The Scottish Government’s Community & Third Sector Recovery Programme funding stream is now open, offering both organisational support and funding to deliver services.
The Community & Third Sector Recovery Programme is a £25m Scottish Government funded programme aiming to support charities, community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations that are supporting people and communities through the shift from lockdown to recovery.
The Community & Third Sector Recovery Programme has two strands:
Strand one: Adapt and Thrive
The programme aims to support organisational change. It offers tailored support and funding to develop a plan so third sector organisations can operate sustainably post-COVID.
Strand two: Communities Recovery Fund
The fund aims to support the delivery of services in communities that were suspended or reduced because of COVID, or the creation of new services that tackle new challenges presented by COVID.
Women and children experiencing or at risk of violence and domestic abuse will have increased access to support, with £4.25 million of additional funding for charities and projects across Scotland.
The additional investment will help respond to an increase in demand from victims of abuse for support services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
More staff, increased hours for centres and helplines, improvements to IT and new digital resources and training will all allow services to be up-scaled so that more people can quickly and easily access help.
Updated guidance, developed in partnership with COSLA, is also already being used by local authorities to keep women and children safe.
Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said: “The greater risks to women and children of domestic abuse with referrals to frontline services increasing during the pandemic is a major concern. It is atrocious that this is the case but we are focused on ensuring that frontline services can meet the increased demand for support.
“This extra funding will help to ensure these vital services are still able to provide support to people across the country, and the scale and innovation of these projects will provide a lifeline to many women and families.
“Any kind of violence is unacceptable and the safety and wellbeing needs of women and children need to be protected – that is even more important during a pandemic. Police Scotland continue to prioritise domestic abuse cases so I would also encourage anyone suffering violence and domestic abuse not to hesitate to get the support they need.”
Dr Marsha Scott, Chief Executive of Scottish Women’s Aid, said: “Our local Women’s Aid groups have shown extraordinary resilience and creativity in rapidly redesigning their services to continue supporting those experiencing domestic abuse throughout the pandemic. The challenges they’ve faced have been huge as COVID-19 has given abusers more tools to control and harm women and children.
“This injection of financial support will provide some much-needed stability for groups against a back drop of precarious, patchwork local funding. As lockdown and other measures ease, our local groups are anticipating even more demand for their specialist services as survivors begin to have more opportunities to seek support.
“Additionally, if faced with a second wave of the virus, this funding will strengthen the responses of groups and allow them to build on the progress they have made in delivering services remotely. This support from the Scottish Government will help local Women’s Aid services prepare to meet those needs and will mean that women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse can access the help and advice they want, when they want it.”
A theatre project about the lived experience of disability, album recordings and a film project highlighting the experiences of LGBTQIA refugees are among the 25 projects to receive support in the latest round of Create: Inclusion funding, throughCreative Scotland.
The Create: Inclusion Fund, supported by the National Lottery, has distributed awards of between £2,250 and £28,187, to a total of £375,000. The fund supports activities which enable development of creative and professional practice, and opportunities to take creative risks.
Actor Kirin Saeed has received funding towards Crossing Care (working title), a theatre project which will use the lived experience of a blind Asian woman as a framework to collaborate with community groups and emerging artists.
Kirin Saeed said: “This project will offer opportunities for disabled people and communities whose voices are not often told on their own terms through the medium of theatre. I am so excited to be able to highlight the many complexities of receiving support as a disabled person, especially at a time when carers and caring are such topical subjects for discussion.”
Folk pop musician Man of the Minch has received funding towards debut album The Tide is At the Turning. An extension of the Bogha-frois: LGBT+ Voices in Folk project, the album will be recorded working with people who predominately identify as members of the LGBTQIA community. The Tide is At the Turning will be a musical blend of traditional Scottish music and contemporary pop, and its lyrical content will discuss queer experiences.
Pedro Cameron (Man of the Minch) said: “I hope the album serves as a monument to the Bogha-frois project and will be a piece of work which speaks not only to LGBTQIA people, but the wider community as a whole.”
