The Fairer Scotland Fund is allocated to Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) to help them achieve sustainable economic growth by:
regenerating disadvantaged communities;
tackling poverty by helping vulnerable people and groups; and
overcoming barriers to employment.
The fund totals £435m over three years. This highlights the importance the Scottish Government places on increasing economic participation for all, improving social cohesion and creating stronger communities.
How is the fund used?
CPPs can use the fund to tackle local issues related to poverty and disadvantage in the most effective way. CPPs are aiming to use the fund as a catalyst to accelerate the achievement of real outcomes for the most disadvantaged areas and vulnerable people. Results will be tracked through Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs). Through SOAs we expect to see evidence emerge over time of positive change and meaningful community involvement and empowerment.
Initiatives supported by the fund are driven by local circumstances and priorities in each area. They range from employability and financial inclusion initiatives in Dundee to a shopmobility service in East Ayrshire and from abenefits uptake and fuel poverty advice for the elderly project in Falkirk to a mentoring support project to help 'looked after' young people in Renfrewshire.
Copies of all 2008/09 single outcome agreements, the majority of which include FSF plans, can be found on the Improvement Service website. Eight of the plans, for example Glasgow's and East Lothian's, were presented as separate documents, working towards unification with the SOAs from 2009/10.
What is the future of the fund?
The Fairer Scotland Fund is ring-fenced until March 2010, to allow all CPP priority outcomes linked to regenerating communities, tackling poverty, and overcoming barriers to employment to be fully embedded within SOAs. The Scottish Government will support all partners working towards key outcomes by sharing best practice from across Scotland through the development of a new learning network.
Further background on the fund can be found in the Q&A section.