Selaine Saxby MP welcomed the Government grant for the Freedom Centre in Barnstaple as part of the Government’s Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund (CCLF) by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
This £76 million fund is part of the £101.5 million package of support for charities and community
organisations across England announced by the Chancellor in the Spring Budget. CCLF provides
grants to charities and community organisations delivering critical frontline services, and which are most impacted by increased demand and delivery costs.
The Department have also launched the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Energy Efficiency Scheme. The scheme, backed by £25.5 million, will provide energy assessments and grants of up to £150,000 to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of frontline services.
Eligible organisations can apply for the cost and delivery of an independent energy assessment. This will help identify how to reduce bills through measures such as improving or installing new energy features in the building, or changing how energy is used. These assessments will be useful to organisations whether or not they apply for the second element. This part of the scheme is now open for applications, and will remain open until August 2024.
Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon said:
“Fantastic news that the Freedom Centre in Barnstaple has been awarded £49,221 from the Government’s Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund. Congratulations to the team and for their outstanding work throughout the years in providing a range of support services for homeless people, those suffering from addiction issues, people with poor physical and mental health, debt and poverty and those who simply want to improve their health or improve their life skills in North Devon.
“If you are an eligible charity in North Devon, please do consider applying for the energy grant so that we can ensure that support gets to those who need it most.”