Labour MP Graham Jones has blamed the coalition’s Big Society agenda for the funding problems faced by a charity in his constituency.

Home-Start Hyndburn, which relies entirely on grants from East Lancashire PCT and local authorities, now faces collapse after its £93,000 of funding was cut following the spending review. The charity is now appealing to local businesses to invest in the charity, which promotes the welfare of families with young children and provides support to prevent family breakdown in its local area.

Jones, who is MP for Haslingden & Hyndburn, used the case as the centrepiece of his latest blog entitled Big Society collapsing where he criticised the effects the budget cuts are having on the sector:

“There was never any doubt that cutting the government budget equated to huge cuts in the voluntary and charitable sectors,” he said. “Home-Start as an organisation helps families with young children - people who will be in most need as the Tory-led government’s austerity bites.

“When Mervyn King was critical of Osborne and Cameron, he didn't need to just confine his comments to the economy, he could have extended his critique all the way up to Cameron's own flagship idea, his Big Society,” he added.