CITY leaders have allocated £100,000 for charity projects in York, but warn that funding may not be guaranteed beyond next year.

The City of York Council cabinet set up a new fund in its emergency June budget, and met this week to decide how to distribute the money. It said some of the money may spill over into next year, but said long-term commitments were not possible.

Councillors want the voluntary sector to provide services and act as advocates for vulnerable people in the city, but Coun Sonja Crisp, cabinet member for leisure, culture and social inclusion, said it would take time to start the schemes and therefore the money would not all be spent in 2011/12.

She said she would ask councillors in due course for some of the cash to be rolled over into the next financial year to be spent by September 2012.

Coun Janet Looker said “We cannot guarantee funding will continue.” She said that would affect how the voluntary sector used the money and may mean it would look at one-off projects. Even taking on part-time staff “would be a risk”, she said, because they may have to be told their job would go at the end of the financial year.

Council leader James Alexander said: “At the moment, we are not in a position to commit long-term.”

Coun Ruth Potter said organisations could use the money to start an enterprise which would then become self-sustaining.