Nearly £5 billion of support has been paid to help households with their energy bills this winter
Over £4 billion was paid to pensioners between November and March through the Winter Fuel Payment and Pensioner Cost of Living Payment
An estimated £550 million has been spent this winter as part of the Warm Home Discount to support three million households
Over 1.1 million £25 Cold Weather Payments have been made to households in England and Wales
Halving inflation has ensured everyone’s money goes further, however we remain committed to supporting households across the country with 11.8 million pensioners receiving up to £600 in Winter Fuel Payments and Pensioner Cost of Living Payments.
On top of this, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has today estimated over 1.1 million Cold Weather Payments worth £29.6 million were paid out from November until the end of March – with over £9 million of this going to low-income pensioners receiving Pension Credit.
Further support was also made available through the Warm Home Discount – to support three million households at risk of fuel poverty, allowing families to keep costs down and more money in their pockets. The Government expects partnered energy suppliers to have spent around £550 million this winter across Great Britain, through direct bill rebates as well other financial and energy efficiency support.
This support was needed to protect everyday Brits from the inflationary impact of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine – helping millions of people get through the winter. Now – with energy bills dropping, wages rising, and taxes being slashed – people are set to have more cash in their pocket to help fire up the economy and beckon in more growth.
We have turned a corner after the shocks of the past few years, and we are in a new economic moment and 2024 will prove to be the year that the economy bounces back.
Minister for Pensions, Paul Maynard said: “This Government’s actions have provided vital support to pensioners most in need.
“Halving inflation has helped everyone’s finances, and we remain committed to protecting our older loved ones across the country, with 11.8 million pensioners receiving up to £600 in Winter Fuel and Pensioner Cost of Living Payments.
“And we are uprating the State Pension further from next week, meaning the full yearly basic State Pension will be £3,700 higher than in 2010, whilst the full rate of the New State Pension will rise above £11,500 a year.”
From this week people will start to see an increase in their Local Housing Allowance rates – benefitting some of the poorest families on either Universal Credit or Housing Benefit who will gain around £800 a year on average. This puts more money in the pockets of the lowest earners – giving them more spending power to boost their local economy.
The UK Government is delivering £108 billion of support over 2022-2025 – worth an average £3,800 per household – and will continue to drive down inflation to help everyone’s money go further.
These measures are boosted in April with Universal Credit and other benefits rising in line with inflation by 6.7 percent, and the State Pension increasing by an inflation-busting 8.5 percent – making sure that targeted support is going to those who need it most.
Support for more than 1.2 million people in Scotland
All Scottish social security benefits are increasing by 6.7% in April, providing more support for disabled people, unpaid carers and people on low incomes.
Scottish Child Payment, which helps the families of more than 327,000 children, is now worth £26.70 per child per week.
A person eligible for the highest rate of Adult Disability Payment will receive £184.30 per week.
Carer Support Payment, Scotland’s newest benefit, has gone up to £81.90 every four weeks. The benefit for unpaid carers launched in three local authorities last year and will be available across Scotland by Autumn 2024.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Our investment in social security helps low‑income families with their living costs, enables disabled people to live full and independent lives, and supports older people to heat their homes in winter.
“This financial year we are committing a record £6.3 billion for benefits expenditure – which is £1.1 billion more than the UK Government gives to the Scottish Government for social security.
“We are making a choice to increase direct support for people who need it the most and that is more important than ever during the current cost of living crisis.”
Three vital causes supporting families and individuals in Edinburgh and the Lothians have been named the first recipients of this year’s Barratt Developments Community Fund.
Barratt Developments, which includes Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes, currently donates £1,500 per month to local charities in its divisions as part of the homebuilder’s pledge to improve the quality of life of those living in the areas in which it operates.
The homebuilder kicked off 2024 by donating £3,000 to its new East of Scotland main charity partner, Cash for Kids.
The charity aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people living locally who are affected by poverty, illness, neglect or have additional needs. The cause also works with grassroots organisations that aim to make a difference to young lives, directly supporting families who often have nowhere else to go.
Cash for Kids replaces St Columba’s Hospice Care as the East Scotland division’s main charity partner, having raised a whopping £247,909 in the last two years through fundraising, including a Pentland Hills walk, charity dinners and office events.
