Millions of dollars cut from social and education programmes won't necessarily have a negative impact on their results, charity head Martha Dismont said yesterday.The executive director of the Family Centre said the challenge to stakeholders now, is how they direct their spending.She said: “It's what we do with the money we can spend that is important. Everybody has been cut. I don't think the Premier had much choice because we have so much debt.But the Coalition for the Protection for Children director, Sheelagh Cooper, disagreed.She said: “They have just cut a great gaping hole in our social safety net. Why on earth begin with our most vulnerable populations at a time when our community is falling apart at the seams and our children need more support than ever?”She added many good charities would be plunged into financial crisis by the Budget cutsOn Friday Government announced the Budget for the upcoming fiscal year.It outlined cuts to many Government departments, including several social programmes.Some of the biggest cuts were:l 54 percent ($216,000) from Focus Counseling Services a drug and alcohol counselin servicel 50 percent ($100,000) from the Sunshine League, Government's foster homel 47 percent ($180,000) from Teen Services, a home for displaced pregnant teensl 34 percent ($870,000) from Mirrors, a youth mentoring programmel 32 percent ($1 million) from psycho-education which assists people with mental issuesl 19 percent ($474,000) from school counselling servicesGovernment has also reduced the income threshold for those eligible for child day care allowance, a heavily promoted 2007 election pledge, from $70,00 to $50,000 and cut financial assistance by $1.2 million.Minister Glenn Blakeney, responsible for the Ministry of Youth, Families, Sports and Community Development, said the integrity of his programmes would not be compromised by the Budget cuts.Yesterday, Ms Dismont said rather than focusing on the cuts: “We need to focus on doing the right thing with the money that has been allocated. We need to make sure it is going to the right areas. If we don't we will be worse off. It is a bit of a conundrum.”She added the public and private sector needed to focus on Bermuda's main issues, people who are undereducated and crime, to ensure the Island's social ills are addressed.Ms Dismont said there has been “waste” in the past in both the private and public sector. She said charities are focusing on working together to see where they were duplicating services and outlining their focus so they could refer clients to the right services.In the coming weeks Mr Blakeney and Minister Jennifer Smith, responsible for Education, will outline their budgets in detailed briefs to the House of Assembly. Ms Dismont said she would be following it closely to see exactly where the money will go.“If we can get people back working that will be a big help,” she said. “We need to focus on programmes that give people skills so that they can find a job; we need to train up the adults who do not have jobs.“I think [Economy] Minister Kim Wilson is doing a good job with the job fairs and training programmes. I think some of the people involved in crime feel they have no path out. “We need to make sure the public schools are working. We have to put our money to work for us, on the right programmes. It is about strengthening our country.”She added that Bermuda needed to spend more money on preventing problems, as it will cost less than trying to solve problems that have already happened. “I hope that is what the Opposition will focus on in their reply, finding out where the money is being spent and making sure it is spent in the right areas, rather than complaining about the cuts.“I don't think Government really had any other choice about cutting, it has happened across the board.”