Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Calls for Nicola Sturgeon to support Aberdeenshire’s third sector

AVA chief executive Dan Shaw (left) and staff (back, from left) Sandra McGuigan, Lorna Sandison, Rhona Davidson. (middle) Keith Anderson, Donna Speed and Isabelle Taylor. (front) Aileen Longino.
Picture by COLIN RENNIE
AVA chief executive Dan Shaw (left) and staff (back, from left) Sandra McGuigan, Lorna Sandison, Rhona Davidson. (middle) Keith Anderson, Donna Speed and Isabelle Taylor. (front) Aileen Longino. Picture by COLIN RENNIE

An Aberdeenshire organisation has raised fears of “funding uncertainties” amidst claims that the Scottish Government is not doing enough to support its third sector.

Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action (AVA) is one of Scotland’s 32 third sector interfaces.

Funded by the Scottish Government and the integrated joint board of Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership, they work to supporting a range of organisations – ranging from community trusts to Scout groups – to reach their full potential.

They aim to “put the community at the heart of local decisions by ensuring the views of the third sector and the communities they support are heard and understood.”

However, chief executive Dan Shaw last night claimed the organisation faces an “funding uncertainties”.

He said: “Across Scotland, third sector organisations are facing challenges in attracting funding, volunteers and recourses.

“Each of the 32 third sector interface organisations in Scotland play a very important role and are responsible for so many people as a result.

 

“The Scottish Government is undertaking a financial review into third sector interfaces – and in Aberdeenshire we do fear we might be facing a funding cut.

“More needs to be done to preserve the third sector.”

Mr Shaw added that throughout the last decade funding had remained static, rather than rising with inflation and the expansion of the third sector.

Last night West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MSP Alexander Burnett called on First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to fully put her support behind the north-east organisation.

He said: “In the last few years alone, the demands placed on AVA and their partners have grown significantly.

“Volunteering is more at the heart of north-east communities than it’s ever been.

“But funding to AVA has remained static, so they are losing money to inflation and increasing costs every year.

Nicola Sturgeon

“The SNP government now expects these interface groups to work more closely with statutory bodies.

“In response, all 32 wrote to them last month, asking for some recognition of their increasing role in Scottish society.

“I fully support the work of the third sector in Aberdeenshire, having witnessed remarkable projects in my constituency, and I want Nicola Sturgeon to do the same.”

A government spokesman said: “We are committed to supporting and developing the third sector, which delivers essential services, helps to improve wellbeing and contributes to economic growth.

“The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) estimates that the public sector as a whole invests around £1.8 billion to support the work of charities and social enterprises.

“Since 2011, the Scottish Government has invested more than £8 million each year to build a network of Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs), which provide a single point of contact and support for local charities and social enterprises.

“The way this funding is distributed is being reviewed to ensure it is targeted in areas of greatest need and the outcome of this review will be shared with TSIs in the coming weeks.

“The calling of a general election means that a new UK Budget date will not be known until December at the earliest.

“The Scottish Government is therefore considering its approach to the 2020-21 Scottish Budget and an announcement will be made in due course.”