Composer Amble Skuse has received funding towards A Reasonable Adjustment, a verbatim opera about the experiences of disabled people under austerity in the UK. The piece will be performed by an all-disabled ensemble and will premiere in February 2021 as part of Aberdeen’s Sound Festival.
Amble Skuse said: “This funding means we will be able to explore strategies of disseminating disabled voices through composition. We will be using the funding to work out how disabled artists can make and share work under the restrictions of shielding, a situation which may be considerably lengthier for disabled people than for the general population.”
Bombito Productions received funding towards Who I am Now, a short film project focused on the experience of a transgender Egyptian man and his emigration to Scotland. The project is dedicated to the memory of Zan Scott, who originally conceived of the idea and sadly passed away before production.
Reece Cargan, Producer, Bombito Productions said: “This funding was vital in allowing me to work with queer collaborators and expand my slate as an LGBTQI+ filmmaker. More importantly, the film will hopefully give audiences an insight into the extra barriers experienced by trans people when seeking asylum in the UK.”
Edinburgh-based acclaimed Syrian artist Nihad Al Turk has received funding towards The Threat, a collection of paintings expressing the artist’s experience of living under constant threat.
Nihad Al Turk said: “This project will really help to support me to start working as a professional artist in Scotland, both by funding my work and enabling me to connect with other artists. The project will also help my wellbeing, by creatively expressing my experience of living under threat.”
Director Manu Kurewa has received funding towards Life Lived in Black and White. The short film project, set on a Glasgow housing estate, explores the lives of a group of African immigrants who are connected by their sense of dislocation. The film celebrates the love and loss experienced by the diaspora and will be performed by actors with lived experience of the issues the film explores.
Manu Kurewa said: “I am delighted at having been given this wonderful opportunity to develop my film practice. This is a great opportunity for me and other members from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds to share experiences with the wider community and tell stories that normally don’t get the chance to be heard.”
Other projects to receive funding in this round include:
An interactive game depicting the experiences of refugees from Malath Abbas
A spoken word project exploring neurodiversity from Jen McGregor
A collection of multi-artform projects from Roderick MacKenzie
A short film exploring mental health and questions of place from Fiona Bailey
A devised verbatim piece from Heather Andrews, exploring neurodiversity
Do you mind can I ask you what happened … (to your legs)? a dance film about disability from Simon Fildes
A storytelling dance drama project from Abhinaya Dance Academy
A research and development programme merging Ghanian traditional arts with contemporary performance practice from Adie Baako
An artistic development programme from Penny Anderson
The development of a new neurodivergent artist collective from Tzipporah Johnston
A printmaking programme from Garvald Art Studio, in collaboration with Edinburgh Printmakers
The development of a drama film feature from Razan Madhoon
A celebration of folk song from Azerbaijan from FarzaneZamen
The mentoring and development of musician Magnus Turpie
A spoken word project from Sarah Grant
A novel from Anne Hamilton
The Ando Glass Collective, a musical ensemble from Glasgow’s Roma communities.
The Create:Inclusion Fund represents one aspect of Creative Scotland’s ongoing workto address the numerous and complex barriers to access, progression and representation in the arts, screen and creative industries.
Another round of the fund will open for applications in Autumn 2020.
Iain Munro, Chief Executive, Creative Scotlandsaid: “When creative practice is reflective of, and made by, a diverse range of people and communities, it becomes more relevant to everybody.
“This fund offers a step towards achieving this ambition, helping increase diversity among people building careers in the arts, screen and creative industries. These awards support a breadth of practice, a diversity of perspectives and level of ambition that reflects the rich cultural life of Scotland.”
An award of £770k announced today to North Edinburgh Childcare means they will be able to transform and expand their existing premises allowing them to increase the services they already provide and support even more families across the city.
Welcoming the award, Theresa Allison, General Manager, North Edinburgh Childcare, said: “We are absolutely delighted at this award which will go towards a new build and renovations of our existing building which will enable us to create an additional 84 full-time equivalent childcare places.
“Once built this has the potential to support approximately another 200 parents/carers to lift themselves out of poverty. We are so excited about the new build and refurbishment but even more excited that, for the first time ever, we will be able to offer a number of places to people aspiring to get into work or training. This is all possible thanks to people who play The National Lottery.”
