COMMUNITY groups have hit out at Vale of White Horse District Council after it was revealed the council’s finances were in turmoil.

Council officials mistakenly added more than £700,000 to its reserves and counted Government grants twice. As a result, the council thought it had more money than was the case.

Now the authority has decided to cut grants for local community groups and is on course to overspend by £178,000 by the end of the financial year.

Each department has been ordered to contribute towards savings totalling £707,000 by March in order to make up for the mistake.

The council’s strategic director Steve Bishop said: “Groups who successfully apply for grants in the next rounds of awards may receive less funding than they would have otherwise hoped for. We apologise to any group affected by this.

“The council now has £700,000 less than it believed was originally the case back in February.”

Wantage MP Ed Vaizey said: “This is absolutely appalling — and I’m shocked.

“It is further evidence of the Liberal Democrat council’s financial mismanagement and will hit the most needy the worst.

“Our community grants are vital for local groups and extremely important in order to sustain those organisations. It may not seem a lot, but for these groups it is essential.”

Wantage Counselling Service, in Newbury Street, was due to apply for a grant this year, but now faces making cuts in its services due to the funding reduction.

Service manager Carole Horton said: “It’s going to be really disappointing that we’re unlikely to receive the money we normally get because we have to raise all the cash ourselves.

“We work with very vulnerable people, who can’t afford counselling, and with this announcement it looks like we will have to cut back on some things.”

The council decided to reduce this year’s £103,400 community grants budget by £15,000 after grants for Wantage Independent Advice Centre and Abingdon Citizens’ Advice Bureau were increased due to inflation.

Emma Kahlon, manager of Wantage Independent Advice Centre, said: “The bulk of our funding comes from the Vale and if we miss out then it will be awful because many people rely on us.”

The errors in the council’s revenue budget were made by finance officers in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 accounts.

Also in the 2008/09 budget, a proportion of Government funding — called the Planning Delivery Grant — was mistakenly counted twice, giving a four-year total of £474,000.

To make up for the shortfall, all non-essential spending has been stopped.

Essential council posts that become vacant will not be replaced for at least three months.

Departments are being forced to produce monthly financial reports, which are being monitored closely for any areas where money can be saved.

bellery@oxfordmail.co.uk