Question reference: S6W-08576
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 17 May 2022
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Current status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 26 May 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether further funding will be provided in addition to the recently announced £15 million Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund investment, in order to match the £22 million investment in the financial year 2021-22.
Answer
In October 2021, I was delighted to launch the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults, supported by a £15 million investment for 2021-22. This funding has now been successfully distributed to a wide range of grassroots, community based projects across Scotland. A further £15 million was announced this month for a second year of the Fund in 2022-23.
£15 million in both 2021-22 and 2022-23 is a significant investment in grassroots, community mental health and wellbeing support. To date, almost 2000 awards have been made to projects, focused on a range of at risk groups including older people and those facing social isolation, people with long-term health conditions and people facing socio-economic disadvantage. This is making a real difference to mental health and wellbeing in many communities.
To aid with pandemic recovery and respond to the high demand for community projects in 2021-22, an additional £6 million was provided in February, bringing total funding for 2021-22 to £21 million. We will continue to build on the success of this work in Year 2, and ensure that the sizeable additional £15 million investment makes a valuable impact on mental health and wellbeing within communities across Scotland.