The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has launched a second round of the
Carers Act Transformation Support (CATS) Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government, to give third sector organisations involved in the local implementation of the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 the opportunity to apply for small grants to support their work.
The Scottish Government is investing around £500,000 in 2018/2019 to provide funding to third sector organisations to allow them to gear up for supporting the implementation of the Act and help with funding for transformation costs. The main purpose of this short term funding is to develop local capacity and systems, rather than delivering support, which is funded locally.
In Round 1 SCVO was able to support 28 applications from organisations across Scotland to develop their capacity through improvements to their systems and/or technology. Round 2 of the fund will focus on supporting third sector organisations which have a role in local implementation of the Act the opportunity to apply for small grants to purchase hardware/software to improve their capacity to do so.
Applications for the fund are now open and eligibility criteria is detailed on our CATS fund page.
Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) said: “SCVO is delighted to be managing a second round of the CATS fund on behalf of the Scottish Government as it recognises both the vital role that Scotland’s third sector has in the implementation of the Carers (Scotland) Act, and the need to financially support organisations to do this successfully. We want to help charities across the country develop their processes and procedures to ensure they have the capacity to meet the opportunities and challenges the Act presents in their communities. I would encourage eligible organisations involved in this work to apply.”
Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing, Joe FitzPatrick MSP said: “Unpaid carers play a crucial role in their communities across the country and the Carers Act gives them the support they need to look after their own health and wellbeing, so they can have a life alongside caring.
“The third sector provides a pivotal role in helping with this at a local level and our £500,000 fund will allow them to improve their systems to help unpaid carers access their rights to support.”
Last modified on 23 January 2020
