00:00We're at Walsall Town Centre and Acorns Hospice, how are you?
00:04Very well, thank you.
00:05Acorns Hospice in the black country there, we know what you do, you help hundreds, thousands of children,
00:11but what people don't realise is there's a grant that's potentially under threat,
00:16just fill us in on what that's all about.
00:19Yes, so Acorns receive £2 million from the Children's Hospice Grant every year from the government
00:24and they're potentially going to lose that funding at the end of this year
00:27and if we lose that funding that means cutting vital services
00:30and therefore for the first time in 36 years we may have to turn children away.
00:35It's mad isn't it, so it's £2 million it amounts to the grant, yeah?
00:38Yeah, £2 million, 13% of our overall income.
00:41Wow, so that's a mega, mega, yeah.
00:44So obviously this is all off the back of the change of government isn't it,
00:47the government were doing like a rollover grant every year you was having to apply, is that right?
00:52We had a guarantee to the end of this financial year which is April
00:55but we didn't have any further guarantee beyond that from either government.
00:58Yeah, and you need to know don't you because you need to plan for staffing and so on for the following year
01:04so you need to know by, is it November, is that right?
01:07We need to know by November when we start to set our budgets
01:09and this year for the first year we're going to have to set two different budgets,
01:13one with the grant and one without.
01:15Yeah, and you're like I say 13% of what you need to do what you do.
01:19You've never had to turn any children away up until now?
01:22No, this would result for the first time in 36 years of Acorns existing, turning children away.
01:27So today you're just here what, to highlight awareness of the situation, is that the plan?
01:32We're here to highlight awareness of the situation and ask people to sign a petition
01:36which we'll then take to Downing Street to lobby for them to continue the grant.
01:40Fantastic, well good luck with that, we all know the great work you do at Acorns and how it's much needed, thank you.
01:45Thank you and thank you to the Sandler Centre for letting us petition here.
