HOLYROOD ministers are in the firing line after £3.4 million freed up by Westminster to fund advice services for people in need has not reached the frontline a year after half of the funds were made available.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been singled out for criticism after she gave a speech to about 200 charity representatives last week in which she said the voluntary sector was "picking up the pieces" of the Coalition Government's welfare reforms.
Details of the latent funds come as the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) reported that 81% of charities in Scotland expect the sector's financial situation to deteriorate over the next year.
Despite the pressures on charities, the money has yet to be allocated as intended.
It was passed to Scotland as part of a three-year £20m package for the not-for-profit advice sector across the UK.
Holyrood received £1.7m in November 2011, with the same amount allocated in March. A further £1.7m is due next year.
Labour MP Tom Greatrex said: "With increasing pressure on the already tight resources of organisations such as Citizens Advice Scotland, any additional funding would be welcomed. The extra money from the UK Government was announced in November, yet a year later local advice centres aren't feeling the benefit of this.
"It's a bit rich for Nicola Sturgeon to say that voluntary groups and charities are picking up the pieces when it is the SNP in Edinburgh who are depriving them of vital funding."
Mr Greatrex, who represents Rutherglen and Hamilton, added: "The SNP Government must come clean on where the money is. If it is not going to support the important work of organisations like Citizens Advice then SNP ministers should be honest about this."
Finance Secretary John Swinney has already indicated that, given the money was delivered through Barnett consequentials, it is up to Scottish ministers to collectively decide how best to use it in light of the financial position.
The SCVO has urged the Scottish Government to free up the funds to allow the voluntary sector to meet demand.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) contributes £166.2m a year to the Scottish economy, which includes £60m in savings on benefits, NHS spending and homelessness services as a result of the advice it gives, according to a recent report.
A spokesman said: "We are currently in discussion with the Government and other funders about how to make sure the CAB service gets the resources it needs to continue helping our clients."
A Scottish Government spokesman said the vital role played by the third sector within communities was recognised.
He added: "They are close to the harsh reality of these welfare cuts and it is they who so often have to pick up the pieces. That is why we are working in partnership with the sector and local authorities to understand the consequences of these reforms and do what we can to help mitigate their worst impacts."
"The Scottish Government's draft budget for 2013/14 is currently being scrutinised by the committees of the Scottish Parliament. We understand Citizens Advice Scotland is engaged with that process and look forward to receiving the conclusions from the relevant committees in due course."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article