Life-changing technology that reduces the risk of complications for people with type 1 diabetes will become more widely available thanks to additional funding.
The Scottish Government has invested a further £350,000 to accelerate the distribution of Closed Loop Systems. The technology is considered the most significant development in type 1 diabetes treatment in recent years and can transform lives, particularly for children and young people.
Closed Loop Systems help people improve their glycaemic control and in turn reduce the likelihood of complications, which at their most serious can include blindness, renal failure, and amputations; as well as unplanned admissions to hospital.
The investment will see a dedicated team created by the national Centre for Sustainable Delivery at NHS Golden Jubilee to support NHS health boards to rollout the technology faster and more efficiently across Scotland.
Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “There’s no reason why someone living with type 1 diabetes shouldn’t live a long and healthy life, but some people find managing their condition difficult.
Diabetes technologies make the process easier and can enhance people’s quality of life. That’s why we’re aiming to provide access to Closed Loop Systems at the earliest opportunity and are working with NHS boards to improve access.”
National Diabetes Lead Professor Brian Kennon said: Closed Loop systems are truly transformative technologies and help reduce the day-to-day burden of trying to optimise type 1 diabetes control.
“Creation of a dedicated team to help support the adoption of Closed Loop Systems and standardise our approach to access across Scotland will help ensure that our healthcare system is well placed to realise the massive advantages that these innovative technologies offer.”
SCOTLAND’s national walking charity has launched three funds worth £7 million in a bid to encourage Edinburgh locals to choose active travel.
The new Smarter Choices, Smarter Places (SCSP) Active Nation Fund worth £1.5 million, the Ian Findlay Path Fund (£1.5 million) and the £5 million SCSP Open Fund have been announced by Paths for All this month.
Supported by Transport Scotland and backed by the government, the three funds hope to encourage Scots to drive less and to walk, wheel or cycle as part of their everyday short journeys to cut Scotland’s carbon emissions and improve air quality.
It is hoped the initiatives will help contribute to reversing the trend of inactive lifestyles by tackling health inequalities throughout the country.
Minister for Active Travel Patrick Harvie said: “I’m pleased to welcome the launch of three active travel funding opportunities delivered through Paths for All.
“This will help to support the growing ambitions of public, third and community-sector organisations to provide bigger and better active travel opportunities right across Scotland.
“As part of our record funding for active travel, this work directly supports our ambitions to build a more active nation – where more people can choose to walk, wheel and cycle for everyday journeys than ever before, and I look forward to seeing the success of new projects in action.”
The SCSP Active Nation Fund invites public, community and third-sector organisations to apply for up to £200,000 to support projects which encourage everyday travel behaviour change on a national or multi-regional level in Scotland.
To commemorate the legacy of the former Paths for All CEO, the Ian Findlay Path Fund supports projects designed to make improvements to local walkways and paths and to make them more accessible to all. Applicants can receive a grant of up to £100,000 for their project.
First launched in 2018, the SCSP Open Fund grants communities and public and third-sector organisations up to £100,000, and encourages people to change their everyday travel behaviours – such as using sustainable travel for longer journeys.
Kevin Lafferty, CEO of Paths for All, said: “These funds will increase the pace and scale of active travel delivery across the country as we collectively work together to encourage active travel for a happier, healthier and greener Scotland.
“If we all make small changes to our daily travel habits such as making walking, wheeling or cycling the natural choice for journeys to the local shop, school or pharmacy, for example, it will make a huge difference to our health and wellbeing.
“This new support will help deliver a step change in how we choose to travel in order to tackle the climate emergency and help reduce car kilometres and would only be possible with support from the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland. It means projects will be able to extend their reach and will be more effective in communicating important information and improving local assets.
“We would like to thank them for supporting the funds and look forward to seeing the amazing work that comes off the back of this.”
Applications for this round of funding opened on June 6.
To apply for the SCSP Active Nation Fund, please visit:
The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) has secured £200k of funding from the Scottish Government to provide a farming and rural learning experience for a minimum of 80,000 pupils across Scotland.
The funding secures the future of rural education events for children and young people, covering core costs such as infrastructure, bus transport, coordination and safety requirements.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, went to see for herself how funds awarded to the Scottish rural education charity The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) spend award funding to education Scotland’s young people.