Another capital organisation celebrating this morning is Leith’s Multi Cultural Family Base (MCFB), who receive £233,000 to deliver support services to vunerable children and families from primarily minority ethnic communities.
A spokesperson for MCFB said: We are thrilled to receive continued funding from the The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland to continue supporting children from minority ethnic communities in Edinburgh with the important transition from home and nursery to school via our 4-2-7 project.
“As well as supporting children one to one and, when possible, within school settings, this will include our continued work supporting parents by providing them a space to meet once a week to build confidence, make friendships and share experiences.
“We look forward to continuing to work with schools and families both virtually and, when we can, face to face at our offices and within schools.”
There’s also £8750 for Blackhall Playgroup, who will use their award to prepare for the easing of lockdown, putting measures in place to enable the return of some children and also provide resources to those who cannot.
And Granton Parish Church will be cooking with gas – the church on Boswall Parkway receives £10,000 for a new kitchen in the church hall, supporting numerous community groups who use the popular local facility.
Announcing today’s funding to 311 projects across Scotland, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “These awards, made possible by National Lottery players, recognise the incredible work happening across Scotland to create stronger, more connected communities.
“I am delighted that some of this funding will be used to transform existing buildings into vibrant community hubs that will carry on the strong community spirit that has been so evident in recent times.
“National Lottery players can be proud to know that money they raise by buying tickets is continuing to make such a difference.”
National Lottery players raise £30 million every week for good causes in the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund in Scotland is currently focusing its funding on those projects that supporting organisations and communities to respond to the challenge of COVID-19.
In May, the NHS Lothian Local Mobilisation Plan (LMP) forecast additional costs of £149.8m associated with the COVID-19 response across the Board and four HSCPs (health and social care partnerships). Of this, £71m is anticipated in the four months to the end of July.
Scottish Conservative Health Spokesperson, Miles Briggs, said:“NHS Lothian was facing significant financial challenges before Covid-19 struck and now these financial challenges are even greater.
“SNP Ministers must ensure that health boards are properly funded to deliver essential health services during this public health crisis and have appropriate measures in place.
“The poor management of NHS Boards by consecutive SNP Health Secretaries has meant that NHS Scotland was not in as strong a position as we should have been to deal with this crisis.
“Waiting times for operations are going to be longer in all health boards and I do not have confidence that SNP Ministers will be able get on top of these long treatment waiting times.”
Almost £258 million of additional funding for vital local services, such as food provision for those in need, education and social care, has been approved by the Scottish Parliament.
The provision of a further £72 million is being agreed with COSLA and will be subject to Parliamentary approval in due course. This will bring the total additional funding provided to help Scotland’s local authorities combat coronavirus (COVID-19) to almost £330 million.
This extra funding is on top of the local government finance settlement of £11.4 billion, which already provided an increase of £589.4 million (5.8%) compared to the previous year.
To prevent local authorities experiencing cash flow problems the Scottish Government is providing £455 million in weekly advanced payments to councils until Parliamentary approval is secured. Councils received an additional £150 million in May, £255 million in June, and will receive £50 million in July.
Public Finance Minister Ben Macpherson said: “We have taken exceptional measures in every area of government as we deal with the challenges of COVID-19 – and that is particularly clear in our support for local services.
“To date, Scotland’s councils have received £405 million in advanced payments this financial year, and by the end of July this will have risen to £455 million.
“The Scottish Government has also relaxed current guidance on some of the education grants to allow additional resource to be diverted to the COVID-19 response.
“We will continue to work with COSLA and local authorities, as well as pressing the UK Government for urgent additional funding and flexibility for our partners in local government.”
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.”
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.
Note: These dashboards are provided for general information purposes only and use data from various sources. Due to the nature of the data, and the ongoing status of these funds, we cannot guarantee that at any particular instance it is complete, accurate or up to date.
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
It replaced the Third Sector Early Intervention Fund and Strategic Funding Partnerships and is designed to help children, families and communities across Scotland.
Tens of millions of pounds of lifeline funding has been fast-tracked to charities by the Scottish Government since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis – despite delays in clarity over Barnett consequentials, Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell has said.
