Recession-hit communities across North East England are to benefit from a multi-million pound package announced by the Big Lottery Fund today to help charities and individuals cope with the effects of the economic downturn.

An additional £43 million is to be invested across the UK to tackle the longer-term effects of the recession on communities. BIG is working closely with stakeholders to determine what form the support will take, but it is thought it could include targeted funding for specific services such as debt advice and support to help train increasing numbers of volunteers.
 
Responding to the increasing pressure facing the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), BIG has also increased the budgets of some of its most popular funding programmes by around £45million, helping get funding fast to where VCS voices say it is needed most.
 
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