Booktrust in talks with DfE to mitigate funding cuts

Finance | Niki May Young | 6 Jan 2011

Booktrust, a charity providing free books to children, which had its funding slashed by the Department for Education (DfE) in December, is to enter talks with the Department to mitigate its losses.

The charity heard on 17 December that 100 per cent of funding for its bookgifting programmes Bookstart, Booktime and Booked Up in England will be slashed, effective from 1 April.

At the time of the announcement the Booktrust said it was “immensely surprised and disappointed” by the decision. But following a campaign by the charity supported by teachers, parents and authors, the DfE appears to have u-turned on its decision, issuing a joint statement with the charity in which it commits to develop a new programme that will enable Booktrust to continue providing its services.

Booktrust CEO, Viv Bird, advised: “We are looking to meet with the Department for Education early in the new year to secure a financial commitment from the government and to discuss how we can develop the bookgifting programmes to ensure that they continue to offer the best possible value.”

A spokesperson for the charity advised that no meeting has yet been scheduled, and was unable to confirm whether a financial commitment similar to the current funding was expected. A timescale for the proposed developments is yet to been reached.

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