Representatives from many of the Isle of Wight’s community pantries gathered at County Hall on Wednesday evening.
They attended the Corporate Scrutiny Committee meeting to raise concerns about major funding cuts in the Government’s seventh round of Household Support Funding.
Cross-party call-in gains support
As previously reported by OnTheWight, Isle of Wight council plans to reduce community pantry funding by 46 per cent.
Independent Labour councillor for Pan and Barton, Geoff Brodie, formally called in the decision for scrutiny.
The Corporate Scrutiny Committee unanimously supported the call-in, gaining backing from across political groups.
Community voices heard
Pantry representatives from Newport, Ryde, Cowes, East Cowes and Ventnor challenged the Cabinet member directly from the public gallery.
They welcomed the Committee’s recommendation that the Cabinet reconsider the proposed cuts.
Jane Allchorn from Community Spirited Café in East Cowes, who founded the Island’s first pantry, said:
“We are all caring people who do so much for our community, much more than just food, it’s a lifeline for some as we have staff and volunteers who are supportive and will sit and listen to our members when things are not going right for them.”
She added:
“We offer support in many areas as well as providing food at a low cost.
“It is hard work and the funding we have received in previous HSF grants have not covered anything other than a very small admin amount (£500) and the rest is just for food.
“We hope that the decision to slash our pantry funding by a massive 46% is reversed in the full cabinet meeting next Wednesday 6pm.”
Scrutiny Committee recommendation
The Committee has formally recommended that Councillor Debbie Andre, the Cabinet member responsible, reconsiders the decision to:
- cut £130,000 from community pantry funding
- redirect that money to cover existing Council funding for Citizens Advice
- allocate a further £45,000 of the same Government funding to Citizens Advice
It was also recommended allocating some of the remaining funding to other advice providers in addition to Citizens Advice.
