Charities across Liverpool will see council funding cut by half, following a decision by Liverpool City Council to cut its voluntary sector budget by £1m.

The local authority’s community resources unit currently funds 58 community charities but will reduce funding from £2m down to £1m over the next financial year.

A spokesman for Liverpool City Council told Civil Society News the cuts are a result of central government budget cuts and will mark the end of a three-year funding programme.

“Central Government has cut our budget by 58 percent and this is having an impact on all the services and organisations we support,” he said.

“The charities have known about the up-coming cuts for some time. We have been working with these organisations to give them time to prepare, and are doing what we can to mitigate the impact by giving them more of the money upfront at the start of the financial year.”

Liverpool City Council said it will continue to offer “support and assistance” to enable charities to find alternative sources of funding.

Charities affected include Age Concern and the Citizens Advice Bureau.