EDINBURGH INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD PLANS TO END £4.5 million GRANTS TO 63 COMUNITY PROJECTS
SCOTTISH COUNCIL of VOLUNTARY ORGANIATIONS (SCVO)
SCVO response to proposal by Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board to remove grant-funding from voluntary organisations:
Letter to Councillor Cammy Day, Leader of City of Edinburgh Council,
Professor John Connaghan OBE, Chair of NHS Lothian
cc Pat Togher, Chief Officer EIJB
Proposal by Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board to remove grant-funding from voluntary organisations
I am writing to add SCVO’s voice to the protests regarding the IJB’s proposal to withdraw funding in-year from charities and community groups. 37 of our members are impacted by this decision.
The intention outlined in the board paper to take a more strategic and collaborative approach in the future has been totally undermined by the impact of reneging on this year’s grant funding.
Trust is a fragile thing, and it will take a long time to rebuild any sense that the council and the health board have an understanding of, or respect for, the voluntary organisations that do so much to support our communities.
When you look to build your strategic partnership in 2025, many of them simply won’t be there because they will have gone out of business.
Far from saving money, this will generate significant costs to public services as people fall through the cracks, and the additional millions of pounds voluntary organisations bring in from trusts and foundations or the private sector through match funding and other fundraising activities will disappear. A truly strategic approach would be looking to maximise that income-generation, not cut it off.
It appears that over 100 people who were already in a precarious enough position will lose their jobs. And the discretionary effort of hundreds more volunteers will be lost.
It is evident that when money is tight, which I recognise it is, the council and the health board have retrenched and focused on short-term savings rather than the public good.
The table in the board paper which illustrates where the money could be “better spent” says it all – to the IJB, acute services matter more than prevention or early intervention. As well as being short-sighted ethically and financially, it flies in the face of all the evidence around what communities need and the rhetoric around person-centred services and prevention.
I would urge you to intervene and stop the IJB making a decision everyone involved will regret.
Yours sincerely,
Anna Fowlie
Chief Executive, SCVO
BIG HEARTS: “The value the charity sector brings to our local communities should never be in doubt.”
VOLUNTARY HEALTH SCOTLAND:
VHS Chief Executive @MistryTej has commented on the recent cuts being proposed by Edinburgh IJB.
What will it take for recognition of the crucial work the third sector are doing to reduce health inequalities?
VOLUNTEER EDINBURGH:
Along with the rest of the sector we are extremely concerned by the proposed early cessation of EIJB grant funding to 64 voluntary sector organisations. As well as the loss of important services and the associated job losses, this will impact volunteering.
Volunteers are at the heart of the affected organisations, contributing 206,000 hours of support to people in the community worth over £2m. These volunteering opportunities are not only a lifeline to people they help support.
They also enable local people to be active in their communities, build confidence, develop skills, reduce isolation – all of which contribute to better health outcomes for volunteers themselves.
The impact of the loss of these volunteering opportunities cannot be understated.
LIVING RENT:
64 charities are at the risk of closure due to £4.5 million worth of proposed cuts. This will have devastating effects for tenants, for workers and for communities across Edinburgh.
Let’s defend our community centres, services & jobs.
Join us to say NO to Labour-led cuts!
SCOTT ARTHUR MP:
I have today (Wednesday) written to the Cheif (sic) Officer of the EIJB opposing the proposed cuts to the third sector in my constituency – I expressed my concerns in the strongest possible terms.
I support @cllrcammyday fully in his call for fair funding for Edinburgh.
Edinburgh Integration Joint Board meets TOMORROW (Friday 1 December) in the Dean of Guilds Room at The City Chambers at 10am.
The following organisations will make their case against the cuts at the meeting:
Papers for the meeting are below: