Edinburgh cuts: Charities face closure and vulnerable people set to lose services under plans to end third sector grants

Staff would be made redundant and vulnerable people left without the support they have come to rely on.

The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, which is funded by the NHS and the council, is proposing to axe its grants programme, withdrawing money from 64 organisations across the city.

Edinburgh Community Health Forum (ECHF), which brings together 39 health groups and charities, said the proposed cuts posed a severe threat to organisations that provided essential services to some of Edinburgh's most vulnerable residents.

Among groups set to lose out are charities helping people with issues like loneliness and dementia | Ian Swanson

And it called for an immediate halt to the cuts, which are planned to save £700,000 in the current year and £4.5 million next year.

ECHF's strategic development manager Stephanie-Anne Harris said: “This drastic cut threatens the very fabric of our community support systems and undermines our collective commitment to health and wellbeing in Edinburgh. 

“This disinvestment will lead to the closure of numerous charities and an increased reliance on statutory services, including the NHS and council."

A report to the EIJB, which meets on Friday to approve the cuts, says the money currently invested in the grants programme would be better spent on other priorities.

And it proposes ending the 2024/25 grants programme before the end of the financial year and not providing a grants programme in 2025/26

The report says the EIJB has already achieved around £50m of financial savings in the last two years with more in the pipeline, but expects to have to save a further £50m in 2025/26.

And it continues: “Unfortunately, the reality that needs to be faced is that the gap between the EIJB’s income and its expenditure remains significant and will not be closed through efficiency savings or improved grip and control alone.

“The size of the deficit is such that without decisive action, the EIJB will be unable to meet its statutory obligations and unable to protect our most vulnerable. In the absence of a substantial (and recurring) increase in income, the EIJB needs to reduce the scale of the services it provides.”

The groups set to lose out include Fresh Start, which provides practical support to homeless people moving into tenancies; Home-Start Edinburgh, which supports parents and carers; Pilmeny Development Project, helping to reduce isolation among older people; Portobello Monday Centre, for people with dementia; and Positive Help, helping vulnerable adults affected by HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C.

Catriona Windle, chair of ECHF and chief executive of Health All Round, a community health initiative supporting residents in Gorgie, Dalry, Saughton and Stenhouse, said, "We call for an immediate halt to cuts scheduled for 2025 and urge the IJB to engage in meaningful discussions with the sector about sustainable funding solutions.

“While we recognise the need for budgetary considerations, we cannot afford to compromise on the vital support that Third Sector organisations provide. We propose delaying cuts until September 2025 to allow for a proper conversation about the future.

“The IJB must recognise that resourcing for the Third Sector is not optional; it is crucial for the wellbeing of our communities. We implore council leaders and the IJB to consider resuming full responsibility for funding these vital services or to engage the Third Sector in developing a strategic funding model that ensures ongoing investment in our collective health.”

Lothian Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour said: “I’ve been contacted by a number of charities across the board in Edinburgh, who say this would mean some of the smaller charities having to just close immediately with quite a large number of redundancies.

“They are trying to do it without any consultation and without any publicity but clearly it's a concern because it's within this year's funding, so it literally means the money would dry up before Christmas.

“There is a real concern here that some of the most vulnerable individuals could have their services cut and we're going to see people made redundant without any proper consultation.

“This needs to be paused next Friday and both the health board and the council need to go away and have  think about what they are doing and what this will mean for frontline services before any decision is made.”  

Pat Togher, chief officer of the EIJB, who is to leave the post soon, said: “Proposed changes to grants represent less than 3% of our overall spend from the EIJB to the third sector with the remaining savings consumed by the Health and Social Care Partnership. Projects were awarded funding for 3 years in 2019 which was subsequently extended in 2022 due to continued disruption from Covid and are due to end in March 2025.

“The EIJB were required to close a £60m financial gap this year and are currently preparing for similar savings 2025/26. We must make the necessary decisions to protect our core legal duties and protect our most vulnerable – such as providing care homes, applying adult protection/ mental health legislation and preventing further drug related deaths in the city.

“It is in this context that we must decide on how we now prioritise spend when faced with the gravity of the savings imposed and ensure longer term sustainability.

“We have a duty to spend public money carefully and we will therefore bring forward proposals to achieve the best for the citizens of Edinburgh through working with our third sector partners to ensure clear, measurable outcomes which improves health and social care in Edinburgh.”