Funding supplied to Relationship Scotland: FOI review

Information requested

You asked for funding and conditions of funding for Relationships Scotland.

You wrote and asked for the following:

Please supply me with the total amount of funding supplied to Relationship Scotland from 1st March 2020 until present date? Please break this down for each funding item i.e. funding t provide training on coercive control to front lito additional funding awarded to deal with the anticipated increase in assistance during the lock down phase that commenced on March 23rd 2020.

Please supply me with the conditions of funding, which stipulate the exact criteria that is required from Relationship Scotland appertaining to each payment from the public purse?

Response

The answer to your question is:

1. Please supply me with the total amount of funding supplied to Relationship Scotland from 1st March 2020 until present date?

Scottish Government Funding to Relationships Scotland per annum: (Please note that funding to Relationships Scotland can only be broken down by tax year. Your request for total funding from the 1st of March 2020 to present date covers two tax years. I have therefore included tax years 2019/20 and 2020/21 in the response.) 2019/20 (6 April 2019 to 5 April 2020): £1,568,000

Total to date for the financial year 2020/21 (6 April 2020 to 5 April 2021): £2,230,000

Total: £3,798,000

2. Please break this down for each funding item i.e. funding t provide training on coercive control to front lito additional funding awarded to deal with the anticipated increase in assistance during the lock down phase that commenced on March 23rd 2020.

2019/20 Child Contact Centres

Child Contact Centres Grant 2019/20
Scottish Government Funding: £38,000

This is a direct extract from Relationships Scotland offer of Grant letter:

The main objectives/expected outcomes of the Grant are:

• Children have improved relationships with their non-residential parent as a result of being able to meet them in a safe and comfortable environment provided by contact centres.
• Parents affected by relationship problems will be supported to enable them to cope with their family situation and work together to safeguard their children’s emotional well-being and safety.
• Children and young people will be supported to enable them to cope with the difficulties associated with family relationship problems, separation and divorce.
• Continued small scale promotion of the “Parenting Plan” and other relevant resources providing support for parents who have separated or live apart in order to help their children thrive.

2020/21 Child Contact Centres

Child Contact Centres Grant 2020/21
Scottish Government Funding: £200,000

This is a direct extract from Relationships Scotland offer of Grant letter.
The main objectives/expected outcomes of the Grant are:

Objectives

• To maintain the national network of child contact centre services across Scotland, recognising that alternative service provision will be necessary given the Covid-19 crisis.
• To support children and families affected by family conflict, separation and divorce who use child contact centre services.
• To provide child contact centre services to enable a person with whom the child is not, or will not be, living to have contact with the child in a safe environment, including the use alternative methods of contact where face to face contact is not possible.
• To ensure children across Scotland have access to a child contact centre service using the existing network of member services.

Outcomes

• To ensure that families referred to contact centres receive initial contact from the contact centre services within appropriate timescales.
• To ensure children are supported by contact centre services to maintain contact with the person they are not, or will not be, living with in a safe and supported way, where reasonably practicable.
• As a result of using child contact centre services, parents and other adults affected by relationship problems will be supported to enable them to cope with their family situation and work together to safeguard their children’s emotional well-being and safety.

Targets/ milestones against which progress in achieving objectives/expected outcomes shall be monitored are:

• To maintain the network of member services across Scotland providing contact services and support insofar as is reasonably practicable;
• To notify Scottish Ministers of any changes to the number of services.
• To maintain paid staff levels across the network using alternative service and support methods where necessary due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The Project

Due the Covid-19 crisis and the advice from UK and Scottish Governments it is not currently possible for face to face contact to take place and contact centre premises have had to be closed. This may continue to be the situation over the duration of the Project. It is accepted that in terms of delivering the Project obligations during the Covid-19 crisis member services will endeavour to put alternative measures in place in the absence of face to face contact.

The Grantee will continue to:

• Maintain the network of member services across Scotland and provide contact services and support insofar as is reasonably practicable.
• Maintain paid staff levels across the network insofar as is reasonably practicable, using the alternative service and support methods outlined below where necessary due to the Covid-19 crisis.
• To risk assess all current and new clients to identify and act on any concerns over the safety of children and/or their parents.

Where face to face contact is not possible, to provide contact services and support through alternative methods insofar as is reasonably practicable. This could include the following:

• Telephone, e-mail, Skype and Zoom support for current and new clients.
• Video contact via Skype / Zoom.
• A 'Letterbox' service to safely share messages, photographs, etc. between children and their non-resident parent.
• Telephone 'In-take' meetings for all new client referrals.
• Additional support by Family Support Workers through telephone, e-mail, Skype and Zoom for more vulnerable clients.

