Acorns were in Walsall drumming up support and signatures , asking the new government to continue with with £2,000,000 of funding. They have had the amount the last few years and it makes up 13% and what they need to continue with the work they do. There are the largest Hospice in the country doing what they do and have never had to turn anybody away but if they loose 13% of there funding they face the possibility of having to do that. They will need to know by December as that's when they will have to have there budget place in plan for the coming year.
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00:00We're at Walsall Town Centre and Acorns Hospice, how are you?
00:04Very well, thank you.
00:05Acorns Hospice in the black country there, we know what you do, you help hundreds, thousands of children,
00:11but what people don't realise is there's a grant that's potentially under threat,
00:16just fill us in on what that's all about.
00:19Yes, so Acorns receive £2 million from the Children's Hospice Grant every year from the government
00:24and they're potentially going to lose that funding at the end of this year
00:27and if we lose that funding that means cutting vital services
00:30and therefore for the first time in 36 years we may have to turn children away.
00:35It's mad isn't it, so it's £2 million it amounts to the grant, yeah?
00:38Yeah, £2 million, 13% of our overall income.
00:41Wow, so that's a mega, mega, yeah.
00:44So obviously this is all off the back of the change of government isn't it,
00:47the government were doing like a rollover grant every year you was having to apply, is that right?
00:52We had a guarantee to the end of this financial year which is April
00:55but we didn't have any further guarantee beyond that from either government.
00:58Yeah, and you need to know don't you because you need to plan for staffing and so on for the following year
01:04so you need to know by, is it November, is that right?
01:07We need to know by November when we start to set our budgets
01:09and this year for the first year we're going to have to set two different budgets,
01:13one with the grant and one without.
01:15Yeah, and you're like I say 13% of what you need to do what you do.
01:19You've never had to turn any children away up until now?
01:22No, this would result for the first time in 36 years of Acorns existing, turning children away.
01:27So today you're just here what, to highlight awareness of the situation, is that the plan?
01:32We're here to highlight awareness of the situation and ask people to sign a petition
01:36which we'll then take to Downing Street to lobby for them to continue the grant.
01:40Fantastic, well good luck with that, we all know the great work you do at Acorns and how it's much needed, thank you.
01:45Thank you and thank you to the Sandler Centre for letting us petition here.