A SWINDON advice centre for young people and adults today finds itself under threat of closure for the second time in three years. Walcot Family Centre is one of several voluntary groups in the town facing funding cuts.

The group operates with an annual grant of £45,000 from Swindon Borough Council.

But it is feared the council will reduce grant aid to voluntary groups by £186,000 a year as the authority tightens its belt.

Project support worker Helen Howe said: "We certainly have fears because it has happened before. In 1998 our grant was cut by £20,000.

"A cut in funds would have serious implications for all the organisations which have a band of volunteers.

"Volunteers are people who are looking to the future. They undergo training, do voluntary work and then other kinds of work. We get about 150 people through our doors most weeks."

Walcot Family Centre, based on the Mountford Manor School site, has groups for adults as well as children, including after school clubs and play schemes.

Mrs Howe said: "We offer counselling, advocacy for families, contact visits and put teenagers on work placements."

The service employs three staff, one funded by the Lottery communities fund and the other two by Swindon Council.

Mrs Howe added: "We know there has been no decision made on cuts yet, the decision is still in the pipeline."

Swindon Council's budget for grant aid to voluntary groups is currently £1.1 million and it is feared that will be reduced by 20 per cent.

Phil Baker, chief executive of charity umbrella group, Voluntary Action Swindon, said the 20 per cent reduction in funds to charity groups was the figure being discussed by Swindon councillors and officers.

He said groups likely to be affected ranged from the Citizens Advice Bureau and Swindon Racial Equality Council to small community groups.

Coun Garry Perkins (Con, Dorcan), the lead member whose remit includes voluntary sector affairs, said council officers had been asked to provide areas were cuts could be made.

He said: "No decision has been made and the cuts could be made in administration. There will be several meetings over the next two or three weeks and, at all meetings, the voluntary sector will be involved at all stages. I know how important the voluntary sector is to Swindon."

Cuts to the CAB could jeopardize a valuable service to townsfolk who seek guidance with anything from benefits to civil rights, education and employment issues.

Similarly, campaigners striving for race rights could lose out if Swindon Racial Equality Council has grant-aid slashed.

Mohammad Salas Khan, executive committee member of Swindon Racial Equality Council, said groups such as his receive "very, very small" amounts of grant aid in Swindon compared with other local authorities.

Mr Khan, who is also general secretary of Swindon Pakistani Welfare Association, said: "The PWA gets £5,000 a year to do advice work and we receive little money to cover expenses for a year. Less money will mean that the younger children and older people we serve will suffer as a result, and there are many more groups in a similar situation."