Victoria Hendry, Charity Manager at Cash for Kids, said: “We were absolutely thrilled to receive the Barratt Community Fund for this first quarter of the year. This £3,000 will make such a difference in our local community, specifically to families really struggling with the cost of living.
“We are receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of requests for support with real basics such as food, toiletries and nappies, so these funds will go a long way in supporting us with helping these families who are living on our doorstep.
“To also be chosen as Barratt East Scotland’s new main charity partner was really just the cherry on top. I was delighted to get the phone call and we are excited to build some brilliant fundraising plans across the next two years and help even more local children.”
In February, a further £1,500 was given to Capital Carers, which supports carers in the North West of Edinburgh.
The organisation’s highly trained staff provide one-to-one support as well as a range of services which enable individuals to support the person they care for and assist them in carrying out their caring responsibilities, while ensuring that they also look after themselves.
Lauren Alexander, Young Carers Support Worker at Capital Carers,said: “A huge thanks to Barratt for this generous donation, it will enable us to provide respite trips for young carers and young adult carers which we would otherwise not have been able to do.
“All of our carers love interaction with animals, and this therapeutic approach can really benefit those with challenging situations. Horses are a big favourite, but it is an expensive activity. The money will allow us to take several groups horse riding, alpaca trekking, a trip to the zoo and going out to eat.
“The funding has already allowed us to take young carers on active respite trips, to Laser Tag, swimming and escape rooms, and meals out where all carers can relax together, make new friends, reconnect with old ones and have that important peer support.”
The charity, which is supported by The Trussell Trust, provides three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people in need in the Midlothian area.
Ian Purves, from Midlothian Foodbank, said: “Thank you to Barratt for their generous donation to Midlothian Foodbank.
“The donation will help people in our area struggling with the cost of living and support them with emergency food parcels, food vouchers for families in school holidays, or a hot meal at one of our two weekly lunches.
“They also have access to an advisor from Citizens Advice who is present during one of our lunches. All this helps to reach our aim of ensuring that no one in Midlothian goes to bed hungry.”
Alison Condie, Managing Director at Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes East Scotland, said:“We’re proud to be supporting causes which are carrying out such essential work in communities throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians.
“From foodbanks through to care, cost of living has placed a significant strain on the services that charities can provide. We hope that our donations can help to alleviate some of this pressure and allow causes to continue supporting families and individuals in the communities in which we build.”
For more information on Barratt Developments in the East of Scotland, visit:
The UK’s only fully electric-powered gardening business has been able to make new hires and grow its business operations after accessing support from Business Gateway.
The Cycling Gardeners of Edinburgh, which offers a complete garden maintenance service delivered on cargo bikes by a team of independent gardeners, was founded in 2023 by Callum Ross, who wanted to combine his talent for gardening with his desire to be more sustainable.
Callum, who previously worked as an Operations Manager in the events industry, was keen to reinvent the way gardeners operate in Scotland’s capital city.
The business uses cargo bikes to travel and to transport materials and exclusively uses electric power tools. While the tools are more expensive than traditional petrol-powered tools, they are more sustainable, which chimes with the overall principle of the business.
As well as its team of freelance gardeners, who are largely experienced horticulturalists, The Cycling Gardeners of Edinburgh is also hoping to employ young gardeners who may be new to the trade but who may not have their driving licence.
The team has worked with local organisations Spokes, Sustrans, and the Cargobike Movement to increase their knowledge of cargo bikes.
Looking for some inspiration on growing his business, Callum attended a Business Gateway-run Meet the Investors session where he was able to rehearse pitching his business and find out about the work Business Gateway does. It was this that inspired him to contact Business Gateway, and through that he met his adviser Jeff Hume.
Business Gateway has supported The Cycling Gardeners of Edinburgh in a number of ways, including helping them to employ an Operations Manager using Edinburgh’s Employer Recruitment Incentives (EERI) Scheme, using the research service to identify possible collaborations and improving their use of social media.
Callum Ross, Founder of The Cycling Gardeners of Edinburgh said:“I’ve found that having a personal contact in Jeff has been so helpful, and I’m safe in the knowledge that he can give us solid advice.
“Business Gateway has also supported us in applying for grant funding which has been so helpful to help keep our operations afloat.