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon joined over 100 P5 and P6 pupils from the Brechin schools cluster, who were meeting local farmers, growers and rural businesses running a variety of sessions to learn about how Scottish food is produced.
At today’s event pupils were learning about dairy and making butter, see seeds, sheaves and growing crops, grinding wheat seed into flour, pressing oil seed rape into oil, beekeepers demonstrating how they look after their bees as well as hedge demonstrations, getting up close to John Deere machinery – all linking to the learning outcomes of the curriculum.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, said: “I am delighted to be here to see first-hand the benefits of the Royal Highland Education Trust’s Food and Farming education programme.
“Since 2017 the Scottish Government has given over £700k to the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) in order to support their programme of school farm visits and associated educational resources for schools. This has allowed them to educate and inspire thousands of children and young people on how Scottish food is produced.
“This fresh support will allow RHET to reach even more children, many of whom are from deprived areas. The programme provides an opportunity for young people to visit a farm and offers a hands-on educational experience which highlights the importance of farming and food production to our society.
“One of the aims of our Good Food Nation Act is to improve access to, and understanding of, the benefits of healthy local foods for everyone in Scotland. It is clear that this ambitious project is contributing massively to this wider vision.”
RHET Chairman Alistair Marshall said: “We are very grateful to the Scottish Government for this award which helps support our aim of getting pupils and their teachers out into the working countryside, to get wellies on the ground and ignite their curiosity.
“We offer all our visits, talks and events for free and this is important to us all in the RHET national network, to make food and farming fun and accessible for all.
“Through using event spaces creatively, and working in collaboration with Angus Show, as we have today, we can offer more schools the chance to get hands. Brechin show is open tomorrow for the public so today we are using the big marquee for workshops, keeping us out the rain or sun!”
RHET Angus chairman Bruce Christie said: “Every one of Ms Gougeon’s constituents need a farmer three times a day. The support from the award from Scottish Government means we can keep events like this in the school calendar, helping Scotland’s young people get better connections with their local food and farming industries.
“Listening to their questions and seeing the penny drop as they see seeds ground into flour is part of the reason I love volunteering with RHET.
“I’m an arable farmer and visit many schools during the year, explaining how we grow crops, how we care from them, the machinery and science we use and link it straight back to the food they eat on their plate.
“Helping them to see Scottish agriculture, like the event here today, gives them a chance to ask questions and provides unbiased information so they can make their own food choices as they grow up.”
Ukrainians in the UK will be helped into their own homes as part of a £150 million funding allocation.
The funding will be divided across the UK according to the number of Ukrainians in each nation: c.£109 million for England, c.£30 million for Scotland, c.£8 million for Wales and around c.£2 million to Northern Ireland.
Funding can be used by councils to help Ukrainian families into the private rental sector, help them get jobs, and continue sponsorship for guests’ second year in the UK.
Local authorities are best placed to understand the support needed for local communities and, within England, this funding will be used to help people remain in their current accommodation or find alternative housing, including in the private rented sector.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme has welcomed over 124,000 Ukrainians to the UK, with almost half of working-age nationals now in employment and settled into their local areas, having had the right to work, receive benefits and access public services from day one.
The Department for Transport has also announced it will extend the length of time Ukrainian refugees can drive in the UK on their home country driving licence, from one year to three, in a move that will help many continue the lives and jobs they have forged since arriving here.
Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Felicity Buchan said: “The UK has an honourable tradition of offering shelter to those fleeing the horrors of war. Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of hosts in this country, over 124,000 Ukrainians have now found safety in the UK.
“Sadly, the fighting in Ukraine shows no sign of ending soon, so we are appealing for more people to become hosts while providing councils with this additional funding to support guests into long-term housing.”
Petro Rewko from The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain said: “Ukrainians everywhere are grateful to the government and the British people for opening their homes and hearts to Ukrainians fleeing their homes as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“We welcome today’s announcement, which recognises the commitment of sponsors and local authorities during difficult economic times and will provide additional support and reassurance to Ukrainian families as they rebuild their lives and seek to overcome the trauma of war.”
The UK government will continue to work with the Ukrainian government, the devolved administrations, local authorities and charities and voluntary groups to support guests and sponsors under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
The government is keen to ensure that Ukrainian guests receive the support they are entitled to while they are in the UK, and are helped into employment and long-term suitable accommodation, as soon as possible.
