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CHILDREN'S FUND TO CONTINUE
There has been great excitement about the announcement that the Children’s Fund will continue for another 3 years from April 2008. This is not quite as it seems.
Barnet Children's Fund has acted responsibly in alerting all providers about the end of the funding cycle. There is nothing in the announcement that changes this. Although the announcement states the level of funding will continue it is not a grant and will not be given to a Children’s Fund partnership. It will be given to local authorities to distribute via the Local Area Agreement.
The official press report states: 'The money will be distributed through local authorities and pooled with other funding to form a new area-based grant. The Government is encouraging local authorities and their partners to maintain a strong engagement of the voluntary and community sector in using these funds.'
Although Government may expect the funding to be spent on preventative services for 5 -13 year olds and the voluntary sector used to deliver these services, there is nothing in the announcement that makes this compulsory.
Over the last two years Barnet Children's Fund has worked with services to clarify their target outcomes and ensure these are aligned to the Barnet Children and Young People’s Plan. This plan is likely to underpin the spending for the Children’s theme under the Local Area Agreement. This means services that can prove they are supporting children to achieve better outcomes will be in the best position to ‘be commissioned’ in any new arrangements.
Barnet Children's Fund will be contacting existing projects at the earliest point about the process for commissioning but would urge you to carry on seeking alternative funding, establishing mainstreaming opportunities or, if necessary, winding up your project if it is unlikely to meet the requirements of the new arrangements.
The announcement in full
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