PM Dragged into Row Over Local Voluntary Groups

Tony Blair accused of 'flip-flopping' over his attitude to Law Centre

The row over the funding of local voluntary groups in the Borough has now embroiled the outgoing Prime Minister, with the Conservatives accusing him of 'flip-flopping' on the issue of a controversial local legal organisation.

Andrew Slaughter has accused what he describes as an unrepresentative, post-Thatcherite rump in control of the Council of making massive cuts in funding to the voluntary sector with grants overall being reduced by as much as a quarter a charge which the Council denies.

The MP for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush had raised the issue of the cut in funding at Prime Minister's Question Time and received the Prime Minister's support. Local Tories accused him of inconsistency with regard to the Hammersmith Law Centre after he condemned the council for reducing funding to an organisation he had previously heavily criticised.

Mr. Blair said, "What is happening is a metaphor for what would happen with a Conservative Government. Having said that they would support the maintenance of services, the Tories have instituted some £34 million of cuts in those services, which are having a damaging effect on some of the most vulnerable people in my hon. Friend’s constituency."

Less than a year earlier the PM had attacked the Law Centre for defending nine Afghans who had hijacked a plane and threatened to kill the passengers unless they were allowed to stay in Britain. Representation by the centre prevented the men being repatriated to Afghanistan. Blair described the ruling at the time as “an abuse of common sense”. The total cost of the case to the British taxpayer was £30 million.

The Hammersmith Law Centre has been on the opposite side from the government on many other occasions. It was also involved in a case against the government in November 2006 which resulted in thousands of suspected false asylum claimants being entitled to have their free housing and benefits reinstated if they appeal against their deportation.

Mr. Slaughter has accused the Conservative-run council of forcing organisations to reduce services, or face closure. But the Council said it had increased voluntary sector funding by two per cent, to £4.2m. 58 voluntary and community groups in the borough will receive taxpayer funding and 16 new groups which have never received money will benefit.

The Law Centre, the board of which Mr. Slaughter sat on for 15 years, has lost 60% or £159,000 of its grant. Another charity Broadway, which catered for single homeless people has lost all of its grants. He is not alleging that these groups have had their grants cut because his association with them but says that 'perhaps it is tangentially relevant'. He says that the Conservatives have obfuscated the picture on the overall level of grants with different terms being offered and some grants being subject to further review but that on a like for like basis the level of grants to the voluntary sector has dropped by around a quarter or about £1 million. In addition the loss to voluntary groups is claimed to be greater because of the loss of top-up relief on business rates given by the Government.

Jon Burden of Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats also condemned the Council saying, "charities must be given sufficient warning this is going to be done and given help to locate, and support in applying for, other sources of funding. The Tories, on the other hand, announce the cuts they are imposing, approve them at what was in essence a closed meeting, and then leave charities little time to plan alternatives. This is not putting “Residents First” but a continuation of the Tories’ slash and burn policy towards council services."

The Council recently was awarded a four star rating by the Audit Commission, one of the highest in the country which it claims justifies it claim that it has been able to cut costs whilst delivering the biggest reduction in Council Tax in the country and maintaining services.

May 11, 2007