Fears have been raised about north-east charities “falling into disrepair following European funding cuts.
Staff from Apex Scotland, which works to reduce re-offending and tackle deprivation, have been informed they will be affected by a cut in funding.
The charity receives vital support from the European Social Fund (ESF), issued by the Scottish Government to tackle poverty and help people from deprived communities find jobs.
Local authorities and voluntary organisations receive the vast majority of the cash, but the future of the fund was thrown into doubt after the 2016 Brexit vote.
This week Apex Scotland were informed around 20 members of staff could be laid off.
The organisation runs a variety of services in the Grampian and Highland region, in particular their Steps program, which has helped hundreds of people get back into work.
Charlotte Stroud, personal development mentor at Apex Scotland said: “The work which we undertake here at Apex is invaluable to local communities within Aberdeen and Scotland as a whole.
Congratulations to our amazing Grampian Team. Winners of this years Sam Dow Award pic.twitter.com/avst8lV4ka
— Apex Scotland (@apexscotland) November 17, 2017
“The people who benefit from Steps would have nowhere else to turn to without the programme, and no other ways of seeking help – no one else provides a service like this.
“This lack of funding is, ironically, putting the people out of work who have worked tirelessly to help the most under privileged in society.
“How can the Scottish Government just sit back and allow this to happen?
“This situation needs to be rectified and a re audit needs to be done to prevent further redundancies and the third sector falling into complete disrepair.”
The SNP Government runs the ESF scheme in Scotland and was allocated a total budget of £412 million for the 2014-2020 period.
But audits in September 2017 and last July uncovered “deficiencies in the functioning of the management and control systems”.
The EU Commission has halted payments worth about £22m until they are satisfied the correct processes are in place.
No payments have been made since December, it was revealed this week.
Charities umbrella group SCVO have warned third sector organisations, such as Apex Scotland, could be put out of business if the funding is not re-instated soon.
Chief executive Anna Fowlie described the situation as “devastating”.
She said: “SCVO has been working with Scottish Government and colleagues in the voluntary sector since this potentially devastating situation emerged.
“While the delay or even loss of this funding hits local authorities hard, it looks increasingly likely that long standing and successful third sector organisations will go out of business.
“That is not only awful for those organisations and their staff, it has a huge impact on the people they support.
“The situation has now become urgent and ministers need to intervene and find a solution now, keeping the sector included and informed at every stage.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We absolutely understand the concerns of Scotland’s third sector providers.
“That’s why ministers are determined to avoid any charity or third sector body going out of business as a result of this issue.
“Instead, we are working to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”