South Scotland MSP Brian Whittle has pledged to urge new First Minister Humza Yousaf to deliver more support to third sector charities providing vital services in South Scotland. The MSP’s promise comes after a visit to Ayrshire Cancer Support’s centre in Kilmarnock for a meeting with CEO Sandra McCall.
For over 40 years, Ayrshire Cancer Support has been offering a wide range of services to people affected by cancer. With drop-in centres in Ayr and Kilmarnock offering everything from support groups, counselling, and complementary therapies to something as simple as a quiet space to relax, Ayrshire Cancer Support has become one of the most valued cancer support providers in the area.
During his visit, Brian heard more about the challenges the charity was facing in dealing with the cost-of-living crisis so soon after the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite having more than 100 volunteer drivers providing cancer patients with lifts to and from their hospital appointments, Ayrshire Cancer Support’s transport services are operating at capacity, with more drivers needed to meet demand. The charity has also had to delay plans for major works at their new Ayr centre in the former St Andrews Hotel due to a lack of available capital funding.
Brian, who has long argued that charities and other third sector organisations providing key support services should receive long term funding from the Scottish Government, believes that the new First Minister needs to take action to deal with the growing funding pressures on organisations like Ayrshire Cancer Support.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“It was good to get back to Ayrshire Cancer Support and catch up with Sandra and the team. The work Ayrshire Cancer Support does makes a huge difference to people in Ayrshire living with cancer and it’s worrying to hear how much pressure they’re under in the current financial climate.
Ayrshire Cancer Support and other organisations like it are providing vital services which otherwise would need to be delivered by the NHS or other public bodies, yet they’ve always been the poor relation when it comes to funding, relying on one-off donations or short term grant funding packages.
I hope that as First Minister, Humza Yousaf will take the warm words he had for the third sector when he was Health Secretary and create the kind of secure, long-term funding packages that Ayrshire Cancer Support and other organisations need to keep doing their vital work.”
Ayrshire Cancer Support CEO Sandra McCall said:
“It is now more important than ever for third sector organisations providing vital services to receive multi-year core funding if they are to survive the challenges of the fiscal environment we now find ourselves operating in.
The cost-of-living crisis is proving to be a bigger threat to most charities than Covid was. It has created an increase in demand for our free services, reduced charity donations, and at the same time has increased our core running costs. Longer-term funding solutions are required to allow us to keep meeting the ever increasing demand for our services.”
