FUNDING cuts to projects serving some of the most disadvantaged citizens in Scotland’s capital have been stopped.
The youth projects, children’s clubs, mental health charities and multi-cultural groups were set to have their cash cut off by City of Edinburgh Council.
Sikh Sanjog, the Multi-Cultural Family Base, and others warned they may close as a result of the initial decision, which was made in March.
Yesterday they won a three-year reprieve, after councillors agreed Covid-19 has increased the need for their survival.
The 15 initiatives will now take a share of an additional £611,000 from the local authority each year.
Education convener Ian Perry expressed “regret” that the council had not been able to fund every organisation that had sought help from a grant programme run by its Communities and Families service.
Overall, 186 bids were received from 129 groups – amounting to £26.4 million from a pot worth only £10m.
The council said a review of the grants process had agreed cash must be restored to at-risk groups serving the most deprived communities in the capital, and its ethnic minority citizens.
The working group that ran this process said it had also taken into account the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesperson said there will “almost certainly be a rise in unemployment after lockdown”, which will “adversely affect” the worst-off areas.
Perry said: “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.
“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.”
Meanwhile, 19 organisations are to benefit from the grants for the first time and the money will be distributed to all of these until August 2023. The first payments begin in September.
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