Demand for mental health funding in West Lothian more than double amount available
Demand for voluntary mental health services in West Lothian’s communities continues to grow as applications to a cash fund to help adults in crisis surged for the fourth year in a row.
While the money awarded by Holyrood to West Lothian has yet to top £500,000 annually, demand again outstripped the fund by more than double.
West Lothian’s Voluntary Sector Gateway (VSG) received applications totalling more than £1m for a pot of Government grant cash of £467,000. The fund has been oversubscribed by the same amount every year since its launch, making for difficult decisions by the charity umbrella group.
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Stuart Barrie, Operations Manager for the VSG. told a meeting of the Economy Community Empowerment and Wealth Building PDSP this week: “VSGWL administered Year 4 of the Scottish Government’s Mental Health and Well-Being Fund which aims to support community-based initiatives that promote and develop good mental health and well-being on impacts of distress, social isolation and mental ill health within the adult population.”
An independent assessment panel, comprising representatives from VSGWL, West Lothian Council, HSCP and an individual with lived experience met three times during November to consider applications.
Mr Barrie told councillors: “The £467k fund was heavily oversubscribed with 81 applications received from third sector organisations and social enterprises seeking £1.3m.”
Last year the Bathgate-based VSG received 68 applications seeking over £1.4m from the overall pot of about the same size.
The VSG was able to help a total of 37 organisations for this financial year and provided with grants to support their initiatives.
Details of the successful projects for the next financial year will be published next week. The funded project will carry out a range of activities and support programmes from April 2025 to March 2026.
The fund was introduced by the Scottish Government as one of the measures to combat the effects of the lockdown during the Covid pandemic.
Linlithgow’s Lib Dem Councillor Sally Pattle praised the work of the Gateway in administering the fund for the last four years.
She told the meeting: “I’m always so impressed at the amount of work you are able to co-ordinate and pull together. It is just astonishing that that number of organisations have applied. What indications do you have that the fund will continue.”
Mr Barrie told the meeting that the wider Third Sector Interface (TSI) Network is in active dialogue with the Scottish Government about the potential of what he described as “ this invaluable and much needed funding in future years.”
He added: “It would be fantastic if we could get an increase but that depends on the Scottish budget.”
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