“As a new business, it’s invaluable to have the support of Business Gateway and to know that they’re on the other end of a phone if you need.”
Jeff Hume, Business Gateway adviser said:“It has been fantastic to support Callum and the team to create this unique idea and watch it come to life. They’ve been able to determine a great niche for their company and it’ll be wonderful to see it bloom into something even more special.”
To find out more about how Business Gateway can help your business, visit https://bgateway.com.
More than £90 million will be allocated to local authorities in 2024-25 to support eligible households at risk of hardship through the Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) scheme.
The funding enables local authorities to mitigate the impact of UK Government policies such as the ‘bedroom tax’ and the ‘benefit cap’ which can reduce how much universal credit or housing benefit someone receives.
Payments can also be made where Local Housing Allowance doesn’t meet someone’s rent, or if a household is in hardship and struggling to meet their housing costs.
Housing Minister Paul McLennan said: “This funding will help to bridge the gap between what people need in benefits from the UK Government, and what they actually receive. This can be the difference between a family thriving, or a family experiencing financial hardship.
“We are clear that this is the right thing to do to support households – but the Scottish Government should not be forced to step in and divert money from our own housing and anti-poverty policies because of UK Government welfare reforms.”
One Parent Families Scotland CEO Satwat Rehman said: “The Scottish Government is to be commended for taking these mitigating measures as we recognise it continues to spend massive sums compensating for welfare cuts made by the UK government.
“Mitigating the benefit cap is absolutely the right thing to do. The increased funding and improved support for families affected by the benefit cap will be greatly welcomed by the many single parents who have been pushed into further hardship by this policy. 74% of all capped households in Scotland consist of single parents with children (92% of whom are women).
“We at OPFS will do everything we can to ensure all single parent families affected by the benefit cap apply to their local authority for a Discretionary Housing Payment to replace the vital income they should have received. Now the UK Government must act to scrap this poverty creating benefit cap altogether.”
The Scottish Discretionary Housing Payments budget is £90.5 million in 2024-25.
In Scotland, if you rent your home and you get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, but still can’t afford your housing costs, you may be eligible for a Discretionary Housing Payment.
A Discretionary Housing Payment can be made if you:
are affected by the benefit cap
are affected by the bedroom tax
claim Housing Benefit but it doesn’t cover all your rent
claim Universal Credit but still can’t afford your housing costs
Care experienced children and young people will receive further support to improve attainment, attendance and wellbeing throughout their education and beyond.
The Scottish Government will provide £10.5 million to be shared by local authorities across Scotland through the Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund.
Launched in 2018, the funding is provided to local authorities and aims to improve the educational outcomes for care experienced children and young people, supported by the strategic goals of The Promise and the Scottish Attainment Challenge.
The fund has so far provided more than £60 million to deliver initiatives such as mentoring programmes and out of school support.
First Minister Humza Yousaf, said: “I am fully committed to Keeping the Promise – every single child should grow up loved, safe, supported and respected, as well as being given every opportunity to flourish and reach their full potential.
“Supporting care-experienced young people includes helping them to continue or re-enter education and The Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund plays a vital role in delivering additional support to improve educational outcomes.
“We know it is making a real difference as the latest figures show more care experienced children and young people are staying in school for longer and achieving higher qualifications.
“Improving outcomes for care-experienced young people requires a truly national effort, and the Scottish Government will continue to work with local authorities, schools and others to ensure that all young people in Scotland can meet their full potential.”
COSLA Children and Young People Spokesperson Cllr Tony Buchanan said: “Local Government is committed to keeping the Promise made to care experience children and young people by 2030.
“We have welcomed this funding, which councils have used in recent years for a number of innovative approaches responding to the diverse needs of care experience children and young people across Scotland. This has included ‘virtual’ head teacher and mentoring schemes.
“We will continue to work with the Scottish Government, across Local Government and with our partners across the education system to ensure that all children and young people grow up loved, safe and respected and achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Up to £2.23 million funding is being made available to third sector organisations providing counselling, peer support and practical support to adult survivors of childhood abuse.
Support groups can now apply for the latest round of grants from the Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support (SOCAS) Fund which will be made available from October 2024 to March 2026 and will enable groups to enhance or expand their current services.
