- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £212,500 was provided to Perth and Kinross Association of Voluntary Service (PKAVS) between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the "Enhancing lives of ethnic minorities in Perth and Kinross" project.
Answer
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The "Enhancing lives of ethnic minorities in Perth and Kinross" project was funded to help the Perth and Kinross Minority Communities Hub (MCH) to support ethnic minority communities through focusing on building the capacity through 1-1 support and group work, promoting good relations through celebrations of multi-cultural festivals and participation and engagement of ethnic minority communities in consultations and other initiatives such as Perth City of Culture 2021 bid, reducing isolation and loneliness through activities such as walking groups, lunch clubs, peer support groups etc. and challenging discrimination by advocating, and connecting its clients to appropriate legal support provided by its partner agency (EMLC), and by providing cultural awareness and equality and diversity training to statutory and voluntary services.
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- Services will have enhanced understanding and capacity to address the needs of ethnic minority communities with equality, reducing discrimination.
- People from ethnic minority communities will have increased capacity to access services with equality
- Ethnic minority communities will engage more fully with opportunities to participate in the economic and cultural life of the community
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £191,250 was provided to Dundee International Women's Centre between 2017-18 and 2020-21 for the Safety Net project, as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of this project.
Answer
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The ‘Safety Net’ project was funded to increase the capacity of the community to identify and address issues around radicalisation. The next steps and proposed project were to deliver a range of workshops to adults and young learners to raise awareness of online safety issues and in particular cover extremism in all its forms. In addition the plan was to deliver a suite of knowledge transfer events to relevant agencies in Scotland to widen the awareness and impact of Safety Net.
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- Women will have improved understanding how extremist groups target young people and what to do if they have concerns.
- Other organisations are equipped and have the skills and knowledge to support their client groups
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £148,750 was provided to the British Red Cross between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of The STAR project.
Answer
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The “STAR Project” was funded to provide emergency humanitarian and integration assistance to vulnerable asylum seekers in Glasgow. There were three aspects to the work:
1. Providing asylum support to individuals facing immediate crisis (particularly destitution) coming through our Triage clinic.
2. Providing more in-depth and specialist casework support and advocacy
3. Gathering an effective evidence base
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- The impact of crisis facing individual asylum seekers will be mitigated, enabling people to experience fewer barriers to participation
- Information will be collected and shared, and key advocacy points developed, to work together with other key stakeholders towards a longer term solution
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £148,750 was provided to Outside the Box Development Support between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the "Promoting community support and rights for older people facing additional challenges" project.
Answer
Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The "Promoting community support and rights for older people facing additional challenges" project was funded to support work with older people who live with disabilities and/or face other challenges and who want more services that give them real choices and enable them to live as independently as possible. The project would work alongside those older people to improve the number, range and quality of community services and to raise public and professional awareness and change attitudes to this group of older people. The project would bring people together, share good practice and publicise positive examples.
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- Older people with disabilities are better able to shape the services they use and so get support that reflects their circumstances and gives them a good quality of life.
- Public and professional awareness about older people and the contribution they make is increased and older people with disabilities have more opportunities to participate
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £148,750 was provided to Linknet between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the Mentoring and Training in Edinburgh and the Lothians project.
Answer
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The Mentoring and Training in Edinburgh and the Lothians project was funded to support LINKnet to take forward work to eliminate/ reduce inequality and disadvantage of minority ethnic people, to foster integration and understanding between communities, to tackle disadvantages and to promote equality. The project was designed to increase representation of minority ethnic people in employment, education and civic engagements in Scotland. In addition, it aimed to address isolation and loneliness among minority ethnic people, particularly recent migrants, which prevents them from achieving personal development goals related to education and employment.
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- Minority Ethnic (ME) participants of the ‘Mentoring and Training’ project will have improved knowledge, confidence and ability on job searching, CV writing, application-form filling, interviews and making presentations. As a result, clients furthest from the labour market will improve their options and increased numbers of those excluded from mainstream provision will move along the 'pipeline' into volunteering, education, training and employment
- Minority ethnic service users will have improved English language skills, self confidence, self esteem and the improved ability to seek employment, education opportunities or to take part in the activities of British society and benefit from those activities and will have new social contacts and wider community cohesion.
