MP Campaigns for local Voluntary Groups

Stockport MP Ann Coffey has stepped up her campaign to help local voluntary groups which make such a contribution to communities in Stockport.

During a Parliamentary debate on 18th October she welcomed the announcement of a further £85 million investment to support the voluntary sector and questioned the Cabinet Office Minister Ed Miliband on how the new funding will reach down to small community groups.

The funding, which is distributed through the Capacitybuilders agency, is used to give local groups the kind of infrastructure support they need – for example to modernise their IT, develop their staff, or share facilities and get the benefit of expert advice.  By building up the voluntary sector in this way, more groups get together and are able to make bids for extra funds to help the people they work with.

The Minister agreed that the money for Capacitybuilders needs to be distributed down to the smallest organisations, including the ones that he met when he visited Ann’s Stockport constituency in June.

Ann Coffey said:

“There is a significant amount of new investment - £85 million – going in from the government to the voluntary sector.  This money is for building up the infrastructure of local organisations, helping them do an even better job for their local communities.  I want to make sure that the way the money is distributed is not too complicated, and will come down to Stockport.  The Minister was very encouraging.”

Ed Miliband visited Stockport at Ann Coffey’s invitation in June and met a cross-section of local voluntary and community groups.  Ann followed up some of the suggestions made at that meeting, including the need to ensure that the investment reaches down to the local level.