The cuts by Bath and Northeast Somerset Council to contracts operated by NonProfits in the Bath and Northeast Somerset area will create “huge anxiety” to the sector; 3SG, a membership body representing over 230 charities in the area, has warned.

Bath and Northeast Somerset Council it unfortunately needed to make the cuts to its community support contracts in a drive to save money.

The cuts will come in this February following a lengthy consultation process, with £400,000 being cut in the 2024/25 budget and a further £402,000 being cut in 2025/26.

Cabinet members Paul May and Alison Born of Children’s Services and Adult Services respectively, said the council had been working with NonProfits delivering support contracts to try and identify opportunities for savings.

“Following an engagement event the council set up a dedicated email for community providers to raise any further enquiries. There are two further engagement sessions planned with the sector in September and October. All ideas and opportunities for savings delivery and contract efficiencies identified by community support providers will be considered and will inform commissioning plans for 2025/26.”

Paul May & Alison Born, Cabinet Members, Bath and Northeast Somerset Council

A recent sector training event was led by 3SG to update charities on new procurement laws and explain the bidding process for new council contracts.

“In November there is a planned joint training with commissioners and the sector to look at models of commissioning. The executive director for operations meets regularly with the director of 3SG, Becky Brooks, to ensure that the sector is engaged in the process. During this consultation it has been agreed to maintain the current level of funding to the sector to ensure service continuity and to look for one-off savings from other social care service areas.”

Paul May & Alison Born, Cabinet Members, Bath and Northeast Somerset Council

However, a director at 3SG commented at the meeting that most charities were “largely in the dark” about the new timelines and had had “little interaction in terms of collaboration or consultation”.

“The sector still doesn’t know what cuts are coming and where – and this has created huge anxiety, uncertainty and difficulty in making plans for the future. We are yet to see the outcomes of the community services review, despite having asked for it over several months – this is disappointing, because it would be helpful to know where cuts will fall, and to understand the council’s thinking. We hoped there would be an open dialogue around this piece of work, and as far as I am aware, this has not been the case, as was promised at the beginning of this year. If this review is in another format, which I have been told that it is, we would still like to see it, where commercial sensitivities allow. The third sector desperately needs the council to start communicating more effectively.”

Becky Brooks – Director, 3S