Highlighting the key role the third sector has played in delivering vital support during the pandemic, Ms Campbell urged the UK Government to be clear in its support for vital services, by indicating when a £10 million shortfall in funding would be resolved.
In April, £35 million of consequentials was earmarked for the Scottish Government in respect of charity support direct grants, but this was later amended by the Treasury to £25 million.
Ms Campbell said: “Charities and third sector organisations have worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 crisis to ensure food, essential supplies and other vital services reach those most in need in our communities, as donation streams and other funding routes dried up overnight.
“Now more than ever these organisations deserve clarity.
“Had we not acted quickly at the start of the crisis to ensure tens of millions in funding reached the frontline, many organisations would not have been able to provide the level of service they have delivered in communities across Scotland, and that would have been hugely damaging to the people who rely on them.
“The Finance Secretary has already written to the UK Government seeking clarity on this funding (below). A fortnight on and we are still in the dark over this £10 million shortfall, undermining the Scottish budget at a critical time.”
Finance Secretary Kate Forbes wrote to the UK Chief Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Barclay on 22 May to raise the Scottish Government’s concerns (above).
Charities across Scotland receive funding from the Scottish Government, directly and via local authorities, through a £350 million package of emergency funding to help those most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, including:
the £50m Wellbeing Fund
the £40m Supporting Communities Fund
the £25m Third Sector Resilience Fund
Charities with property overheads can apply for the £10,000 Small Business Grant Scheme, expected to result in an additional £31 million in support.
An additional £611,000 is being distributed to support voluntary organisations helping vulnerable and disadvantaged young people and their families across Edinburgh – but the funding announcement will still bring bad news for some city projects.
The decision was unanimously approved at the Policy and Sustainability Committee yesterday.
The groups, which include youth projects, children’s clubs, mental health charities and BAME groups, are being funded by the third party grant programme run by the Communities and Families service of the City of Edinburgh Council.
The extra money means this year’s annual grants will total nearly £4m. Initial funding of £3.37m was proposed at the Education, Children and Families Committee in March 2020 but was put on hold after deputations from community groups.
A short life working group was set up to review the grants process and report back this month. The conclusions it reached included agreeing the previous recommendations and restoring funding to groups in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 1 and 2 areas of the Capital and BAME organisations.
Although 80% of the recommended awards were being distributed to organisations tackling poverty, the integrated impact assessment identified an imbalance in funding being delivered for services across SIMD 1 and 2 areas and also significant impacts on organisations providing services for the BAME communities.
The effects of the coronavirus pandemic were also taken into account by the working group as there will almost certainly be a rise in unemployment after lockdown which would adversely affect SIMD 1 and 2 areas.
As a result a cross party addendum agreeing funding for an extra £611k was approved at the Council’s Policy and Sustainability Committee yesterday, but for some youth organisations, following years of real-tems cuts, the extra funding won’t be enough.
Education Convener Ian Perry said: “The additional £611k that has been agreed by all political parties means we are meeting our primary objective for supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged young people and their families across the whole of Edinburgh especially in SIMD 1 and 2 areas.
“We need to ensure during this Covid-19 crisis that our most disadvantaged communities are well supported and that this support is equitable across the areas that need it most. These communities are likely to be hardest hit during the outbreak and more likely to experience the worst effects of the inevitable crisis.
“We’ve already seen countless examples in the past 10 weeks of communities coming together to support vulnerable families. Now more than ever we need to continue our partnership work with the third sector and voluntary organisations as we help people rebuild their lives again and this funding will help support this aim.”
Education Vice Convener Alison Dickie said: “Our Children’s Services Plan has been the driving force for our grants programme focussing on the outcomes that best support the children, young people and families most impacted by poverty and disadvantage.
“This has resulted in 85% of the awards now being distributed to organisations tackling poverty. We’re also supporting services that deliver for children, young people and families, particularly those with lived experience of the care system, disabilities, young carers, LGBT, and BAME young people.
“The organisations we are supporting are already working hard for people living in SIMD 1 and 2 communities and these grants and decisions will help to ensure there is no gap in provision and also an equity of investment.”
