Volunteer manager training fund cut by £1m

AVM's Debbie Usiskin is quoted in Third Sector's article "Volunteer manager training fund cut by £1m"

A long-awaited fund to p rovide training for volunteer managers will distribute £1m less than first promised.

The Office of the Third Sector said it would provide £3m rather than the £4m promised last year to support and train volunteer managers. The missing £1m will be diverted into the third sector action plan.

The fund, set up in response to Manifesto for Change, a report by the Commission on the Future of Volunteering, will be distributed by infrastructure body Capacitybuilders from the summer.

Debbie Usiskin, vice-chair of the Association of Volunteer Managers, said she was unsurprised but disappointed by the funding cut. "The need for specific and effective training is urgent," she said.

An OTS spokesman said: "We make no apology for reviewing our budget. Our work has been refocused to support the sector at this critical time."

The fund is part of a £6.6m package of volunteer funds unveiled by the OTS this week. It has set up a £2m, two-year fund for charities aimed at helping disabled people overcome barriers to volunteering; this was also promised in response to Manifesto for Change. The tender process to run the fund opens this week.

The OTS has also announced a £1.6m, two-year fund to build a "volunteering legacy" from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.