A total of £600,000 is to be made available in the form of small grants to the voluntary and charity sector by Great Yarmouth and Waveney Primary Care Trust (PCT).

From next month the PCT will make £200,000 available per financial year for the period up to March 2011 through its “Small Grants Programme”.

The programme will be run in partnership with Waveney Community Forum cvs and Voluntary Norfolk, and be open to small groups in the third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, co-operatives and mutuals) with a maximum annual turnover of £100,000.

Lyn Blizzard, Health Improvement Principal at Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT, said: “The small grants programme recognises the importance of a healthy and thriving third sector by providing funds to small organisations that may not be able to participate in larger commissioning and procurement processes.

“These organisations are often in touch with groups of people who do not always want to engage with the Health Service and they respond to local needs by involving and empowering local residents in the delivery of services – and are often run by local people for local people.

“The Small Grants Programme will help the PCT to deliver on its local priorities to improve the health and well-being of the people of Great Yarmouth and Waveney.”

She said the programme will also enable wider groups of people to be part of the effort to meet Local Area Agreement (LAA) targets for improving health which both Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council and their partners, including the PCT, have signed up to with central government.

Ms Blizzard added that in April next year Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT would become a member of a joint board with partners including Suffolk County Council and the voluntary sector which would consider applications for funding from organisations who could contribute towards achieving LAA targets.

The criteria of the Small Grants Programme is similar to that which will be used by the joint board and it is expected that the two schemes will integrate over time but the PCT is keen for funds to become available across the whole of the area it serves as soon as possible.

By working in partnership with Waveney Community Forum cvs and Voluntary Norfolk the PCT programme will also provide support and guidance to small groups on developing their projects, she added.

* Organisations in Waveney who are interested in the Small Grants Programme should contact Waveney Community Forum cvs on 01502 582201

and those in Great Yarmouth should contact Voluntary Norfolk on 01493 845925.