Interactive breakdown of emergency funding
A new collection of digital maps is to display the funding being given to support communities across Scotland affected by coronavirus (COVID-19).
The online dashboard enables users to view financial support by local authority across four main funds. An overview map also shows total and per capita funding in each area.
In March, Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell announced a £350 million package of emergency funding for communities to help tackle harms caused by the pandemic.
Speaking ahead of yesterday’s Holyrood debate on the next steps for communities, Ms Campbell said: “We are aware of the financial pressures many households are currently facing and these maps show the swift action and substantial financial support we have provided to help people at this difficult time.
“We have reached every local authority, delivering for communities across Scotland.
“Our £70 million Food Fund, for example, has made sure people in the shielding group can access the food they need while self-isolating. It has also funded essential free school meals for 175,000 children and young people and supported others at risk from the virus or struggling financially.
“Today I will outline our next steps to support communities across Scotland as we move towards recovery and renewal. When this crisis hit, we proved change could be made rapidly and we must build on that momentum to achieve our long-term goals of reducing poverty and inequality.”
Find out more about funding provided and access the Community Funding Mapping hub.
Helping communities affected by COVID-19
As part of its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Scottish Government announced an additional £350 million to help communities and local government respond to the crisis.
This includes:
- a Food Fund to support those who would otherwise be unable to access food through the usual routes.
- a Wellbeing Fund to support organisations providing important services to people most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
- a Supporting Communities Fund for community anchor organisations to help support local responses to the pandemic.
- a Third Sector Resilience Fund to support third sector organisations that deliver services and products but find themselves in financial difficulties directly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic
To provide emergency funding to key national partners who identified an urgent need for support, we established an Immediate Priorities Fund which was drawn from both the Food Fund and Wellbeing Fund.
Our mapping tool shows how funding has been allocated across these four funds. Funding is shown by local authority area for each fund, based on total amounts awarded. Other information, including number of awards, is also set out.
An overview map brings all this funding together, also showing the additional resource provided for the Scottish Welfare Fund and other ‘hardship funding’ monies for local authorities to spend on their own COVID-19 priorities. The overview map also shows funding by local authority level on a per capita basis.
We recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to tackling poverty and increasing social inclusion in our society.
So we have created a range of funding streams to help agencies and local communities tackle inequalities.
Empowering Communities Fund
The £20 million Empowering Communities Fund, established in 2015, enables communities to tackle poverty and inequality and take forward regeneration in their areas on their own terms. This helps communities find solutions that work for them and to deliver long-term improvements.
The Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund
This £15 million Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund has been awarded to third sector organisations that tackle inequalities and poverty, support parents and carers, improve learning and build skills.
It replaced the Third Sector Early Intervention Fund and Strategic Funding Partnerships and is designed to help children, families and communities across Scotland.