The Green Mayor candidate spoke of her plans after Boris Johnson’s announcement that he wants London to rely more on voluntary donations from financial institutions in the City of London for funding youth services.
The Conservative mayoral candidate said City firm should give more money to voluntary groups through philanthropic donations, and says he will reveal a more detailed plan closer to the election on 1 May.
Siân also has plans to improve funding for the crucial voluntary sector in London. But the Green Party has a much more long-term approach, with plans to ensure that good projects can spend more of their time doing their work improving the lives of young people in London, rather than impressing potential donors.
Siân says, “Johnson’s plan to relying on voluntary contributions from the City is not a sustainable way to solve our social problems. We need long-term, guaranteed investment in young people, including everything from education to leisure to jobs, not headline-grabbing corporate charity that can be withdrawn on a whim.
“My plan is to change the way we fund the voluntary sector by making all grants cover at least 3 years, with more established projects receiving support for 5 to 10 years at a time.
“Too many great projects spend most of their time applying for the next short-term grant through funds like the one Johnson plans to create. I want to change that and give them the time and security they need to do their vital jobs.”