Hosts in the UK will continue to receive a monthly £350 thank-you payment during guests’ first 12 months, rising to £500 a month during the following 12 months.
THE ROBERTSON TRUST has announced that six organisations have been awarded over £1.7M under their Financial Security Programme Awards. All of the projects are working to deliver big change that lasts on tackling poverty and trauma in Scotland.
Through our Financial Security theme, we want to fund, support and influence to improve income adequacy, income security, reduce cost-related pressures on finances and improve financial safety nets for people in financial trouble.
We made an open call for long-term change project ideas through our Programme Awards in October 2022 for organisations focused on delivering big change that lasts on financial security in Scotland.
Our Programme Awards will allow us to work alongside some of the organisations best placed to achieve impact on poverty and trauma in Scotland, allowing us to learn from them and them from us as we go.
The successful organisations include proposals to develop strengthening social security in Scotland, reducing the costs of essential goods and services, and preventing and relieving financial crisis now and in the future in Scotland.
We are pleased to share details of the organisations awarded funding:
One Parent Families Scotlandawarded £384,678.00. This project will deliver evidence-based recommendations to achieve transformational change to the UK child maintenance system to contribute to reducing child poverty. A partnership with One Parent Families Scotland, IPPR (Scotland) & Fife Gingerbread, each organisation will lead on different strands of work, while working together across all activities. Ambitious policy proposals will be developed, at both Scottish and UK government levels, to radically reform the child maintenance system (CMS), informed by robust evidence and lived experience. The project aims to see action to tackle immediate shortcomings of the existing child maintenance system, and secure public and political support for long-term, systemic reform.
The Poverty Alliance– awarded £492,697.00 to fund new work to tackle rural poverty. Too often people living on low incomes in rural parts of pay a premium for essential goods and services – food, energy, transport, etc. ‘Taking Action on Rural Poverty’ (TARP) will develop new ways of addressing rural poverty in Scotland by reducing the rural poverty premium. The project will do this by bringing together people with direct experience of poverty, community and voluntary organisations, the private sector and public bodies to identify and test solutions to the poverty premium. It will also work to improve processes to involve people in local decision making and to make changes to national policy that will affect rural poverty.
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) – awarded £249,866.00 CPAG strengthening social security project aims to ensure the delivery of Scottish Child Payment and other national and local payments provide greater financial security and stability for those on the margins of entitlement or excluded altogether. The project will develop new ways of bringing together the voice of lived experience and CPAG’s social security expertise to develop and promote approaches that will ensure more families can access Scotland-based payments, and that these payments can be relied upon throughout changes in family’s circumstances. In so doing it will not only aim to prevent families being pulled into poverty but also look to secure greater financial stability for families in Scotland.
Save the Children – awarded £249,761.00. The aim of this ambitious project is to inspire and coalesce public support around sustainable policy solutions to meet Scotland 2030 child poverty targets and deliver financial security in Scotland. The project will provide evidence and deeper insight into public attitudes across Scotland on different interventions that could sustainably drive down child poverty. Importantly, it will build a narrative framework – informed by these insights and our lived experience panel – and work with partners across the sector to ensure policy makers and campaigners have evidence on where the public has an appetite for change. Through engagement and influencing the project will build a network of champions to help ensure that findings and insights are lived and breathed and can have real world impact far beyond the lifetime of this project.
The Trussell Trust – awarded £230,000.00. The Trussell Trust is launching a three-year project that will help gain an understanding of how to provide better access to and engagement with local advice and support services that reduce destitution and prevent food bank use. The project as a whole will run pilots in six areas – Glasgow, Perth & Kinross, North Lanarkshire, Dundee, Orkney, and Aberdeenshire. By testing different models in six localities that represent key geographies of Scotland, the aim is to learn which interventions work in different areas, support community-led priorities, evaluate and learn comparatively from their experiences, and make recommendations to local and national government. The Robertson Trust is providing funding to part-fund the whole project, alongside a number of other funders.
University of Strathclyde (Fraser of Allander Institute) – awarded £158,742.00. The Fraser of Allander Institute and the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD) are collaborating to address the limited understanding of the additional costs of disability in Scotland. The social model of disability recognises that people are disabled by barriers in society not by their impairment or disability. The extent to which financial barriers constrain and impact the lives of people with a learning disability and their families is a key part of our research. This project, co-produced with a researcher with lived experience, will provide valuable evidence for the Scottish Government for future programmes of social security reform.
