Justice secretary Neil Gray (Credit: Scottish government)

The Justice Social Impact Partnership (SIP), supported by £200,000 of Scottish government funding, is a new way of developing and funding interventions. It brings together nine organisations – across service providers, funders and public bodies – to design three project proposals by the end of March 2027.

The Justice SIP will focus on creating safe spaces for young people, diverting young people from crime and anti-social behaviour, and preventing reoffending and supporting reintegration into communities.

Social Investment Partnerships ask investors to provide upfront funding for a project, and they are repaid based on the outcomes it achieves, allowing new ideas to be tested without financial risk to the public purse if they don’t succeed.

This work is also expected to help inform how similar funding and delivery models might be used elsewhere in government.

Neil Gray, cabinet secretary for justice, said: “Preventing violence and diverting young people away from crime means working across the whole system, with police, charities, communities and investors all playing a part. This partnership brings together that breadth of expertise to design practical projects that give young people safe spaces and trusted adults, and support people to move away from crime and rebuild their lives.

“It builds on our existing commitment to prevention, including our continued investment in Cashback for Communities, and creates a new way of bringing funding into our communities so that early intervention work can be tested, proven and scaled.”