Since it was set up in 2020, the SOCAS fund has seen more than 16,000 survivors supported by 29 organisations.
Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said: “We want all survivors to be provided with services which allow them to lead happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives.
“This latest round of funding, up to £2.23 million per annum, builds on almost £10 million invested since establishing the Fund in 2020, and is designed to reduce the impact of the inequalities and disadvantages survivors often experience as a result of abuse.
“Our recently published Mental Health Strategy Delivery Plan outlines the importance of survivors having access to services which promote sustained recovery through person-centred, trauma-informed support and treatment – this funding will enable more people to get the help which is right for them.”
Director of Funds at Inspiring Scotland Kaylie Allen said: “The Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support fund provides vital help for survivors to enjoy a safe and healthy life with improved wellbeing and sense of safety.
“Helping people affected by trauma is at the heart of the Inspiring Scotland strategy so we welcome the continuation of the Scottish Government’s funding and look forward to supporting applicants through the application process.”
Major package of reforms to support small businesses in PM’s first economic speech since the Spring Budget
£60 million new investment to enable up to 20,000 more apprenticeships, including for young people and small businesses
Unnecessary regulatory burdens to be slashed through Brexit freedoms saving around £150 million per year for thousands of small businesses
New taskforce to be established to boost private investment in women-led businesses and make the UK the best place in the world to be a female founder
In his first economic speech since the Spring Budget, the Prime Minister is expected to set out a major package of reforms to support businesses to deliver more apprenticeship places, cut red tape for SMEs and leverage more private investment in female founders at the Business Connect conference in Warwickshire today.
The UK Government will fully fund apprenticeships in small businesses from 1st April by paying the full cost of training for anyone up to the age of 21 – reducing costs and burdens for businesses and delivering more opportunities for young people to kick start their careers.
This will remove the need for small employers to meet some of the cost of training and saves time and costs for providers like further education colleges who currently need to source funding separately from the government and businesses.
The move is underpinned by an additional £60 million of new government funding for next year, guaranteeing that where there is demand for apprenticeships from businesses, the government will ensure there is enough funding to deliver them.
From the start of April, the government will also increase the amount of funding that employers who are paying the apprenticeship levy can pass onto other businesses. Apprenticeships can currently be funded by a levy paying employer transferring up to 25% of their unused levy to a different employer.
Under the new measures, large employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will be able to transfer up to 50% of their funds to support other businesses, including smaller firms, to take on apprentices. This will help SMEs hire more apprentices by reducing costs and enabling more employers to get the skilled workers they need while unlocking more opportunities for young people in a huge range of sectors, industries, and professions.
Hundreds of large levy-paying employers have already taken advantage of the opportunity to transfer their unused levy funds to other businesses. As of [December 2023], 530 employers including ASDA, HomeServe and BT Group have pledged to transfer over £35.39 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes since September 2021.
Taken together, these measures are expected to enable up to 20,000 more apprenticeships, primarily for young people, and is part of our plan to build a stronger economy and deliver a brighter future where hard work is rewarded and young people get the skills they need to succeed in life.
The Westminster government says this builds on their record of ‘transforming apprenticeships’ over the last decade. Since 2010, they have helped 5.7 million people start an apprenticeship, working with employers to develop almost 700 new high-quality standards and increasing the funding for apprenticeships to over £2.7 billion from next year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Growing up in my mum’s pharmacy, I know first-hand how important small businesses are. Not just for the economy, but as a driver for innovation and aspiration, and as the key to building a society where hard work is always recognised and rewarded.
“Whether it’s breaking down barriers and red tape for small businesses, helping businesses hire more young people into apprenticeships and skilled jobs or empowering women to start up their own businesses – this government is sticking to the plan and leaving no stone unturned to make the UK the best place to do business.
“Taken together, these measures will unlock a tidal wave of opportunity and make a real difference to businesses and entrepreneurs across the country.”
Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said: “This Government has built a world-leading apprenticeship system from the ground-up – with apprenticeships now available in around 70 per cent of all occupations.
“Apprenticeships are a fantastic way for businesses to develop the skills they need, and these new measures will help more businesses and young people benefit from them.
“Our plan to deliver a high-growth, high-skilled economy is working, with more opportunities available to young people than ever before.”
