Charities ‘lose out’ in contract change
CHARITIES in Luton are suffering huge cuts to their funding after a £950,000 contract was awarded to North London firm Penrose.
A group of 14 local service providers had funding of more than £1.1 million from Luton Borough Council (LBC) and helped a range of vulnerable people in Luton, but this funding has now been given to Penrose after a two-year review resulted in a new contract being put out to tender.
A representative from the Luton Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) who did not wish to be named said the main charities were not consulted by LBC during the review or asked to improve their services.
The representative said: “I find it very difficult to understand how LBC took this decision and feel they must have been badly advised by the consultants they hired in. Luton VCS services were not broken and did not need such a major review or major fixing. If they had issues why didn’t they speak to us?”
The council says the new model of provision saves approximately £200,000, and the services review was assisted by an independent consultant and cost ‘less than £15,000’.
Under EU Law, the local providers in Luton were individually too small to bid for the new contract, even when they joined forces.
The VCS representative said: “My concern is Penrose have no experience of working in Luton or of the wider range of problems here. Their website says they work with ex-offenders and people recovering from mental ill-health and substance abuse.
“What about elderly people, young homeless people and those with complex health needs here in Luton?”
He also expressed concern that since Penrose ‘went live’ on July 2 he had been unable to find a phone number for them, potentially leaving vulnerable people with no way of contacting them. However the council said the contact number was “widely circulated” before Penrose opened.
A council spokesperson said: “Penrose is an experienced third sector agency and won the contract based on experience and skills developed over 40 years of working with, supporting and assisting to independence some of the most vulnerable people.”
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Weather for Luton
Thursday 23 May 2013
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