Commenting on the announcement of the new Programme Awards, Robertson Trust Head of Programmes and Practice, Russell Gunson, said: “I’m delighted to share the details of the Robertson Trust’s new programme awards today.
“Each of the awards we have made have demonstrated the potential to deliver big change that lasts on poverty and trauma in Scotland. We’re really excited to be working together to make the most of the potential for long-term change in Scotland.
“Our support comes at a time when people and places facing poverty are experiencing gale force winds against them and their living standards. We have been living through crisis after crisis, stretching back through this cost-of-living emergency, the Covid-19 pandemic and at least back to the financial crash 15 years ago.
“It is often hard to think long-term when the immediate challenges are so pressing but the Trust has protected significant funds for this long-term change work so that we can prevent poverty and trauma in the future, while also helping to make a difference here and now.
“We will only be successful if we commit to the belief that things can change – we’ve made progress before and we know we can again – if we build the participation, partnerships and coalitions necessary to make change irresistible, and if we build social change over the long-term to reshape the systems and structures that sit underneath why we have the levels of poverty, trauma and inequality that we do.
“We look forward to working with each of the projects and are keen to learn alongside them, to understand what helps and hinders in achieving our mutual ambition of ending poverty and trauma, and its negative impacts, in our society.”
Commenting on the announcement of the Programme Awards, David Reilly, Communities and Networks Manager at the Poverty Alliance said:“Rural poverty is an issue of growing concern for the Poverty Alliance.
“This important grant from Robertson Trust will not only allow us to test ideas to practically take action on rural poverty, but will also help us to strengthen the networks and relationships that we need to make long term progress on rural poverty.”
John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland said:“Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland is delighted to be awarded funding by The Robertson Trust. This grant provides us with a unique opportunity to help shape the way Scottish Child Payment and other local and national payments support those currently on the margins.
“It will enable us to bring our expertise together with the voice of lived experience to prevent poverty and increase families financial stability by helping create more inclusive, consistent and secure financial support through the social security system”.
Satwat Rehman, CEO of One Parent Families Scotland, said:“One Parent Families Scotland is delighted to receive this funding from The Robertson Trust. Child maintenance is an issue which single parents have raised with us time and again, calling for there to be a fairer and more equitable system.
“Four in ten children in poverty in Scotland live in a single parent family but maintenance payments can contribute to the costs of raising a child and in giving them a decent quality of life.
“However, over £474 million in child maintenance in the UK has gone unpaid – money owed to children. This is an issue of children’s rights and the rights of the child to financial support.
” Working alongside our amazing partners IPPR Scotland and Fife Gingerbread we will develop ways of supporting families through the maze that is the current child maintenance system and work with families to design a model that works for them and contributes to lifting children out of poverty. “
Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save the Children said:“We are thrilled to have received The Robertson Trust grant for this exciting work.
“We believe this will be a game-changing project in the development of policy and actions to drive down child poverty and we can’t wait to get started”.
David Brownlee, the Trussell Trust’s Financial Inclusion Lead, Scotland, said:“We are delighted to be partnering with The Robertson Trust for this ambitious project. The Trussell Trust has just released its end of year stats, showing the highest levels of need ever in Scotland.
“The record levels of need seen this year, represents a 50% increase in the number of parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Scotland compared to five years ago in 2017/18.
“The chronic cost of living crisis has only deepened our commitment to end the need for food banks in Scotland and the whole of the Trussell Trust network – this project will play a key part in enabling us to see how to achieve that aim.”
Emma Congreve, Deputy Director of Fraser of Allander Institute, said: “The Fraser of Allander are delighted to be collaborating with SCLD and embarking on this project to produce better evidence to underpin more effective policy for people with learning disabilities in Scotland, especially as this will enable us to recruit and support a researcher with lived experience which we would not have been able to do without this investment.”
Community support for third year of fund to help more projects
Projects to support mental health and address social isolation and loneliness in adults will share a further £15 million this year.
The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults, launched in 2021, has now provided around 3,300 grants to community organisations delivering mental health and wellbeing support, bringing total investment to £51 million.
Activities will target older people, areas of economic deprivation, people with long term health conditions or disability and LGBTI communities. The Fund has also had a particular focus on responding to the cost of living crisis, which remains a priority this year.
