The Scottish Government has announced £1.5 million in extra funding for the Big Noise music projects in Dundee and elsewhere in Scotland.
The Douglas scheme’s future was in doubt after Dundee councillors voted to end funding next year.
Children from Claypotts Castle and St Pius primary schools take part in the scheme, which teaches music to children in some of the most deprived parts of Scotland.
But a last ditch attempt to save funding for the programme in Dundee failed when councillors voted to end financial support.
There were fears the Sistema Scotland run projects in Stirling, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen would face a similar fate as councillors struggled to balance the books.
The SNP’s culture chief Neil Gray previously refused to step in, but he has now confirmed that extra cash has been approved.
In a letter to Stirling MSP Evelyn Tweed, Mr Gray said council’s have had to make “difficult choices” to balance their budgets.
He added: “The Scottish Government values the great work that Sistema Scotland do and recognise the important role of the Big Noise programme in supporting over 2,000 young people in disadvantaged communities who rely on this service.
‘Fantastic result’
“I am pleased to confirm that the First Minister has asked the Scottish Government to step in to ensure that Sistema Scotland get the funding they need, which we understand is around £1.5 million.”
Responding to the news, Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said he was delighted at the “fantastic result”.
Commenting, Nicola Killean, chief executive of Sistema Scotland, said: “We are absolutely delighted that the Scottish Government recognises the transformational impact of our programmes and has stepped in to provide the additional £1.5 million that we lost from councils, which helps secure the long-term sustainability across all of our Big Noise programmes.
“We are grateful to ministers, those councils that did stand by us, and all of our wonderful funders and the wider community who have sent us so many messages of support over the past weeks.
“This will make a lasting difference to young people’s lives in our most disadvantaged communities.”
Conversation