‘Playing Jenga with the building blocks of Scotland’s health and wellbeing’
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 4th December 2024.
In a new article, CHEX Head of Programme Sarah Boath reflects on the challenging funding landscape community organisations are facing, and why we need to start thinking of these vital supports as prudent investments instead of short-term projects.
These reflections come at an extremely challenging time for the sector, with many organisations facing serious funding gaps that could lead to significant reductions in services that support some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
In the piece, Sarah describes how it sometimes feels that we are playing Jenga with the building blocks supporting our health and wellbeing. Decision-makers are trying to remove just enough to cover the budget shortfall, while hoping desperately that the leaning tower doesn’t completely collapse. And every financial year there are fewer and fewer bricks to play with, with the tower becoming ever-more rickety.
At the same time, the policy profile of our country’s health inequalities has never been higher, and we know that early intervention and the addressing the wider social determinants of health are key to tackling Scotland’s persistent health inequalities.
However, the decisions that affect our services and resources are increasingly informed, not by evidence or policy, but by the twin priorities of meeting statutory obligations and balancing the budget.
Decisions made in today’s Scottish Budget will be hugely important, but, Sarah argues, to improve Scotland’s health and wellbeing we need to think of community organisations as long-term investments of resources, time, skills and commitment.
What you need to know this week.
The SCDC Weekly gives you everything you need to know around community development and beyond.
It’s free, concise and delivered directly to your inbox every Wednesday.