This is the third Business Connect conference to take place since it was launched by the Prime Minister last year and is expected to convene over 150 SMEs, as well as government ministers to discuss how we can further support businesses to grow and thrive in the UK.
The Prime Minister is also expected to announce further deregulatory measures to simplify both non-financial and financial reporting for SMEs which is expected to save thousands of businesses across the UK around £150 million per year.
This includes increasing the number of companies which qualify as a smaller or medium sized business through a 50% uplift to the thresholds that determine a company’s size. This is expected to benefit up to 132,000 businesses who will be spared from burdensome form-filling and non-financial reporting requirements.
The existing onerous and outdated thresholds were previously set by the EU, but our Brexit freedoms mean we can now raise the thresholds to ensure they’re more proportionate and better reflect the needs of British businesses. This has also allowed us to go further than the EU, who recently raised its thresholds by 25%.
The government is also removing several duplicative and bureaucratic EU reporting requirements, including for what companies must set out in their annual reports, whilst also making it easier for companies to share digitalised annual reports rather than paper copies – ensuring businesses practices are fit for the modern age.
Taken together, these changes are expected to deliver around £150 million of savings for SMEs per year and save small businesses at least 1 million hours per year in total.
The Government will also consult on further changes later this year including exempting medium-sized companies from producing strategic reports, which could save them a further £148 million a year and raising the employee size threshold from 250 to 500 employees, which will mean around 1,000 more large companies could become SMEs.
Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch said: “Almost every job in the UK is owed to what is, or what previously was, an SME. They are the engines of economic growth for this country.
“Whether it’s through cutting red tape, unlocking investment or lowering business costs, today’s announcements show that this government is committed to doing all it can to turbo-charge SMEs so that they can go further and faster than ever before.”
Speaking directly to businesses and delegates at the event, the Prime Minister will underline the government’s plan to create the economic conditions to encourage entrepreneurship and drive growth.
As part of this, the Prime Minister is expected to announce a new industry led Invest in Women Taskforce to unlock private investment in female business leaders and make the UK the best place in the world to be a female founder.
For too long, innovative, women-led start-ups have been held back due to a lack of finance and the proportion of equity capital investment going to all-female founder teams has been stuck at around 2% in the UK for the past decade.
The core aim of the Taskforce is to raise a bespoke funding pot for female-founded businesses through private capital and address the wider challenges that female entrepreneurs specifically face to help unlock their potential to establish and grow their enterprises.
The new taskforce will be industry led and co-chaired by entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow and Barclay’s Hannah Bernard, with Small Business Minister, Kevin Hollinrake, representing the government. The membership of the taskforce will be set out in due course.
Hannah Bernard OBE, Co-Chair of the Invest in Women taskforce and Head of Business Banking, Barclays UK said: “This is an area I am incredibly passionate about, so it is a privilege to be offered this position.
“I believe that the key to the UK’s growth will be enabling every single entrepreneur in this country to thrive; female entrepreneurs face significantly higher barriers to get their businesses the support and investment they need, from seed funding for start-ups, through to the challenges of gaining scale-up investment.
“I’m really excited to be working with Debbie who is an ideal partner given her entrepreneurial credentials and I believe together, we can make a real difference.
Debbie Wosskow OBE, Co-Chair of the Invest in Women taskforce and multi exit entrepreneur said: “Women leading businesses shouldn’t have to face funding challenges to build and grow their business, because of their gender.
“As an experienced entrepreneur, who founded her first business 25 years ago, I know first-hand the importance of breaking down barriers and making meaningful change for female led businesses.
“By putting funding front and centre of this Taskforce, we aim to make the UK the best place in the world to be a female founder.”
In 2024, the year of the SME, the UK government continues to back small businesses as the lifeblood of the economy:
‘The single biggest way we are backing businesses is by the economic conditions for them to thrive, which is why the government has worked hard to deliver on our priorities to halve inflation, grow the economy and cut debt.
‘We have made good progress on our plan. Inflation has fallen from 11.1% to 4.0%, the economy has performed better than forecast, wages are rising, mortgage rates are starting to come down, the economy has outperformed European neighbours and debt is on track to fall as a share of the economy.
