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New £20 million funding stream for third sector

2 Jul 2012 12:43 PM

A new £20 million early intervention fund will be developed over the next two years to support voluntary groups working with children, young people and their families, Minister for Children and Young People Aileen Campbell announced recently.

The move follows recommendations from an independent expert group to join up various funding streams to better target investment in children, families and communities, particularly around preventative action and early intervention.

The current Unified Voluntary Sector Fund (UVSF) and Early Years Early Action funds will continue until March 2013 at which point the new fund will come on stream, bolstering other early intervention funds such as the recently launched £6 million Communities and Families Fund.

Ms Campbell said:

“The voluntary sector has a significant role to play in realising our ambition to make Scotland the best place for children and young people to grow up. The new £20 million fund will be designed to support that ongoing effort.

“The Scottish Government has invested heavily in children and families. We know that for every £1 spent in the early years another £9 can be saved in later years through prevention.

“Despite the Westminster cuts to Scotland’s budget, we have prioritised the early years for investment and accept the expert group’s advice to ensure future funding is well targeted and has the greatest impact on the lives of our children, young people, their families and of course their wider communities.

“I’d like to thank the members of the expert group for their sterling work and I have accepted their recommendations.

“There will be no gap or break in the funding available to the many organisations delivering for children and families while the new fund is developed.”

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