted Post stories which they said showed the city council was not best using the money available to it.

The debate was called by Ms Greenwood who said something needed to be done to address the city's funding shortfall before it was "too late".

She said: "Over the past week Delia Monk, local government correspondent for our paper the Nottingham Post, has revealed the impact that spending cuts are having on the many different groups that make up the sector.

"The paper has done a great service to the community by bringing the crisis to public attention and explaining how and why it matters to all of us.

"Local groups face this funding crisis because of government decisions to cut local authority funding too far and too fast."

She reported that Nottingham's voluntary sector had received �47.5 million in 2010/11 but that the organisation estimated funding could fall by 38 per cent to �29.5 million.

Ms Greenwood then argued that support for such groups saved money in the long term as they prevented greater social problems developing further down the line.

Meanwhile she refuted Conservative claims that spending cuts were needed because of the financial situation left by the previous Government.

However, when the Tory MP for Broxtowe Anna Soubry spoke she argued that if the authority had been more frugal with public money in the past it would not be in a position to have to cut services so deeply now.

Both Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie and Sherwood MP Mark Spencer also spoke during the debate.

While Minister Nick Hurd said he respected the work of groups in the city, he claimed cuts were necessary because of debts built up by Labour.

"Where I began to lose respect for Ms Greenwood in her speech was that I thought she didn't show any recognition at all of the difficulty which this Government faces," he said.

He added that the Government was offering what help it could to groups, such as the �100 million Transition Fund.

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