WILTSHIRE Council has been accused of cutting grants to voluntary organisations next year.

The council has issued a joint statement with NHS Wiltshire saying the two bodies intend to maintain their overall support for the voluntary sector “at its current level”.

But the Liberal Democrats’ leader on the council Trevor Carbin said: “Whilst inflation may be relatively low at the moment, keeping next year’s grants at this level still amounts to a cut.”

And the joint statement went on to suggest that some groups currently receiving grants could be hit hard.

It said: “We want to ensure that our funding maximises the impact of the voluntary sector in Wiltshire's communities, and matches our priorities, so we shall be reviewing the funding to some organisations and discussing this with them shortly.

“In addition, we are supporting organisations to consider collaborations and mergers as a way of stabilising services and reducing some of the core costs.”

It hailed the example of the four Citizens Advice Bureaux in Wiltshire, which are merging into a single countywide organisation.

The four Councils for Voluntary Services, which provide a support service to voluntary and community sector organisations, are also to be replaced by a single countywide service from April, and the contract is out to tender.

Mr Carbin said: "The suggestion that voluntary sector organisations will only be funded if they do as they're told by the council, and that small charities should merge, also raises questions.

“Organisations should be able to decide what's best for themselves and not have a 'Big is Beautiful' solution imposed from above."