THE Scottish Government has ploughed another £3 million into dozens of projects aimed at tackling the problem of sectarianism.

Nil by Mouth, Sense Over Sectarianism, the Scottish Book Trust and the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow are among the organisations receiving a slice of the money along with housing associations, youth and football groups.

A total of £2.3m has been allocated for this year so far, with a further £700,000 still to be distributed. It follows funding of £9m that has been given to groups over the last three years.

Nil by Mouth campaign director Dave Scott said: ‘Sectarianism is still a problem in Scotland but it’s a battle we are certainly now winning.

“Next week we will bring together employers and business leaders for the first national conference on tackling sectarianism in the workplace, in partnership with City of Edinburgh Council.

“Last year we delivered training and events in schools, communities and workplaces across 24 local authority areas. People are finding their voice on this issue and standing up to be counted.

“However, the good work being funded will only go so far and we still need to see attitude changes in key areas of society.

“For example, we’d want to see the government put pressure on Scottish football to introduce ‘strict liability’ at matches as recommended by its own advisory group on sectarianism. This would bring us into line with Uefa guidelines and empower the game to tackle the problem.”

A project called Mixing the Colours, run by Glasgow Women’s Library, also received funding, which means it can now continue until March 2016.

Project development worker Rachel Thain-Gray said: “In the last year we were working towards creating tools we could use to work with more women on the issue of sectarianism.

“We spoke to community groups who said there was no literature, books or stories they could relate to and things were always from a male perspective, so 12 women have had their short stories published and those women will be coming out with us to speak out and to support others.”

Earlier this year, a study suggested a large majority of Scots believe sectarianism is still a problem for the country and that football is the biggest factor contributing to the tension.

In the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, the sport was the most commonly mentioned factor for fuelling sectarianism, with 88 per cent of people mentioning it and 55 per cent saying it was the main contributor.

Some 88 per cent also said sectarianism was a problem for Scotland, although two-thirds (69 per cent) believed it was only a problem in specific areas, such as Glasgow and the west.

Announcing the latest funding, Community Safety Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “The Scottish Government is committed to tackling sectarianism.

“We have already invested £9m over the last three years to support, among other things, community-based efforts in dealing with sectarianism, and this additional £3m of funding will allow the issue to continue to be addressed at a local level.

“No-one should have to face discrimination or prejudice in any form in 21st-century Scotland. It is never acceptable and it will not be tolerated.

“We welcome the fact that religiously aggravated offending is falling and is now at its lowest level in a decade – last year alone there was a 15 per cent decrease. However, we will continue to do all that we can to address the issue of sectarianism in Scotland.

“Communities are at the heart of our work to tackle sectarianism and that is why we have committed a further £3m to support this agenda and to continue to work with, and in, local communities to tackle this issue in the most appropriate way. We are confident these projects will help us to continue to reduce sectarian attitudes and behaviours and help to finally rid Scotland of the prejudices of the past.”