Dogs Against Drugs: ‘Long past time’ for sustainable funding – Wishart
Scottish Liberal Democrat and Shetland MSP, Beatrice Wishart has appeared before members of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee to give evidence in support of Shetland’s Dogs Against Drugs charity. The petition was submitted by Kevin Craigens on behalf of The Shetland Times Ltd last year.
Speaking on Wednesday (18th June) Ms Wishart highlighted the financial insecurity of the charity despite the successful role it fulfils working with Police Scotland in detecting and disrupting the supply of illegal drugs, as well preventative work in delivering drugs education in schools throughout Shetland. Police Scotland had previously called the charity very valuable.
Wishart stated that community-led charity, which started over 20 years ago, intercepted drugs with a street value of £554,000 in 2024. She highlighted the £130,000 annual cost to run the charity and pointed out that the charity was not seeking the full amount from the Scottish Government due to other income streams, such as corporate work, but it is in need of sustained core funding. Wishart also reiterated the gratitude of the charity for the Scottish Government’s previous support, though noted that funding was a one-off and not a long-term commitment.
Ms Wishart also praised the strong community support for the charity through fundraising events. She highlighted, however, that it is not sensible that the service has to rely on bingo nights and raffles in order to survive.
Wishart has been working with Dogs Against Drugs since her election in 2019 making numerous representations to support the financial needs of the charity.
After her appearance before the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee Ms Wishart said:
“I was pleased to be able to highlight the needs of the charity during the committee session this morning.
“I welcome the Committee’s decision to keep the petition open and their commitment to write to the Scottish Government about longer-term options for funding. It is long past time that there was sustainable funding for the charity.
“Without the support of the local community through fundraising, I fear that we would have lost Dogs Against Drugs to financial difficulties before now.
“I also welcome the acknowledgement that events like bingo should not be the sole means of ensuring this valuable charity continues its work.”
You can watch Ms Wishart’s contributions to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee here.