West Lothian voluntary sector seeks more than £1m funding
Out of 34 charity groups which bid, only 15 were awarded funding.
And with more than half the Third Sector services total budget of £944,000 going to just five organisations there have been calls from the local Voluntary Sector Gateway for the budget to grow to meet rising demand.
The bulk of the budget funds direct services for the council.
The council's Economy, Community Empowerment and Wealth Building PDSP heard that five organisations have been awarded Service Level Agreements to deliver services.
These are West Lothian Youth Action Project £190,000 for community youth services; HcL Transport £182,119 for community transport; Voluntary Sector Gateway West Lothian £63,770; Citizen's Advice Bureau £76,266 to provide additional advice services across West Lothian; and the Bennie Museum £51,142 for the provision of Museum Services in Linlithgow and Bathgate Linlithgow Heritage Trust.
In the Third Sector Support Fund 19 organisations lost out this year. They had bid for £501,312 of funding. Among the organisations which lost out are Fauldhouse Community Development Trust, the Food Train, KidzEco, West Calder Hub, West Lothian Race Forum and Smile
In a report to committee Clare Stewart, the Community Wealth Building Manager said: 'In total 34 applications were received totalling £1,003,449.97 with an available budget at the time of £362,613.
'An additional £10,000 was allocated as part of the process for funding that is available to West Lothian Council from the Lintel Trust to support a community project. This brought the total available to £372,613.'
Among the winners were: Linlithgow Young People's Project, £36, 052; The Vennie, £33,157; Boghalll Drop in £37,043; Stoneyburn Future Vision Group £20, 600 and Armadale Playworks £35,272.
All applications were assessed by a panel composed of representatives from the NHS, Voluntary Sector Gateway, and a range of council services including Anti-Poverty, Community Regeneration and Community Wealth Building. Following the assessment of all applications, the panel made recommendations to the Head of Planning, Economic Development and Regeneration that the £362,613 be allocated to 15 organisations.
All 19 groups which did not receive funding this year have been offered guidance for future applications.
The report added: 'The panel took into consideration a number of matters in assessing all applications including the quality of the application against the criteria for funding, the provision of support in the areas of identified deprivation, match funding, the outcomes that would be achieved by the investment and the potential for some projects to source funding through other funds, in particular the availability of local mental health funding.
'Officers contacted all unsuccessful applicants and offered a series of dates to give more detailed feedback on their application on a one-to-one basis either in person or via teams. To date eight organisations have requested feedback.'
Stuart Barrie, the Operations Manager with the VSG, welcomed the feedback offered to the groups, saying it was helpful to organisations in seeking funding in future from both from the council, and other sources.
And making a plea for growing support for the VSG Mr Barrie said: 'The continued financial support from the council the Third Sector is welcome and makes a huge difference to organisations and to communities in West Lothian
'However, the overall £944,000 has remained static for a number of years now. The sector is facing significant financial pressures like everyone else and given the council receives an uplift to its annual budget could an uplift to this funding be considered in the future for the Third Sector?'
Councillor Susan Manion, chairing the PDSP, said: 'We can happily have a discussion about that in relation to the financial position in what we do going forward and looking a future budgeting arrangements for the next year.'
By Stuart Sommerville Local Democracy Reporter
Like this:
Like
Related
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
36 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Economic bounceback may be under way but Reeves cannot afford to relax
Britain's economy has defied the doomsayers. After growing strongly in the first quarter this year, it expanded again in the three months to June – and not by the measly 0.1% forecast by City economists, but a respectable 0.3%. The latest data shows a 0.4% expansion in June alone as manufacturing recovered its mojo. Meanwhile the construction sector, hit by a slowdown in new projects, turned its hand to repairs and maintenance, reversing a fall in May to post a solid 1.2% growth rate over the second quarter. Probably the most cheering aspect for Rachel Reeves from the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data was the feedback from businesses involved in scientific research and development. This sector posted an 8.3% rise in activity in June alone, closely followed by the architectural and engineering sectors, which collectively expanded by 6.7% on the previous month. The chancellor is keen for everyone to forget about the missteps of the past year when one miscalculation after another has set off fireworks either inside the Labour party or the business community, or both. Donald Trump's tariff wars played a part in dampening business activity, but it was the £25bn tax hit on employers, from increases to national insurance contributions for workers, that really hurt the private sector. While many small and medium-sized businesses are still struggling with the hangover from the NICs rise in April, the figures tell us that across industry and commerce, a bounceback is under way. Reeves still has major difficulties to confront. The slowdown from quarter to quarter will dent tax receipts at a time when the costs of running the government are increasing. Next week's public finances data is expected to show a rise in debt interest payments that means the costs of servicing the UK's borrowing will not fall as fast as hoped. Meanwhile, the clamour for more money for the defence department and cash-starved frontline public services only gets louder. There is likely to be a significant spending gap when the Office for Budget Responsibility makes its next assessment of the economy and the public finances before the autumn budget. It could be a £20bn shortfall, as many City economists expect, or it could be more than £40bn, as the National Institute for Economic and Social Research thinktank has estimated. Either way, it is going to be a big hole to fill and manifesto commitments to exclude income tax, employee national insurance and VAT from any review will make the job very difficult. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion There is also cause for concern from the ONS figures that show much of the recovery depends on increased public spending. There is little sign that consumer confidence or business investment is on the road to recovery. Consumers are sitting on their hands, saving the gains they are making from average increases in wages above inflation. Meanwhile, a 4% rise in business investment in the first quarter was almost wiped out by a 3.9% fall in the second quarter. One business lobby group said there was 'no doubt that private sector growth is being held back by both global and domestic policy uncertainty', adding that speculation over forthcoming tax increases was adding to the headwinds. Reeves has emphasised that she wants to focus on clearing more barriers to growth and increasing productivity. Usually that is a slow process. The chancellor may need to be more explicit, sooner rather than later, about who will pay the taxes needed to make the budget numbers add up if she wants the economic momentum to carry through to 2026.
.jpeg%3Ftrim%3D0%2C0%2C0%2C0%26width%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Business news live: UK economy grows in June - but jobs and inflation look ‘troublesome for household budgets'
The UK economy surged back to growth in June after consecutive contractions in April and May - but overall the second quarter of the year showed the economy grew far less than it did in the first. A total 0.3 per cent GDP growth was better than some analysts were expecting, but is still slow movement overall given the government's plan to kickstart businesses and get the nation firing on all cylinders. Meanwhile, it's A Level results day for college students in the UK - meaning lots of university-related financial matter coming your way today as well. Stock markets rose in the US but fell in Asia overnight, with the FTSE 100 following the latter on a downward path as trading started on Thursday. Aviva and the Admiral Group are among those reporting their latest financials today.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
French consumer inflation confirmed at 0.9% in July
Aug 14 (Reuters) - Consumer price inflation in France was stable in July and met analysts' expectations and the preliminary reading, statistics office INSEE said on Thursday. France's harmonized inflation rate, adjusted for comparison with other euro zone countries, was +0.9% year-on-year in July, INSEE said. A poll of 17 analysts surveyed by Reuters had on average expected the +0.9% rate for EU-harmonised inflation. INSEE reported the same figure in its preliminary reading. The consumer inflation rate was also at +0.9% year-on-year in June.
