The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is delighted to announce that in Round 3 of the Carer Act Transformation Support (CATS) fund, 22 voluntary organisations throughout Scotland have been awarded grants to help them to continue to develop local capacity, systems and processes to support their role in the implementation of the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016.
The purpose of this Scottish Government funding - first launched in June 2018 - was to develop local capacity through improvements to systems or technology etc. rather than delivering direct services or support to carers, which is funded locally.
The successful organisations are Carers Link East Dunbartonshire, Carers of East Lothian, Carers of West Dunbartonshire, Carers of West Lothian, Dumfries and Galloway Carers Centre, Dundee Carers Centre, East Renfrewshire Carers Centre, Edinburgh Headway Group, Fife Carers Centre, Glasgow Association for Mental Health, Highland Community Care Forum, Inverclyde Carers Centre, North Argyll Carers Centre, Perth & Kinross Association of Voluntary Service (PKAVS) - Carers Hub, Quarriers, South Lanarkshire Carers Network, The Broomhouse Centre, The Haven, Unity, VOCAL - Voice of Carers Across Lothian and Voluntary Action Shetland.
By being granted funding in Round 3 these 22 organisations to improve and upgrade their IT systems, develop their workforce, develop/refine processes, purchase a range of mobile devices such as iPads and Tablets, and test new digital approaches to existing services between now and the end of March 2020.
SCVO Development Manager Irene Connelly manages the fund - she said: “SCVO and Scottish Government are committed to continuing to work with carer support organisations in the months ahead to shape the ways in which we can build on the learning from this fund to maximise the impact that digital approaches can have on the fantastic work being carried out by them up and down the country.”
Public Health Minister Joe Fitzpatrick said: “Local carer organisations across Scotland play a crucial role helping carers access support to look after their own health and wellbeing – in line with their rights under the Carers Act. It is great to see so many of these organisations taking advantage of this fund to improve their capacity to continue this vital work.”