Autism & Neurodiversity North Scotland (A-ND) has withdrawn from a contract it held with Aberdeenshire Council after the parties failed to agree revised funding terms.
The charity, which has seen its income more than double in the past three years to £911,000 in 2023, announced last week that it had withdrawn from the council’s Whole Family Wellbeing Fund.
It said the total cost of the project was £90,000, with the charity receiving £50,000 and subsidising the rest through donations.
In September, the council discussed new contract terms which would involve it paying £20,000 to the charity to deliver different services.
The charity said the revised terms would have left it with a deficit of £25,000 due to staff costs alone, which would have been “impossible” to meet.
As a result of its withdrawal from the contract, A-ND has relocated some of its staff to other services.
The council said it had offered reduced funding to A-ND because the charity had been unable to fill the original terms of the contract.
Charity: Decision ‘not taken lightly’
In a statement A-ND said: “This decision follows extensive deliberation by our board and leadership team in light of the council's recent response to our concerns and the broader challenges encountered during this collaboration.
“It is a decision we have not taken lightly, as it impacts the families and communities we are deeply committed to serving.
“While we value the principles of partnership and inclusion that such Scottish Government funding provided to Aberdeenshire Council aims to achieve, irreconcilable differences have arisen between A-ND and Aberdeenshire Council regarding the administration and oversight of this fund.
“Despite our best efforts to engage constructively, we believe the current circumstances pose an unacceptable level of financial risk to our organisation, limiting our ability to sustain this project without compromising our broader mission and services.”
Council: A-ND ‘unable to fulfil the terms’
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, despite initially receiving monthly funding earlier this year, the charity was unable to deliver the project as stated in its application and, therefore, unable to fulfil the terms and conditions of the original offer made under the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund.
“Despite our attempts to discuss a reduced funding package which would have enabled A-ND to deliver some of the project, we regret the charity was unable to reach an agreement with us.
“We recognise the decision by A-ND will be a disappointment not only to those in the community, but to us within Aberdeenshire Council as this is a fantastic scheme.
“We continue to work closely with statutory and non-statutory partners as well as directly with families in Fraserburgh and Peterhead to explore ways to support families who have a child or young person with additional support needs.”
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