Short Breaks Fund FAQ's
This is a short guide to the various funds within The Short Breaks Fund. Please refer to the detailed guidance for more information.
Service Development Fund
- What is the fund for?
- How much is available?
- Who can apply?
- What kind of services or activities will be funded?
- How will funding decisions be taken?
- When has the money to be spent by?
- What we can’t fund?
- When will Round 3 be open for applications?
Time To Live Fund
Better Breaks Fund
- What is the fund for?
- How much money is available?
- Who can apply?
- What kind of projects will be funded?
- How will funding decisions will be taken?
- What are the timescales?
- Is there any support for applicants?
Service Development Fund
What is the fund for?
- The Scottish Government has made the Short Breaks Fund available to help support and sustain carers (including young carers and kinship carers) through enabling better access to short breaks or respite care.
- The Fund will be used to help develop existing, new and innovative models of short breaks which will help to support current and future provision of short breaks and respite care
- The Fund will seek to support a ‘preventative’ approach to short break provision, recognising the importance of planned breaks in promoting good health and well being
- We hope the learning from the Short Breaks Fund projects will inform future policy and practice
How much is available?
- £1m has been made available for the Short Breaks Fund in 2011-12 (£1m in 2010-11) with the intention of continued funding of £1m per year until 2015. Some of these funds will be used for administering the fund and running a Learning Exchange. Over 5 years of funding we would expect £4.5m to be allocated to grants and direct funding for short breaks for carers and people with support needs.
- Round 2 has over £950,000 to allocate between the Service Development Fund and the Time to Live Fund. The Service Development Fund is open now for applications (closing date 12 noon on 20th June)
Who can apply?
- Only voluntary/third sector organisations can apply and the work applied for must be for beneficiaries in Scotland
- You don’t have to be a registered charity, as long as the work you do has charitable aims. Public or private sector bodies cannot apply for funding directly. They may be part of a partnership bid, but must not be the lead partner
- Organisations can apply for more than one grant. But, as the fund is likely to over- subscribed, we ask applicants to consider if they can meet the needs of carers through one application initially
What kind of services or activities will be funded?
- Really any activities which have as their primary aim the securing of quality, person and/or family-centred short breaks and respite care which deliver positive outcomes to the people concerned
- For example, activities which enable people to enjoy outside interests, holidays or other activities – spending some quality time together or apart – or simply providing opportunities to rest and recharge
- We are also inviting applications from organisations that are able to administer and distribute funding to carers directly to enable them to purchase a break or some respite care of their choosing
- We would particularly welcome proposals that seek to improve short break provision to children and young people with disabilities and their families, or 'hard-to-reach' carers, (for example, from BME communities, living in deprived areas or living in rural and remote areas etc.) However the fund is not exclusively for these groups and all applications must clearly meet the identified needs of carers and those they care for
How will funding decisions be taken?
- In Round 2 of the Service Development Fund, applications received after 12 noon on the 20th June cannot be considered
- All applications received will be assessed against the core criteria and good practice criteria set out in the detailed guidance
- Once assessed, all applications will be considered by a Grants Advisory Panel who will take the decisions on allocating the funding
When has the money to be spent by?
- In Round 2 of the Service Development Fund, we will make allocations to projects by October 2011 and would expect funding to be used between October 2011 and September 2012. We will also consider multiple year applications.
What we can’t fund?
- Projects which are not well planned and not based on the needs of carers and care recipients
- Applications which are solely for core or running costs of an organisation or an existing project
- The direct replacement of statutory funding
- Larger capital items such as purchase of buildings, vehicles, etc.
When will Round 3 be open for applications?
Time To Live Fund
What is the Time to Live fund?
- The Time to Live strand of the Short Breaks Fund will provide funding to voluntary organisations which carers and those they support can access directly to enable them to have a short break.
- In 2011 we are piloting the Fund in 12 areas. The amount of funding available in each of these areas is based on the percentage of carers in that area with a weighting to take account of the additional costs of delivering services in more remote, rural areas.
- Applications are open to voluntary (Third Sector) organisations that can reach all types of carers in the one area and can work in partnership with local arrangements for self directed support. Organisations can apply for more than one area.
- Applicants should apply for the total funding available for the area, and 90% or more of the funding should go directly to careers.
Better Breaks Fund
What is the fund for?
- Better Breaks is part of a new £2m investment by Scottish Government to improve the provision of, and access to, short breaks for disabled children and young people and their carers, especially where the children and young people have multiple support needs
- The fund will be used to help develop existing, new and innovative models of short breaks which will help to support the well-being of carers and of the disabled children and young people they care for.
- The fund will create more opportunities for disabled children and young people, especially those with multiple support needs, to take part in activities which are fun, stimulating and rewarding
- The fund will encourage shared learning and a better understanding of the role of short breaks in supporting caring relationships
How much money is available?
- Better Breaks has £1.3m to allocate as grants in 20012/13. We anticipate that the majority of grants will be between £10,000 and £50,000 each.
- Additionally, the Family Fund is managing a fund of £600,000 called Take a Break which will provide grants for short breaks directly to carers.
- Up to £100,000 has been allocated to fund a programme of learning so that organisations, individual carers and policy makers have the opportunity to understand more about the short break needs of disabled children and young people, and their carers.
Who can apply?
- Voluntary/third sector organisations operating in Scotland can apply
- Organisations do not have to be a registered charity, but their work must have charitable aims. Public or private sector bodies cannot apply for funding directly. They may be part of a partnership bid, but must not be the lead partner
- Organisations that are already funded through the Short Breaks Fund can apply
- Individual carers or families can not apply to Better Breaks but can apply to Take a Break
What kind of projects will be funded?
- Projects which improve and extend short break provision to disabled children and young people, especially those with multiple support needs.
- Projects that build the capacity of mainstream leisure and recreational services to involve disabled children and young people.
- Activities which enable disabled children and young people and their carers to enjoy outside interests, holidays or other activities – spending some quality time together or apart – or simply providing opportunities to rest and recharge.
- Be imaginative! A break can be an activity for a couple of hours, a playscheme over the summer, a residential weekend, an evening youth club, a buddy scheme, etc.
- Grant could fund staff costs, volunteer costs, training costs, transport costs, specialised equipment, etc. where these lead clearly to better access to quality short breaks.
How will funding decisions be taken?
- All applications received will be assessed against the core criteria set out in the detailed guidance.
- The assessment will be undertaken by a trained and experienced external assessor, who will phone you to discuss your application.
- Once assessed, all applications will be considered by a Grants Advisory Panel who will take the decisions on allocating the funding.
What are the timescales?
- The closing date for applications is at 12noon on the 1st February 2012.
- We will inform applicants of the outcome of their application in the week beginning 2nd April 2012. Funding will be issued to successful applicants at the end of April 2012 and must be spent by the end of March 2013.
Is there any support for applicants?
- Yes, there will be workshops for applicants in different locations in December. Click here for information. If you want to attend a workshop you must book a place.
- You can phone Alison at the Shared Care Scotland office on 01383 622462 or email her here.
Shared Care Scotland
Unit 2, Dunfermline Business Centre, Izatt Avenue,
Dunfermline,
Fife
KY11 3BZ
Tel:
Work
01383 622462
email:office@sharedcarescotland.com
- A company limited by guarantee registered in Scotland SC161033