‘Because of the progress we have made, the economy is turning a corner and we have been able to afford tax cuts as part of our plan to reward work and grow the economy. But we know there is more to do which is why we’re sticking to the plan to keep building an even stronger economy to support businesses to establish and grow their roots in the UK.’
Martin McTague, National Chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “We welcome these very important announcements on apprenticeships, as well as other action including helping more women start up in business.The Prime Minister is right to take decisive steps to support small employers do what they do best, providing jobs and opportunities in their local communities.
“We have campaigned for more levy-paying businesses to be able to transfer their funds to small businesses in their supply chain, and for crucial support on costs, so we’re pleased to see the Prime Minister make this intervention today.
“Time and resources are in short supply for small businesses and so increasing the amount of funding for training costs will help to improve the number of small firms entering the apprenticeship system.
“Apprenticeships are an effective way of allowing small firms to recruit and up-skill talented people and these measures are a positive way to bolster the number of businesses taking on apprentices.”
Anthony Impey, Chief Executive of Be The Business and Chair of Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, said: “Small businesses are run by some of the country’s most impressive and resilient people, but they are time poor and need a simple, straight-forward skills offer to access the talent they need to grow their businesses.
“These changes will make a real difference in opening up apprenticeships for young people to kick start their careers at a time when small businesses are pushing forward to boost their productivity.”
Scottish charity Art in Healthcare has appointed renowned artist Juliana Capes to run its Caring Spaces project, an innovative initiative which supports unpaid carers.
Juliana, a multi-disciplinary visual artist and filmmaker, has recently shown her work at the Edinburgh Art Festival, Alchemy Film Festival and CCA, Glasgow.
In this new role, she will lead the latest series of monthly online sessions which provide participants with some respite from their day-to-day caring responsibilities by offering them a safe and relaxed space to learn about and develop their passion for art while building peer support.
Along with her strong artistic pedigree, Juliana brings direct experience to the role as a parent carer of two children with intellectual disabilities.
Caring Space is an innovative project which AiH has developed over several years with VOCAL (Voice of Carers across Lothian). This existing programme, delivered in Musselburgh, Dalkeith, Leith and online, brings carers together through monthly online art sessions and in-person visits to galleries.
Commenting on the new position, Juliana said: “It’s great to be appointed as the Caring Spaces artist for this latest project where I am connecting with other carers and support organisations.
“I’m delighted to bring my own experiences, both as an artist and as a parent carer of two children with additional support needs, to help the participants maximise the wonderful experience this programme has to offer.”
Jeanne Marie Lee, Carer Training Officer, VOCAL Edinburgh said: “Caring Spaces is one of our most popular courses.
“Our carers love the opportunity to get creative with new materials and techniques. With that in mind, it is incredibly exciting to have Juliana joining us in this programme to inspire and delight the group with her ideas.”
Iona McCann, Associate Director (Communities), Art in Healthcare said: “We are really excited to work with Juliana and see what she brings to the Caring Spaces programme.
“Working with someone with lived experience of caring was incredibly important to us as she has a deep understanding of the challenges unpaid carers face. As an organisation, we also want to learn on how we can best support unpaid carers within our team.”
Cruse Scotland, a Scottish charity that provides essential support to people struggling with bereavement following the loss of a loved one, has been able to extend its vital Early Support Programme following a fourth significant financial boost from Scotmid Funerals.
The funding has supported people across Edinburgh to better cope with each stage of grief, through one-to-one and group support sessions with trained volunteers.
Edinburgh-based Brian, who sadly lost his brother suddenly in 2021 and his mother the following year, shares how he benefited from speaking to Cruse Scotland:
“I can’t talk highly enough of my experience with Cruse Scotland. My counsellor was amazing – extremely professional, highly perceptive, and responsive to the finer nuances of the conversations we had.
“Each session I found hit the right balance of challenging yet supportive, and it was all done with warmth and good humour. It was exactly what I needed at exactly the right time, and I feel the benefit of it every day.”
Last year, Scotmid Funerals donated £8,000 to extend Cruse Scotland’s Early Support services and this year, the funeral provider has made a further £10,000 award.
This latest funding will allow Cruse Scotland to develop its volunteer recruitment and training programme to upskill its crucial volunteers in 2023-24 to continue its support to bereaved people in Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland.
