Cambridge City Council has defended itself from recent backlash regarding its funding priorities following the launch of a new Resettlement Community Grant in July.

The grant offers up to £30,000 of funding to “help refugees with navigating life in Cambridge” and has since emerged as a source of controversy among some media outlets.

In early August (02/08), The Telegraph reported that Cambridge City Council was directly offering cooking classes to asylum seekers so that they could “experience joy”. Wellbeing activities such as cooking or sports are just one of five eligibility priorities for grant applications to consider, according to the council’s website.

This categorisation, however, led the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, James Cleverly MP, to tell the paper that Cambridge City Council’s move spoke “volumes […] in both Whitehall and your town hall, under Labour – you pay more and get less.”

This is despite the grant being sponsored by government funding introduced by the previous Conservative administration, of which Cleverly was a member.

Further criticism was levied by GB News on August 11th, with the resettlement grants branded as a ‘woke’ initiative and as a “cash giveaway to asylum seekers” which does not align with the funding priorities of the council.

A spokesperson for Cambridge City Council told Varsity: “Cambridge City Council has various grants available to support our community, all with the aim of reducing social and economic deprivation and bringing communities together.

“The council is proud to offer such a range of grants, including our Community Grants, which allow the voluntary and community sector to run projects that will help to reduce social or economic inequality for Cambridge residents with the most need; our Homelessness Prevention Grants; and our Sustainable City Grants.

“Our Resettlement Community Grants programme is for organisations wanting to deliver support and activities to help people resettle and is funded by [the] central government. […] The work of the voluntary and community sector plays a key and valued role in making our communities stronger and more resilient,” they added.

The backlash follows a series of complaints levelled against Cambridge City Council over its financial management and funding priorities.

Council leader Cameron Holloway was criticised at a meeting in July for receiving a pay rise of £7,819, which opposed a proposal by an independent remuneration panel of £2,045.

A spokesperson defended the increase as reflective of “the steep change in workload in recent years and additional responsibilities linked to the pace of growth in Cambridge”.

The council also told Varsity that their budget gap over the next five years had been reduced from £11.5m to £3.6m “as a result of good financial management,” so they could afford a pay rise for city council leaders who “regularly work 60+ hours a week”.