Nineteen organisations will benefit for the first time and the money will be distributed to all groups until 31 August 2023 with the first year’s funding starting on 1 September this year.
In total 186 applications were received from 129 different organisations who submitted bids of £26.4m for the £10.1m three-year fund.
Five priorities were identified to support Council objectives to improve the overall health and wellbeing of young people and their families. They are:
Improve learning and developmental outcomes for disadvantaged babies, infants, children, young people and their families including care experienced young people
Improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes
Support the personal and social development of young people through the delivery of effective universal youth work programmes
Improve the level of participation in learning opportunities for all secondary school age young people and continue to increase positive destinations
Ensure that children and young people’s health and wellbeing are not damaged by alcohol and drugs through the delivery of effective drugs and alcohol prevention work and substance misuse services
Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland to receive funding boost of up to £15 million to help them deal with increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland have experienced an unprecedented rise in demand during the pandemic
up to £15 million funding will help them provide advice and information on a range of financial, legal and consumer issues
part of a £750 million package set out by the Chancellor for frontline charities
Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland will receive a funding boost of up to £15 million to help them deal with increased demand for advice and information from the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK Government’s Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Scully has announced.
The funding will allow them to increase their capacity so they can continue to deliver advice on a range of issues, such as if a person cannot pay their bills due to coronavirus, or how they can protect themselves from or report a coronavirus-related scam.
The money is part of a £750 million pot announced by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help frontline charities continue their vital work during the outbreak.
In line with government advice on social distancing, Citizens Advice, which operates in England and Wales, and Citizens Advice Scotland have temporarily closed their 331 offices, suspended outreach services and shifted their advice services online and over the phone.
They have since seen a significant increase in demand for telephone advice and webchats, and this funding will help them to continue to deliver their services remotely as well as ensuring their online content reflects the most up to date advice.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has led the allocation of funding to support charities providing key services to help vulnerable people during the crisis.
Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Scully said: “Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland have continued to provide an invaluable service to the public throughout this deeply unsettling period.
“Now more than ever, it is imperative people have access to free, confidential advice on money, legal and consumer problems.
“This funding will ensure Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland have the right resources to provide people with the support they need, when they need it most.
UK government Minister for Scotland Douglas Ross said: “I welcome this funding for Citizens Advice Scotland who provide a vital service that is needed even more during these uncertain times.
“The £15 million package of support from the UK government will ensure they continue to meet the rise in demand to help people across Scotland with their financial, legal and consumer concerns.
“As we all continue to cope with the struggles COVID-19 has brought, it is crucial we work together to make sure we are equipped with the best support to see us through.”
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “In these challenging times, it is vital the British people have access to all the information they need to stay safe and well. This funding will mean those who need advice can get it – whether it’s about finances, employment or the measures we are taking to help protect the public and our NHS.
“This investment is part of a wider government support package for charities on the front line so that they can continue to help those in need.
Dame Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “During this pandemic we’ve seen a surge in people coming to us for advice. We expect this demand will carry on as people’s lives continue to be affected by the economic impact of COVID-19.
“This funding will allow us to increase the support we can provide over the phone and online – especially to those who need it most.
“The effects of COVID-19 will continue to be felt for a long time. Support for Citizens Advice and other charities is crucial to making sure that everyone has access to the help they need at this incredibly challenging time.”
The proportion of advice issued by the Citizens Advice network relating to employment doubled between March and April and quadrupled since February, the organisation says.
The Citizens Advice service is supported and delivered by more than 21,300 volunteers.
Citizens Advice Scotland Chief Executive Derek Mitchell said: “This additional support for the Citizens Advice network is hugely welcome.
“All across Scotland individual bureaux staff and volunteers have done incredible work transitioning to remote working to ensure people are still getting the advice and support they need.”
Last year. the Department of Work and Pensions funded the Citizens Advice network to the tune of £51 million to provide Universal Credit support – but more than two million people have applied for Universal Credit since the lockdown in March.
Welcoming the announcement of additional funding, a spokesperson for Citizens Advice said: “This funding will help ensure our network can adapt to meet the challenges presented by COVID-19, and continue to deliver the advice people need.”
