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Dear Jackie, Welcome to e-news alert 24 - 21/10/10 Please find below our Policy and Networks Officer's report on the key announcements in yesterday's Comprehensive Spending Review. You can also download a copy of Stephen's report by clicking here (PDF 125Kb). Kind regards, Philippa Leary Membership, Information and Communications Officer The Spending Review - report from CLB The Chancellor of the Exchequer made his announcement of the results of the Comprehensive Spending Review on  20th October. As already announced, health and international development were protected. He said that schools budgets would also be protected. The average expenditure reduction in government departments is 19% - however, some will see much more and there will be large reductions in local councils’ spending. You can download the spending review documents from the Treasury’s website including Spending Review 2010: complete document (PDF 2.1MB) and the Executive summary (PDF 281KB) and a series of separate chapters including Chapter 2: Departmental settlements (PDF 697KB) setting out what each department will be spending. There is a summary of the key points on the BBC website, which also has a more discursive Q & A. For some different perspectives, there are summaries on the Guardian and Telegraph websites. You can read the response from NCVO as to how the CSR affects the voluntary and community sector, and some articles on the impact on the voluntary sector by visiting the Third Sector magazine website (you may need to log in / register). Headlines for the voluntary and community sector include: £470m over the next four years will go towards building the voluntary sector's capacity so that it can deliver the government's Big Society agenda. This will provide 5,000 new community organisers and a pilot for the National Citizen Service £100m transitional fund for the coming year to help the voluntary and community sector adjust to new public spending budgets Cabinet Office (home to the Office of Civil Society) budget will be reduced by £55m by 2014/15 More private and voluntary sector providers for: Work Programme getting long term unemployed into work  Working with offenders to reduce offending and re-offending For individuals the headline issues will be: Pension age increases to 66 in 2020 (earlier than planned) for all Universal benefits for pensioners such as bus passes, free eye tests and winter fuel allowance will continue Spending on benefits for those of working age will be cut Employment support allowance and Incapacity benefit will be time limited and Changes to entitlement to Tax Credits, with the introduction over the next two parliaments of a single universal credit. Social Housing rents for new tenants will rise over time to 80% of the market rate. Cuts to Legal Aid Headlines for local councils include: A 28% reduction in spending over four years £1bn extra on Social Care A further £1bn of NHS funding to be diverted to social care Schools budgets increase in real terms Ending of all ring fenced grants except schools budget and the new Public Health grant (following proposals in the NHS white paper). Fewer targets to report on An ability to borrow money against future non-domestic rate rises Other Issues: All departments face cuts - some must make administrative savings of a third so as to reduce front-line impact 25% reduction in spending on Ministry of Justice – fewer courts A permanent bank levy Creation of a Green Investment Bank – with £1bn Free entry to museums retained What might it mean for us? Some of the clients we work with (especially those reliant on benefits) will find things more difficult financially Reduction in council spending will mean contracts may not be re-let or  even cancelled, and funding for the voluntary sector may reduce Reduction in council spending may have a knock-on effect in demand for voluntary sector services Investment in the voluntary sector to deliver Big Society projects Registered address: Community Links Bromley, Community House, South Street, Bromley BR1 1RH Company registered in England number 3020127. Registered charity number 1045255 web: www.communitylinksbromley.org.uk email:admin@communitylinksbromley.org.uk Unsubscribe:You are receiving this email from Community Links Bromley. If you would like to unsubscribe from our free e-news alert service please click here.