Improved mental health and wellbeing support is one of the commitments in the Scottish Government’s Policy Prospectus, which outlines firm actions to be achieved by 2026.
Health Secretary Michael Matheson visited Pause and Breathe, a social enterprise, in High Bonnybridge yesterday (Friday 21 April) where he announced the additional funding.
He said: “This investment reflects the importance we place on promoting good mental health and early intervention for those facing mental health challenges – ensuring that people can access a range of different types of help to match their needs.
“The Fund will continue to support a range of valuable community mental health and wellbeing projects, reflecting one of the priorities set out by the First Minister earlier this week.”
Pause and Breathe was awarded £10,000 from last year’s fund to offer a variety of wellbeing sessions and activities. Work is underway to change a building that has lain unused in High Bonnybridge for 20 years.
Managing Director Susie Hooper said: “This funding will enable us to hold free weekly wellbeing sessions throughout the whole year and means we can support people who wouldn’t otherwise attend due to financial constraints.”
A community garden in Granton, the arts agency in Wester Hailes and a village shop in West Linton are all set to benefit from the Scottish Land Fund
Granton Community Gardeners has received £89,902 to acquire land in Granton where GCG will continue to host various community activities related to the growing and sharing of food to around 700 visitors per month.
Across the city WHALE Arts Agency in Edinburgh has been given £157,483 to bring their entire project into community ownership by buying the land that the current WHALE building sits on.
Community ownership of the land will secure the future of this well-used amenity from which WHALE Arts have delivered services and activities to the community for 30 years.
And West Linton Enterprise Group has received £97,600 to purchase a building in West Linton, Scottish Borders. The group currently uses this asset and will continue to use the building as a volunteer-run community thrift shop and local art gallery called The Knot.
The projects are amongst 16 across the country that have received grants totalling £1,972,701 from the Scottish Land Fund.
Tom Kirby, Development Manager, Granton Community Gardeners, said: “We’re excited to be able to move forward with ownership of our Community Garden, which has been created through the hard work, skills, and dedication of our local community.
“This is now secured for the long term, opening up more possibilities to improve it, and for more people of all ages to enjoy the space; and to grow, cook, share and eat more food together.”
Dr Andrew McNiven, Chair, WHALE Arts Board, said: “WHALE Arts is delighted to have been granted this funding which will support us in our Community Asset Transfer. T
“his ensures community ownership of the WHALE Arts site for the people of Wester Hailes. We’re grateful for the support of the Scottish Land Fund in this important step for WHALE and the community of Wester Hailes.”
And Allison Glasse, Co-Chair, West Linton Enterprise Group, said: “We are so pleased to have been awarded this grant, which will enable us to take our small retail outlet into community ownership.
“We are excited by the future possibilities of making The Knot into a real local asset, run by community, for the community and raising money for local organisations and projects.”
Cara Gillespie, Scottish Land Fund Committee Chair said: “Every one of these grants allows for the provision of assets and services that individual groups have identified as being essential to their areas.
“This localised approach helps to strengthen both urban and rural communities.”
Sandra Holmes, Head of Community assets at HIE, added: “The successful projects announced today across Scotland are all great examples of people taking control of local resources for the long-term benefit of their communities.
“For example, the Coigach Community Development Company, through the purchase of the land at the former hydroponicum site, will now be in a position to build much-needed affordable community housing. The new homes are vitally important to create a sustainable future for the area.
“All these projects announced today will help retain the population, attract visitors and create jobs. Ownership will give the community groups greater control over important assets that will reap rewards for people now and for generations to come. We wish all the successful groups the very best in their new ventures.”
Other groups receiving funding are:
Alyth Development Trust
Award – £76,774
Alyth Development Trust will purchase the Milhaugh site in Alyth, Perth and Kinross. The group intends to develop the site in order to provide a broad range of outdoor community activities.
Coigach Community Development Company
Award – £304,700
Coigach Community Development Company will purchase the former Hydroponicum site in Achiltibuie, Highland. They will develop affordable housing and an amenity space on the site, to strengthen the community’s long-term viability.
Concrete Garden
Award – £140,287
Concrete Garden, Glasgow, will acquire two sites, one currently used by the group and another vacant site nearby. Concrete Garden will continue to deliver community growing and creative play activities for the community and expand their outdoor services onto a new site.
