Big funding blow for Aviemore domestic abuse support group

Victims of domestic abuse and their children in Badenoch and Strathspey could be put at even greater risk after funding from the Scottish Government was withdrawn, it has been claimed.

Community Violence and Abuse Support Service (CoVASS) runs a safe house in Aviemore for women and their children fleeing violence and mental torment.

The organisation also offers one-on-one counselling, self-esteem classes and group therapy sessions at their office at Craigellachie Crescent in Aviemore and through their outreach services.

On average, CoVASS said it had helped 50 women and 30 children a year since 2006.

However, the group has just received notice from the Scottish Government that their funding of nearly £100,000 received annually for the past four years has been axed.

CoVASS manager Kim Haywood said: “Ministers have decided the affected women and children of Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey need no support for the violence and abuse they continue to suffer within their own communities.

“We have asked the Scottish Government for the reasons why our funding was refused but we haven’t received any specific details.

“We have proved we can deliver a service equal too if not better than other similar groups on a fraction of the money they require.

CoVASS still does not know if the group will receive their £8,661 annual grant from Highland Council which is also a source of discontent.

The group said it has never received a fair share of local authority funding compared to other Women’s Aid services in the Highlands since breaking away from Inverness Women’s Aid in 2006.

Ms Haywood said: “With the money we have been receiving annually it works out we were spending just over a £1,000 a year on each of the 80 women and children we have worked with.

“Surely they are worth that?”

Badenoch and Strathspey Highland Councillor Gregor Rimell (Lib Dem) has criticised the Scottish Government’s decision.

He said: “I do not understand the Scottish Government’s decision, which appears to be to withdraw all funding at a stroke.”

Fellow local Highland councillor Jaci Douglas commented: “It’s really disappointing and extremely worrying that CoVASS has lost so much of their core funding in one go and the concern now is how to continue to provide support to those that need it in Badenoch and Strathspey.”

She added: “I shall be writing to the council’s directors of both health and social care and to education, culture and sport to ask what plans are in place to ensure our vulnerable children, and families, are supported.”

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant instigated and led on the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament.

She said she was deeply disappointed to hear that the Scottish Government were no longer going to fund what she described as such a valuable service.

She added: “It is not clear where this £90,000 will now go. Are the Scottish Government going to contract to provide a service that is equal to or even better than the one provided by CoVASS?

“The people of this area need to know and the fact that they don’t, is testament to the fact that whatever the plans are, they clearly have not been thought through to include consultation and communications with all stakeholders.

“I will be writing to the Scottish Government on this matter seeking answers. When it comes to domestic abuse it is clear that the Scottish Government’s actions are somewhat different from their words.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson did not go into specifics on CoVASS but said: “Since 2007, funding for violence against women work, including domestic abuse, has doubled and the Scottish Government has demonstrated its commitment, despite budget constraints, to maintaining spending in this crucial area of work.

“The current economic climate means that the we have to ensure that we get the maximum benefit possible and that the best outcomes for women and children are delivered with the resources that we have available.”

He added: “We are therefore refocusing our funding to focus on prevention and early intervention over the next three years to deliver on these aims whilst maintaining our support of frontline services for women and children.

“We are committing £34 million in total to Violence Against Women work over the next three years, 2012-15.”