A LEADING pensioners group in York has criticised council bosses for not giving them funding.

York Older People's Assembly (YOPA) said they were hard done by City of York Council when it came to financial support.

Their message came as an opposition councillor accused the city's ruling executive of failing to adequately fund voluntary groups.

Labour representative Ken King said: "The Liberal Democrats are dramatically failing to support social inclusion and fund groups which represent our diverse society."

He singled out YOPA as a group which ought to be funded.

Don Parlabean, the group's chairman, said: "We work with the council to try to get finding from the Government and things like that, but we are not considered to be worthy people for getting funding."

He added: "We were set up with help and funding from the council, and yet having set us up, they have turned their backs on us."

Mr Parlabean and Coun King were speaking before yesterday's meeting of the executive.

Coun King, who sits on the council's social inclusion working group, said: "Again the whole budget has been frozen, so the real worth' of this grant budget gets lower and lower.

"For example, Rape Crisis, a group providing much needed support and counselling to raped women, has had its funding frozen at only £1,500 for the last three years."

Alison Wilson, of York Rape Crisis, said: "The need for more money is obviously great for any voluntary organisation, because that's the main source of our income."

But she said the group was grateful for the funding it did get.

Council leader Steve Galloway said: "Against a background of ever tightening controls on council expenditure by central government, the York council has continued to give a high priority to supporting local voluntary groups.

"Several now receive support via ward committee budgets and more during the next year will qualify for rate relief."

He said an extra £2 million had been allocated to care services for elderly and disabled people.

He added: "Labour fail to identify where they could find additional funding from. They do a major disservice to the volunteers by pretending that there are easy funding options."

He said voluntary groups provided an important service for many York residents, and many deserved additional resources.