Stakeholders urged to help find solutions for Dumfries charity café funding cuts
Half the workforce is at risk of losing jobs.
Last updated 11th Feb 2025
Stakeholders across the region are being urged to gather ‘around the table’ to find a solution to the funding cuts a Dumfries charity café is facing.
The Usual Place announced that half its workforce is at risk of being made redundant due to rising costs.
The “skills academy” supports people with learning difficulties in finding employment.
South Scotland’s MSP Colin Smyth has been an advocate of the charity café since it began in 2015.
He has already met with other politicians and representatives from the charity, but he is now urging local agencies such as the Council, Health and Social Care Partnership and South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) to meet and discuss how they can help with this financial situation and how to offer support to secure a long-term sustainable future.
Smyth says: “As a councillor, I was involved in the transfer of the building to the charity, and I know it has been a constant challenge almost every year to secure what is the substantial amount of money needed to deliver the invaluable work they do.
“This isn’t a new challenge for the Usual Place. But I know from my discussions with them, in particular in recent weeks, that the scale of the deficit they face given the growing difficulties securing funding and the rise, for example, in energy and food costs we have seen in the past few years, does mean that it is no longer sustainable at the current level unless we are able to secure additional funding so that is exactly what we need to do.”
The Labour politician is also the Convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Economy and Fair Work Committee.
He adds: “Young people from the Usual Place gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Economy and Fair Work Committee’s Inquiry into how we close the Disability Employment Gap and helped shape our recommendations to the Scottish Government for action, which included better support for projects such as this, which have been shown to deliver results.
“I am confident that the Usual Place will continue but that will take all stakeholders coming together to agree a way forward and additional funding.
“The Usual Place has been hugely important to the lives of so many young people over the years and that vital work must be secured.”
Rayo Premium