- Minority Ethnic people will have improved work experience, developed work related skills and enhanced employability
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £212,500 was provided to Show Racism the Red Card between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the Tackling Contemporary Racism v.2 project.
Answer
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The ‘Tackling Contemporary Racism v.2’ project was funded to enable Show Racism the Red Card to deliver four education workshops in schools and facilitate young people then attending their local football club for a ‘Challenging Racism’ and a Hate Crime Workshop delivered by Police Scotland. The organisation would also hold an Equalities Creative Competition encouraging young people to champion the Equalities strand of their choice. In addition the organisation would also hold an Annual Fortnight of Action to send a clear message that ‘we are united in our diversity’.
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- Young people in the educational programme will have an increased awareness of the implications of different types of racism which will result in a decrease in discriminatory behaviour exhibited toward ethnic minority communities.
- An increased awareness of racism amongst communities to challenge racist behaviour
- Decrease in use of racist language and behaviour by young people taking part in the anti-racism 'Scotland for All' Creative Competition.
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £165,750 was provided to Friends of Romano Lav between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the Roma Opportunities Project.
Answer
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The Roma Opportunities Project was funded to continue to increase the capacity of the various Roma communities in Glasgow, particularly focussing on young Roma people. The project would provide peer education training and opportunities for Roma young people and would deliver activities designed to promote Roma self-confidence and self-esteem, increase knowledge of local and national services and socio-political structures, and challenge negative perceptions.
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- Roma youth increased confidence and self-esteem; and develop the skills they need to support their communities. Discrimination faced by Roma people is reduced and the intercultural dialogue is promoted
- Roma youth increased their knowledge of the local and national services and socio-political structures and youth members of Friends of Romano Lav are more active in community and social political debates
- Roma and non-Roma people increase a more positive sense of Roma identity and culture. Roma youth increase their social media skills to better represent Roma communities and challenging negative representations
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £80,750 was provided to Multi-Cultural Family Base between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the 4Corners Project.
Answer
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The 4Corners project was funded to support work with children aged 8-16 and their families through one-to-one, group work and parent support. The project aimed to promote vulnerable and disadvantaged Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) children’s participation and engagement in the life of their school and community. The majority of the children would be new migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. The group would work in primary schools will include both BME and White Scottish children and would focus on integration and social cohesion.
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- Refugees living in Scotland are active advocates for mental health and wellbeing both locally and nationally
- Local and national health and civic society agencies are engaged in refugee led prevention and support approaches to service planning and provision
- Statements and dialogues on mental health and wellbeing are being initiated and led by refugees in places and spaces across Scotland
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £297,500 was provided to Glasgow North West Citizen Advice Service between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the Equalities Project.
Answer
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The Equalities Project was funded to enable Maryhill and Possilpark Citizens Advice Bureau to broaden volunteering opportunities for protected characteristics individuals to increase confidence, skills/knowledge, aspirations, and community cohesion by ensuring equal participation and representation in public life. Volunteers with the CAB would gain workplace experience to access paid employment and/or further education/training. It was intended that the CAB would continue to strengthen its partnerships with local equality organisations and Glasgow CABx to address the needs of protected characteristics individuals.
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- People from equalities groups have increased access to quality advice and information services and are enabled to inform service design and delivery.
- People from across the protected characteristics will have increased opportunities to access quality volunteering opportunities, training and support which will increase their skills, knowledge and experience to enhance employability and representation in public life.
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 18 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason £102,000 was provided to Hidden Gardens between 2017-18 and 2020-21 as part of the Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund; what this funding was used for, and what the outcomes were of the Community Development and Cultural Programme project.
Answer
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.
The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:
- Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
- People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
- People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
- Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities
The Community Development and Cultural Programme project was funded to support creation of new, and development of existing projects within Hidden Gardens’ Community Development & Cultural Programme, for people with protected characteristics to: engage in intercultural dialogue; learn skills; reduce inequality; increase resilience and promote community cohesion & societal engagement.
The specific outcomes to be achieved were:
- To deepen connection between peoples of all cultures, faiths, backgrounds and abilities - this outcome underpins everything we do at the Hidden Gardens. Through engaging in shared activities, people will have an understanding and appreciation of other cultures, faiths, backgrounds and abilities, thereby developing safe and stable relationships between communities.
- Improve Learning and Participation, thereby reducing disadvantage and inequality in public life
The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf