£300k CUTS 'A DISGRACE'

Project keeps vulnerable women from 'revolving door' jail terms

- MARK McGIVERN

UNION leaders have slammed a decision to slash funding for an initiative that steers vulnerable women away from “revolving door” jail sentences. 

The Turning Point 218 “women’s justice” service, in Glasgow, has been hailed a huge success in supporting women with addiction and mental health issues.

But a £300,000 funding cut will see its capacity reduced by a third.

The Unite union claims the move was engineered as a cash-cutting exercise by Glasgow’s Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) – despite the number of women dying from drug overdoses rising by 14 per cent in Scotland between January and March.

Jobs may be cut at the service, with numbers reduced from 12 to eight.