Charities 'struggling against high inflation'

Patricia Winchester, CEO of My Voice, said the charity has had to eat into its reserves

Jersey charities have spoken out about the pressure high inflation is putting on their organisations.

Mental health charity My Voice said it had not been able to replace staff quickly due to its budget pressures.

The charity's CEO, Patricia Winchester, said: "We have been offered funds significantly below inflation by the States of Jersey so we are having to eat into our reserves.

Health minister Tom Binet said charities did get an increase in funding in line with inflation but admitted it was a difficult time for many voluntary organisations.

Health Minister Tom Binet said the current financial pressures were difficult for everyone on the island

Mr Binet said: "I think it is fair to say the current financial environment is difficult for absolutely everybody. There is no simple answer."

"As everybody knows these are very difficult times and there will have to be a discussion next year as to how we fund health ongoing and a discussion with islanders about what kind of health service they want and how much we collectively are prepared to pay."

He said many charities on the island were facing a “similar scenario” to My Voice.

Restructure

CEO of Jersey Hospice Mike Palfreman told a health board meeting it relied on income from fundraising and retail shops in order to deliver its services.

"Inflation has cumulatively come to around 20% for the last two years and is still persistently high on Jersey, that is having a big impact on what we do," said Mr Palfreman.

Mr Binet added: "I'm aware of a number of charities that have to rely on donations entirely, so it is very difficult time."

"We are working to restructure the health service to give charities a slightly louder voice. Giving charities a louder voice will not generate any money. What we do need to do is look at other ways to fund the health service over the course of time."