Dudley Council cuts £250,000 funding from Beacon Centre for the Blind charity
The charity which runs the Beacon Centre for the Blind has been left reeling after £250,000 worth of vital council funding was withdrawn.
Bosses at the charity, which supports blind and partially sighted people across the Black Country, said they are 'devastated' and concerned for the future of service users.
Dudley Council said it is having to make difficult decisions due to huge funding cuts from the Government.
The charity offers care for residents who stay at its independent living centre in Sedgley and the Beacon Court housing complex on the Wolverhampton Road. Its also runs an activity centre in Hagley Road, Oldswinford, Stourbridge.
Beacon Centre chief executive Arwyn Jones said: "We are devastated and disappointed that Dudley Council has completely withdrawn its funding and are very concerned for our service users, many of whom tell us how vital Beacon's work is.
"We don't know yet whether Dudley Council has any intention to replace these services. The Beacon Centre will now explore how best it can sustain its services and the charity is now starting a consultation with its users."
The cuts represent around a 50 per cent drop in the centre's contract income for support and care across three services, although not the whole of its operation.
As a result bosses said donations and fundraising efforts are now more vital than ever.
Councillor Qadar Zada, the council's cabinet member for adult social care, said: "In the context of unprecedented cuts to funding from central government we have been forced to review the services we currently commission.
"This has led to difficult decisions where we do not have the budget for the range of services we previously offered and has led to a reduction of £3 million in our budget.
"We value all the work done by the voluntary sector and recognise it as a key partner for the local authority in supporting us to deliver services differently in the future.
"We have previously set out our vision of a £2.4m re-commissioning of services and we would very much welcome voluntary sector input into the implementation of this.
"We appreciate the significant anxiety and concern the changes are causing in the voluntary sector and we will continue to work with them to ensure that we protect care services for local people."
