A COMMUNITY centre in the Western Isles has penned an open letter to the Scottish Government over concerns that the provision of legal advice at their local Citizens Advice Scotland may be subject to cuts.
An Taigh Cèilidh – a community centre and café in Stornoway where staff and customers are all encouraged to speak in Gaelic – said they were alarmed at reports the Western Isles Citizens’ Advice Service (WICAS) is facing cuts to its funding, which would impact its ability to provide legal advice to islanders.
“The Board of Directors, team members, and regular service users of An Taigh Cèilidh (ATC) are alarmed at this news,” said the letter from founding director Dr Teàrlach Wilson.
“The wellbeing and vitality of our community is paramount to us as a community project. Our language and culture cannot survive without a community to use them.
READ MORE: Scottish salmon export sales leap in first half of 2024
“ATC has had direct experience with the legal advice services at WICAS. Since we are a small not-for-profit community project, we do not have the means to approach a solicitor regarding some issues.
“On every occasion, the legal advisor at WICAS went above and beyond just giving advice: they found solutions and acted on our behalf.
“In one particular situation, WICAS’s legal advisor found a solution when nobody else could, incuding Police Scotland, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CNES) departments, or our elected representatives in CNES and the Scottish Parliament.
“We cannot envisage where we would be without this support.”
They added that the promise of alternative services on the mainland were unsatisfactory and suggested the Scottish Government had failed to undertake an impact assessment before planning the cuts.
The letter continued:
“ScotGov has claimed that there will be alternative services available on the mainland, but this is not satisfactory to us, and it will be significantly detrimental to the community because:
“(1) there is already a deficit of services for islanders, and this continues to disadvantage islanders
“(2) there are social and legal issues that are unique to our island (such as crofting, infrastructure, and the ecosystem), and it will be difficult to find the relevent expertise on the mainland.
“The most outrageous issue connected to these cuts is ScotGov’s apparent failure to complete an impact assessment on island communities as per the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 and ScotGov’s own National Islands Plan.
READ MORE: SNP to debate constitutional right to abortion at party conference
“ATC Directors, team members and service users would therefore support any action to challenge the legality of these cuts.”
The letter, which has been sent to the Scottish Government as well as SNP MSP Alasdair Allan and Labour MP Torcuil Crichton, concluded by stating that such cuts threatened the viability of life in the Western Isles.
“Without a well-supported and vibrant community on these islands, it will not just be Gaelic language and culture that face extinction, but the entire viability of the Western Isles as a place for humans to live.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “Funding for some advice services ended on 31 March 2024 in line with grant funding agreements.
“Demand for some of these services has changed and we want to ensure that funding is targeted where it is most needed.
“We are providing up to £2 million this year to support the Early Resolution Advice Programme, which supports 16 projects in the third sector, to provide assistance and representation for people at risk of, or facing court action related to debt and housing matters.
“Advice services also play a critical role in helping people to navigate the cost crisis and to access the support and information they need. That is why we are investing over £12 million this year in services that provide advice on debt and welfare issues.
“We will continue to work with the legal profession and other stakeholders, including those in the third sector to identify measures to improve and reform Scotland’s legal aid system.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel