6 February 2025

Children in Scotland has welcomed the announcement of a new Fairer Funding pilot, created by the Scottish Government, as a positive first step in ensuring that funding is making the best impact for children, young people and their families living across Scotland. 

The pilot, which commits more than £60million to provide multi-year funding to organisations working across Scotland, including a two-year grant to Children in Scotland’s national service for additional support for learning, Enquire, will focus on eradicating child poverty, an issue which the First Minister has outlined as the number one priority for his government.  

Children in Scotland, alongside its members, has been campaigning for an urgent rethink of the Scottish Government’s funding models in light of the significant financial challenges facing the third sector due to years of static funding, rising costs, inflation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Children in Scotland’s Chief Executive, Dr Judith Turbyne, said:

“We are delighted that the Scottish Government has committed to two-year funding for our Enquire service.  

“I would say it was a good first step. It will make a significant difference to the service for the next two years. It will be much more efficient both for the team in Scottish Government and Enquire itself, freeing up time to make more impact on the ground. And it will save us much worry and heartache around the festive period because of the uncertainty it creates.  

“However, we understand this is a first step. Two years is so much better than one year but extending that further will really help in terms of efficiency and productivity, ensuring that money that Scottish Government is spending is really having the best impact. 

“We also need to continue the discussion about increasingly moving to a core funding model wherever possible and to spread this practice across the whole of the Scottish Government to ensure that organisations can be the best impact for the children, young people and families we serve.” 

During a visit to SCVO’s The Gathering, which was held at the EICC in Edinburgh earlier this week, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, met with Dr Turbyne and representatives from Children in Scotland to discuss the current challenges. 

Speaking about the Fairer Funding pilot on her visit to The Gathering, Ms Somerville said:  

“I know many charities, faced with rising costs and falling donations, need more security and stability to enable them to plan and develop. Child poverty, in particular, requires longer-term interventions to help achieve the solutions we want to see. For that, the third sector needs financial stability and certainty. That’s why I have prioritised delivering on our commitment to provide more multi-year funding where we can to support the vital work of the third sector in Scotland, as part of our fairer funding approach. 

“The pilot is the first step in mainstreaming multi-year funding agreements more widely across the third sector. It will give organisations the ability to plan for the future and make the most of their resources. The pilot’s focus on grants connected to tackling child poverty and the delivery of frontline services to our communities will maximise the impact of longer-term funding and support the delivery of our number one priority, eradicating child poverty.”   

A number of Children in Scotland’s member organisations will also receive funding through the Fairer Funding pilot including Sistema Scotland, Dyslexia Scotland, Who Cares Scotland and the Scottish Book Trust’s Bookbug project.  

 To find out more about Enquire, please visit enquire.org.uk