Budget swings and roundabouts

Budget 2006 – good or bad for the sector?

Is the freeze in expenditure (in real terms) for the Home Office from next financial year (2007-08) bad news for the voluntary sector? Quite a bit of funding comes through that route including, we think, Futurebuilders and Capacity Builders (launching next week to take over ChangeUp activity). It could come under pressure from competing bids from other Home Office concerns.

Or does the Office of Charity and Third Sector Finance being established in the Treasury mean that funding might be protected or even improved? But when Gordon eventually stops being Chancellor, will interest shrivel?
I’m not going to pretend to have enough political or policy insight to give an answer right now. But sector developments could be about to get even more interesting.