Child Contact Centres 2020/21

Scottish Government Funding: £500,000

This is a direct extract from Relationships Scotland offer of Grant letter.
The main objectives/ expected outcomes of the Grant are:

Objectives

• To maintain the national network of child contact centre services across Scotland, recognising that alternative service provision may be necessary given the Covid-19 crisis.
• To maintain paid staff levels across the network using alternative service and support methods where necessary due to the Covid-19 crisis.
• To support children and families affected by family conflict, separation and divorce who use child contact centre services.
• To provide child contact centre services to enable a person with whom the child is not, or will not be, living to have contact with the child in a safe environment, recognising that alternative service provision will be necessary given the Covid-19 crisis.
• To ensure children across Scotland have access to a child contact centre service using the existing network of member services.
• To risk assess all current and new clients to identify and act on any concerns over the safety of children and/or their parents.
• To provide reports when called upon to do so by the courts where the contact centre can give the required information.
• To provide Scottish Ministers with a Business Plan as detailed in Schedule 1 Part 1.

Outcomes

• To ensure that families referred to contact centres receive initial contact from the contact centre services within appropriate timescales.
• To ensure children are supported by contact centre services to maintain contact with the person they are not, or will not be, living with in a safe and supported way, where reasonably practicable.
• Where the courts ask for a report, to ensure these reports are clear and contain the appropriate level of detail.
• As a result of using child contact centre services, parents and other adults affected by relationship problems will be supported to enable them to cope with their family situation and work together to safeguard their children’s emotional well-being and safety.

Targets/ milestones against which progress in achieving objectives/expected outcomes shall be monitored are:

• That the existing network of member services across Scotland is maintained.
• That an initial response is given to families following a referral to the contact centre within 14 days.
• That the report provided on completion of the Project (paragraph 4.3) contains details of the following as per the Business Plan:
• The number of children and adults supported by member services and the number of contact sessions that take place; and
• Any efficiency savings made and steps taken to rationalise services and premises.

The Project

In terms of delivering the Project obligations as the Covid-19 restrictions continue, member services will endeavour to put alternative measures in place in the absence of face to face contact, or to facilitate face to face contact with the necessary physical distancing and hygiene measures in place. It is expected that child contact centre premises will be permitted to reopen, with physical distancing measures in place, during the Project.

The Grantee will continue to:

• Maintain the network of member services across Scotland and provide contact services and support insofar as is reasonably practicable.
• Maintain paid staff levels across the network insofar as is reasonably practicable, using the alternative service and support methods outlined below where necessary due to the Covid-19 crisis.
• To risk assess all current and new clients to identify and act on any concerns over the safety of children and/or their parents.
• Where face to face contact is possible, to ensure the necessary physical distancing and hygiene measures are in place.

Where face to face contact is not possible, to provide contact services and support through alternative methods insofar as is reasonably practicable. This could include the following:

• Telephone, e-mail, Skype and Zoom support for current and new clients.
• Video contact via Skype / Zoom.
• A 'Letterbox' service to safely share messages, photographs, etc. between children and their non-resident parent.
• Telephone 'In-take' meetings for all new client referrals.
• Additional support by Family Support Workers through telephone, e-mail, Skype and Zoom for more vulnerable clients.

The Grantee will provide the Scottish Ministers with a Business Plan.

Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund

2019/20: £1,530,000
2020/21: £1,530,000
Total: £3,060,000

These are the Relationships Scotland funding Outcomes set out in the Grant award letters:

Tables included attachment below due to formatting issues: FOI/202000104798 - Information Released

3. Please supply me with the conditions of funding, which stipulate the exact criteria that is required from Relationship Scotland appertaining to each payment from the public purse?

Grants provided by the Scottish Government are made subject to binding agreements. The Grant letter includes standard conditions of grant and schedules covering claims and payments, including reporting criteria to be met for awarding funding.

For funding awarded through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund (2019/20), Relationships Scotland had to submit quarterly reports on progress and funding is paid quarterly in arrears provided the Administrator and the Scottish Government were content that the organisation was delivering on the agreed outcomes.

In the current financial year (2020/21), reporting requirements have been reduced for the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund to lighten the burden on organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Relationships Scotland have to submit a mid-term report and an end of year report on progress and funding is paid quarterly in arrears provided the Administrator and the Scottish Government were content that the organisation was delivering on the agreed outcomes.

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