Dunoon Community Shed
Award – £153,000
Dunoon Community Shed will acquire the former ceramics factory in Dunoon. DCS will continue to offer multiple activities to the local community to build skills, reduce isolation and provide a community gathering space.
The Heart of Argyll Wildlife Organisation
Award – £136,192
Heart of Argyll Wildlife Organisation will purchase Argyll Beaver Centre at Knapdale, Argyll. They will continue to provide educational and volunteering opportunities from the centre, alongside their conservation work.
Inspire Inverary
Award – £121,374
Inspire Inverary will acquire and restore Inverary Pier in Argyll. This will provide safe access for leisure, water sports and fishing activities, increased use by yachts and cruisers and offer opportunities for investment in moorings, pontoons and slipways.
Nether Lochaber Community Association
Award – £45,186
Nether Lochaber Community Association, Highlands, will take ownership of the Inchree Barn. The group plans to repair the building to address isolation in the community by providing a community hub for people and groups to meet.
Netherthird Initiative for Community Empowerment
Award £111,268
Netherthird Initiative for Community Empowerment will purchase Netherthird Community Centre in Netherthird, East Ayrshire, and continue to offer various community and wellbeing services from the building, including a community cafe.
Staffin Community Trust
Award – £116,064
Staffin Community Trust will purchase a slipway protected by a breakwater, plus onshore hard standing, a derelict boathouse and a parcel of land in Staffin, Skye. The Trust will continue to redevelop and improve the local harbour to serve a range of different users and meet the demand for onshore facilities.
Scenic Sandbank
Award – £119,890
Scenic Sandbank will acquire land in Sandbank, near Dunoon, Argyll, for the purpose of creating a community garden to develop the group’s horticultural activities and to provide an attractive green space for residents of Sandbank and the wider area.
Dornie and District Community Trust
Award – £66,316
Dornie and District Community Trust will acquire the former Dornie Store building in Dornie, Highlands. The group will renovate the building and reopen the shop and post office, establish a cafe and offer the flat above as an affordable rental opportunity.
Take A Bow Development Trust
Award – £65,650
Take A Bow Development Trust will purchase the Take A Bow Community Centre in New Farm Loch, East Ayrshire. TABDT will continue to run the site as a community centre offering a range of community-focused events and classes.
Tiree Community Development Trust
Award – £73,415
Tiree Community Development Trust will acquire land in Crossapol, Tiree and construct four light commercial business units, which will be leased to local businesses at affordable rates.
More than £130 million from proceeds of crime invested to support young people to date
Projects supporting young people are to receive up to a total of £20 million of funding recovered from the proceeds of crime.
The funding, which reinvests criminal assets recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act, aims to provide support to young people at risk of entering the criminal justice system and communities impacted by crime.
A total of 29 organisations are to benefit from the sixth round of the CashBack for Communities programme.
They include GMAC Film, who support young people to kickstart a career in film-making as well as the Venture Trust and Aberlour Child Care Trust who both support young people with employment and other opportunities.
The programme holds a particular relevance to GMAC Film’s Chair of the Board, Kieran Howe, who took part in an early CashBack programme with GMAC 10 years ago. This experience played a significant role in his personal development and helped kickstart his career in filmmaking.
Kieran Howe, said: “It’s rare in life that we experience these kinds of full-circle moments. CashBack quite literally changed my life as a teenager, putting me on a path for a successful career in film-making.
“Being able to return to GMAC all these years later, and assist the team in delivering this programme as Chair, fills me with tremendous joy, and hope for the future of Scottish film-making talent.”
Justice Secretary Keith Brown said: “To provide the best chances for their future, we should nurture all young people to fulfil their potential – through interventions which help reduce the risk of offending and that encourage positive behaviour.
“For the past 15 years, Cashback has helped millions of young people across Scotland to find better futures and reach their full potential and we know from first-hand experience the transformational impact the programme has had on young people’s lives.
“This phase of CashBack received more than 150 applications – the most ever – and our latest round of funding takes total investment in the programme to more than £130 million. This fund underlies our commitment to support young people to live full, healthy lives and help address some of the underlying causes of crime.”
Phase 6 of the CashBack for Communities programme will run from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026 with an increased overall programme budget of up to £20 million.
