Saturday 21 May 2011

Give Us The Money Or The Taxpayer Gets It!

Cuts to groups providing support to asylum seekers in Oxford will end up costing taxpayers more, charities warned last night.

Groups which support the county’s 2,000 refugees say that if support to people fleeing Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran is cut, social services and the NHS will have to pick up the bill.
If there’s a need that can be met by social services and the NHS, why should the government employ a third party to supply it? What happened to economy of bulk?
… Government funding cuts have caused the closure of one Oxford charity – The Bridging Project, which helped young refugees access education – and two other Oxford groups have had to scale back their services.
If you are getting all – or most – of your income from the government, you aren’t a charity – you’re a fakecharity. And it’s about time someone pulled the plug, frankly.
Amanda Webb-Johnson, director of Refugee Resource, in Cowley Road, said: “There is no longer the infrastructure to support small and medium sized charities. Traditional sources of funding are drying up.”
When she says ‘traditional sources of income’, what’s she referring to? The public?

If so, it’s hardly surprising that they aren’t digging deep into their pockets, is it?

What is surprising is that the government seems to think it has a right to dig into our pockets for them…

5 comments:

Brian said...

This lot of nudging, choice editing Mrs Jellabys do think they have a right to your money for charidee. They are publishing a White Paper on Money setting out their cunning plan for round pounds, ie 95 or 99p = 5p or a penny tax to charidee.
Conservatives? Liberals? Democrats? I don't think so.

PT said...

"What is surprising is that the government seems to think it has a right to dig into our pockets for them…"
Charitable giving in the UK is not voluntary. It is compulsory and ring-fenced, as you have shown. And most of it seems to work on the principle of 'Charity begins anywhere except at home.' When, oh when, will some UK political party, as its first priority, actually represent the people who live in the UK and pay tax in the UK?

Tattyfalarr said...

There's been a steady stream of "charity" plastic bags and leaflets dropping through my letterbox for weeks now and I've suggested to more than one DHT (doorstep harrassment team) that they really should take a good look around the area they're trying to squeeze more money out of before knocking on any more doors round here.
...
Still it's not all doom and gloom. Those free bin-bags will line my bins for months yet and the leaflets shred up nicely for cat-litter...I've received charity from various charities without even asking...the irony eh.

Anonymous said...

I love the people fleeing Irag, Afghanistan and Iran bit.

Can't they flee to a muslim country, given the vast majority of them are of that faith? They could choose somewhere warmer, somewhere where the rule of the Koran is already established and one where the women know what to expect in 'society.'

Or could it be that in those sorts of countries there are no state-funded charities to help them get free money?

Just askin'

JuliaM said...

"They are publishing a White Paper on Money setting out their cunning plan for round pounds, ie 95 or 99p = 5p or a penny tax to charidee. "

I'm not going to give a penny to any charity that backs or takes party in this scheme. No, not even the Poppy Appeal...

:/

" When, oh when, will some UK political party, as its first priority, actually represent the people who live in the UK and pay tax in the UK?"

When we can break the stranglehold the Big Two seem to have on this country.

"Still it's not all doom and gloom. Those free bin-bags will line my bins for months yet and the leaflets shred up nicely for cat-litter..."

Ditto! :)

"Can't they flee to a muslim country..."

No, and I think you've hit the nail on the head as to why not.