HALF the jobs at the Northern Rock Foundation will disappear over the next month. Following a £15m cut in the charitable trust’s budget for the year ahead from 2007 and an unclear future for Northern Rock itself, around 12 of the 24 staff are set to lose their jobs. Rob Williamson, director of policy and communications, said there has been a full consultation with staff, who are a mixture of full and part time, but the formal announcement did not come until yesterday. Speaking to the Chronicle, Mr Williamson said: “Everyone was made fully aware of the changes and some of the job losses have been made through a mutual decision. “Staff were aware for some time that changes would have to be made and it was with deep regret that we made the decision. “In 2007 our budget for the year was £22m which was a reduction from the year before. “At the moment we do not know the long-term future of the bank so our plan for 2008 was very cautious. The staff affected will be leaving over the next month.” The charity, which receives 5% of the bank’s pre-tax profits, has spent an average of £19m a year since it was founded in 1997. The Foundation was established in 1997 when Northern Rock converted from being a mutual organisation and since then its funds have totaled just over £190m. Last year it was named one of the top-10 biggest independent grant givers in the UK – alongside the likes of Comic Relief. Mr Williamson said the job losses at the charity trust were in no way connected to the news of potential job losses at the beleaguered bank. He said: “We do not know anything else about the bank’s situation than anyone else who reads the papers and keeps up to date with the news so the future is unclear. “The job losses here are to do with a loss of budget rather than being directly related to the bank.” And despite the lower budget for the year ahead, Mr Williamson assured anyone who had been promised grants last year that 2008’s budget will not affect them in the slightest. He said: “If we have promised someone a grant of £90,000 over three years – £30,000 every year – we would take that out of that year’s budget. So we will have already paid for it.” Cash for 2008 will be targeted to help older people, people with mental health problems, people with learning disabilities, carers, disadvantaged young people, people trying to overcome homelessness or addictions and victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence and sexual exploitation. | 
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