£50 million investment aims to transform lives

Young people leaving care and individuals with dementia targeted with new funding

A new £50 million Lottery investment in Scotland will help to transform the life chances of young people leaving care and fundamentally improve the lives of older people with dementia and their carers, the BIG Lottery Fund announced today (FRIDAY).

We are currently exploring innovative and valuable ways to deliver the money to a range of beneficiary groups with the first funds becoming available in 2012’

The announcement was made at Bute House, Edinburgh, the official residence of First Minister Alex Salmond, who welcomed the news on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Speaking at the event, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Alison Magee, set out the Fund’s intention to invest £50 million of new funding to tackle these key issues which challenge the lives of thousands of Scots, their families and communities across the country:

“Our key aim is to use lottery funding to improve all of Scotland’s communities by targeting support directly at those most in need. Through this investment package we aim to address the key challenges faced by young people leaving care and people with dementia in Scotland and their carers by focussing on the specific needs of those individuals involved.

“While some previous grant funding programmes have been set up to address one single aspect of people’s lives at a time, we want to develop a new approach which looks at supporting all aspects of an individual’s life together in one package; a person centred approach over a much longer period of time which is committed to driving forward positive change in peoples’ circumstances.

“This significant and substantial funding package will be invested in order to make a step change to the lives and life chances of some of the most vulnerable people in Scotland today, which we believe will in turn make a positive difference to every Scottish community.

“We know that in order to more effectively tackle issues of this magnitude we must take a fresh look at how we can approach this task and how we can make this new funding work harder for us in order to achieve the high aspirations we have set ourselves. That’s why we are delighted to have already benefitted from the wholehearted support of the Scottish Government  in developing today’s announcement and are committed to working with them and other key stakeholder in these areas over the coming months to examine innovative and effective ways in which we can deliver this investment efficiently and effectively over a long term period.”

First Minister, Alex Salmond said,“The Scottish Government is working with agencies and charities across the country to achieve a fairer Scotland with opportunities for all to flourish and the decision to invest £50m to target the needs of young care leavers, older people with dementia and their carers, will go a long way to supporting that aim.

“Lottery funding decisions are taken independently of government, but the Scottish Government has been working closely with the BIG Lottery Fund to identify key issues distinctive to Scotland and we will continue to explore innovative ways to tackle them.

“Dementia touches the lives of many thousands of Scots - both those with the condition and individuals who invest so much of their time to care for their loved-ones. Dementia is a national priority for the Scottish Government. We will launch our dementia strategy next month and a revised national carers strategy later in the year - plans that will build on our investment in services to improve support for carers and those they care for.

“The Scottish Government is also committed to ensuring every child gets the chance to fulfil their potential, whether or not they have been in care; that is why we have acted to improve the educational attainment and achievement of these young people, including providing additional training and resources.

“We will continue to support the BIG Lottery Fund as it aims to ensure this planned investment makes a real difference for Scots and delivers a shared vision of transformational change in communities the length and breadth of Scotland.”

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The decision to target these areas was informed by recent research which highlights the extent these areas currently impact on Scottish society:

• Approximately 71,000 people have dementia in Scotland in 2010 with numbers expected to rise by nearly 79% to 127,000 by 2031
• Alzheimer Scotland estimates that the cost of dementia to the Scottish economy in 2007 was between £1.5 and £1.7 billion. The estimated average cost per annum of a person with dementia is £25,472.  On current trends, the cost of dementia in 2031 could be projected to rise to £2.6 - £2.9 billion (at 2007 prices)
• There are more than 657,000 unpaid carers in Scotland, with as many as one in five caring for people with dementia.
• There are approximately 15,000 looked after children in Scotland:

1. 1% of Scottish children have been in care
2. 50% of Scottish prisoners have been in care
3. 80% of Scottish prisoners convicted of violence have been in care
4. 34.6% of young people looked after at home had no qualifications at SCQF level 3+, compared to a national average of 3.1%

The Big Lottery Fund has already begun work to develop the way in which these funds will be distributed. BIG seeks to work with a range of key stakeholders, including the Scottish Government, in developing this proposal over the next few months.  

In December 2009 the BIG Lottery Fund announced that it will have around £400 million in total to invest in Scotland in the five years from 2010. Plans for the remainder of this investment will be finalised in the coming months, and further announcements on this are planned. BIG plans to open its new range of strategic funding programmes in June 2010.

Further Information

For more information contact Big Lottery Fund Press Office
0141 242 1415 or 07789 033457
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £24 billion has now been raised and more than 317,500 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

SCOTLAND

The Scotland Committee, led by Chair, Alison Magee, has been making Big Lottery Fund decisions on Scottish projects since March 2007. As well as taking devolved decisions on Lottery spending, the Committee has and will continue to play a strategic role in the future direction of BIG in Scotland.  

The Big Lottery Fund is investing in Scotland’s communities through its Investing in Communities portfolio as well as the small grants schemes Awards for All and 2014 Communities.