Impact of the spending cuts on citizens and organisations in Coventry

Infrastructure organisations across the country, such as Voluntary Action Coventry, are facing cuts. Research conducted by Capacitybuilders has found that "More than half of local voluntary sector support providers have cut staff numbers in the past four months", please click here to view the complete article.

While reports are still filtering through on the financial implications on services, there has been little focus on the actual impact on the service users. In an article by the New Economics Foundation responding to the initial Comprehensive Spending Review announcement, Dr Faiza Shaheen, researcher on economic inequality writes
"The Coalition Government has repeatedly said that we should not saddle future generations with today's debts. But with these drastic spending cuts there is a serious danger of creating false economies. Spending cuts which will disproportionately affect women and poorer families will inevitably harm their children and young people. Despite the promises that have been made, some of these cuts will entrench patterns of poverty and inequality, reducing social mobility and worsening health and social outcomes." Please click here to view the complete article.

The Third Sector Assembly has completed a survey selecting a random sample of its members, focusing on "The impact of the cuts on service users in Coventry".

The issues which have been uncovered have been summarised under the following headings;

• Increased non eligibility for benefits
• Increase in cost of living
• Disproportionate impact on BME women
• Disproportionate impact on women experiencing violence
• Spending cuts at the expense of investment
• Increased inequalities / injustice.
  To view the complete details of the report, please click here.

Coventry Womens Voices is an independent group of women's organisations, organisations working with women and individuals that has come together to ensure women's voices in Coventry are heard and to improve the lives of women living in Coventry. Their aim is to work with people, organisations and agencies to improve the delivery of services to women from all background and in all communities in Coventry.

The Coventry Women's Voices launch event took place in November 2010, to view the report please select  What do women in Coventry Want launch event report.

Unravelling Equality, a human rights and equality impact assessment of the spending cuts on women in Coventry launched 17th May 2011. A joint project between Coventry Women’s Voices and the Centre for Human Rights in Practice at Warwick University.  http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/chrp/projectss/humanrightsimpactassessments/cwv/report/ 

State of the Sector
VAC have undertaken research to profile the voluntary and community sector in Coventry through surveys and consultations a picture has been developed of the types of groups, their income and the sources of income as well as what issues are currently impacting on the sector.

Follow this link to read more.