Organisations to benefit from the latest CashBack funding will be:
Organisation
Grant Award
*Aberlour Child Care Trust
£480,000
Access to Industry
£547,781
Action for Children
£645,695
*Avenue Confidential
£311,184
Barnardo’s
£1,010,623
basketballscotland Limited
£475,000
Bethany Christian Trust
£264,658
Celtic FC Foundation
£675,000
Cyrenians
£805,017
*Edinburgh Young Carers
£218,128
*Glasgow Media Access Centre Ltd
£241,515
Impact Arts (Projects) Ltd
£569,500
Mayfield and Easthouses Youth 2000 Project
£284,543
Ocean Youth Trust Scotland
£475,000
Police Service of Scotland
£298,154
Rangers Charity Foundation SCIO
£379,000
*RUTS
£423,474
Scottish Football Association
£1,570,000
Scottish Professional Football League Trust
£624,507
Scottish Rugby Union
£1,590,000
Scottish Sports Futures
£1,451,077
Scottish Youth Dance
£396,904
*Starcatchers Productions Ltd
£245,538
Station House Media Unit
£348,210
*Strengthening Communities for Race Equality Scotland –
THE SHOW WILL GO ON AS MUCH-LOVED THEATRE WINS REPRIEVE
Councillor Finlay McFarlane, the SNP representative for the city centre, has led the charge to find money to secure the future of the 117 year old Kings Theatre in Tollcross.
The councillor, who credits the theatre as giving him his first professional work after graduating Drama School, rallied council colleagues to offer financial support for the Edinburgh institution securing a pledge from all five political Parties in the recent budget to part-fund the and called on UK and Scottish Governments to meet the remainder.
The Kings restoration project was thrown into jeopardy when the UK Government rejected a City of Edinburgh Council bid for Levelling Up funds but Cllr McFarlane was delighted that, having called on Culture Minister Neil Gray to rescue the plans, the Scottish Government has announced £3.85 million to fully plug the hole and save the theatre from shutting its doors for good.
Cllr McFarlane said: “I am over the moon to see the cultural, economic and historic importance of the true people’s theatre recognised and supported by the Scottish Government.
“Since the outcome of the levelling up bid was known, I have been working with colleagues to explore options to find the remaining money needed. Closing the doors on The Kings Theatre for good was simply not an option. This shows the SNP’s commitment to culture in the capital city of Scotland”.
Organisations supporting victims and survivors of crime in Scotland will receive a £500,000 boost from a fund that takes money from offenders.
Seven organisations – including Victim Support Scotland and Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland – will share grant funding to provide practical help directly to victims.
This includes paying for emergency housing costs, meeting food, utility and clothing expenses, and helping with costs to repair or replace damaged property or goods and for mental health services such as counselling.
It is the third tranche of payments from the Victim Surcharge Fund – which comes from the additional penalties imposed on offenders who receive a court fine – since its introduction in 2019.
To date, the Fund has helped more than 1,200 people affected by crime, with around £917,000 awarded – a clear sign of how the Scottish Government continues to prioritise victims.
Justice Secretary Keith Brown said: “It is absolutely right that criminals should pay towards helping victims of crime as they recover from their experience.
“Over the past five years we have invested £93 million through our justice budget to put victims’ rights and needs at the centre of the criminal justice system, demonstrating our commitment to putting victims first.
“This latest funding we are awarding from the Victim Surcharge Fund will help people impacted by crime to access support when they need it most while enabling organisations such as Victim Support Scotland and Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland to provide even more help to victims and their families.”
Kate Wallace, CEO of Victim Support Scotland (VSS) said: “Confirmation of this funding means that VSS can continue this vital and life-changing support to people affected by crime and who have no other means of financial support.
“The cost-of-living crisis has meant that more people affected by crime are struggling to make ends meet. Funding from the Victim Surcharge Fund allows VSS to provide essential items such as food vouchers, property repairs, alarms and funeral costs, thereby meeting the needs of vulnerable victims immediately following a crime.
“Since April 2020, VSS Emergency Assistance Fund has provided £903,000 worth of goods to 3,143 people and their families, funded in part through the Victim Surcharge Fund. We accept applications directly from people affected by crime and have received referrals from over 200 support organisations.
The following organisations are set to benefit from the Victim Surcharge Fund in 202:3
Victim Support Scotland (VSS) – £440,000
Edinburgh Women’s Aid – £25,559
Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland (SOHTIS) – £7,700
Central Advocacy Partners – £5,000
Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre Dundee & Angus – £10,000
