Almost £1.7 million will be awarded to 16 successful projects in Glasgow offering support to adults needing help with arithmetic and maths skills across the city.
Three local colleges - Glasgow Clyde, City of Glasgow and Glasgow Kelvin College - as well as the 16 projects will benefit from a share of the funding which is being awarded through Multiply, a UK government programme for numeracy, with £1.2 million left over.
The colleges, in partnership with Glasgow Life, will offer the numeracy support on campus as well as within community settings including Castlemilk Youth Project and Fuse Youth Cafe.
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Funding of up to £200,000 for this financial year was available, with 21 projects applying for a share of the cash to run support programmes to adults aged 19 and over who didn’t reach Level 2, SCQF Level 5 or a higher maths qualification.
Glasgow Life says it will work with the unsuccessful bidders from this round to improve future submissions. The organisation will also work in partnership with the colleges and monitor the delivery of the maths and numeracy programmes.
The programme was discussed by members of the City Administration Committee this morning. Questions were raised about the remaining funding of £1.2million.
Councillor Frank McAveety said: “There is a remaining amount of money and I was just wondering what the time frame is [to use] that money.
“We saw the list of unsuccessful applicants and they all look like very credible organisations to me that have been in partnership with the council before. How quickly can we get to a discussion with those organisations to see whether they can apply for this?”
It was confirmed that officers had already been in touch with some of the organisations already and the rest being informed within the next couple of weeks.
It is the council’s intention to allocate that funding.
Bailie Annette Christie, chairwoman of Glasgow Life, said: “Like yourself I was surprised by a few that were refused, one of them being actually in my ward, but there is an application process in place and those applications have to be assessed appropriately.
“They were scored separately and brought before the panel for a review. With regards to that £1.2 million it is our intention to allocate that £1.2 million this financial year. We don’t have an agreement to carry it over to the next financial year.”
Following the meeting, bailie Christie, said that the funding would help adults across Glasgow learn new skills that help them “lead richer lives”.
She added: “The successful programmes will mean people who want help with numeracy should be able to access support near them.
For some, it will open doors into employment or new careers reducing poverty and inequality, increasing opportunity and prosperity; for others it will make daily life a little easier.”
The grant application process began in February this year and bids were assessed by a panel drawn from partner organisations chaired by Glasgow Life prior to approval by Glasgow City Council.
Details of the projects and funding awarded can be found on the city council’s website.
They include:
Castlemilk Youth Project
Enable Scotland
ESOL Forum
Fuse Youth Cafe Glasgow
GCVS
Glasgow Disability Allowance
Glasgow Science Centre
Parkhead Citizens Advice
Positive Action in Housing
Right Track Scotland ltd
Saheliya
WEA
Central and West Integration Network
Fair Deal
Move On
MyBank
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