Guernsey charity to lose its minibus service

Friday, 13 June 2025 10:15

UnLtd was unable to secure a grant and cannot afford to fund its client transport service itself.

UnLtd is based in the Ron Short Cente at Beau Sejour and every day many of its clients rely on a minibus for transport to and from home.

The charity offers work, a place to socialise and respite for carers.

Marc Winn from UnLtd says they bid for a Social Investment Fund grant for their minibus service, but were unsuccessful:

"We've been going into reserves to fund that service. What that means is we had to make a board decision to not continue with the service as of July."

The Social Investment Fund allocates grants to the charity sector and has distributed millions since its was formed in 2020.

It says it cannot comment on individual cases, but as is usual, there were more applications than money available.

Marc Winn believes a solution for UnLtd can be found:

"We start to operate at Covid speed and realise that somehow we've all ended up in the wrong place, and as of 1st July we don't have disabled people at home and unable to connect into the community space they really cherish and value."

The States says that options are available for people in Guernsey needing to get to appointments who are unable to drive or may struggle with taxi costs.

These include the voluntary car scheme run by Health Connections, and financial assistance from Social Security's Income Support.

The States says it is working to develop a joined up plan for community transport.