£4.86 MILLION FUNDING REACHES MIDLOTHIAN AND EAST LOTHIAN TO TACKLE IMPACT OF PANDEMIC

SNP MSP Colin Beattie has welcomed new figures outlining the scale of Scottish Government funding to tackle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
 
As part of £3.8 billion in extra spending to tackle coronavirus, the Scottish Government has committed to a £350 million package of emergency funding for communities to help tackle harms caused by the pandemic.
 
A new online dashboard, published this week, has outlined the financial support so far allocated to Midlothian and East Lothian. This totalled at £2,488,682 for Midlothian and £2,367,944 for East Lothian.
 
The Scottish Government funding has included:
 
MIDLOTHIAN

• £446,000 from the Food Fund, to support those who would otherwise be unable to access food through the usual routes.
• £263,892 from the Wellbeing Fund, to support organisations providing important services to people most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
• £282,911 from the Supporting Communities Fund, for community anchor organisations to help support local responses to the pandemic.
• £328,879 from the Third Sector Resilience Fund, to support third sector organisations that deliver services and products but find themselves in financial difficulties directly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

EAST LOTHIAN

• £447,000 from the Food Fund, to support those who would otherwise be unable to access food through the usual routes.
• £249,535 from the Wellbeing Fund, to support organisations providing important services to people most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
• £187,614 from the Supporting Communities Fund, for community anchor organisations to help support local responses to the pandemic.
• £184,795 from the Third Sector Resilience Fund, to support third sector organisations that deliver services and products but find themselves in financial difficulties directly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

 
 
Commenting, SNP MSP Colin Beattie said:
 
“The pandemic has caused enormous pressure on households and communities across Scotland.
 
“The Scottish Government has provided swift and substantial financial help to households in Midlothian and East Lothian – supporting frontline organisations and access to food.
                                                                                    
“We now know that change can happen rapidly – and we must build on that momentum to achieve our long-term goals of reducing poverty and inequality.”