SCOUTS Scotland, who have headquarters and an activity centre at Fordell Firs, are facing a £1.5 million loss with almost half of their 60 staff told they could lose their jobs.

Chief executive Katie Docherty said they had received no financial support from the Scottish Government and the huge drop in income forced them into significant cuts to "save the charity".

Their three centres have been closed since March, fundraising postponed and large events cancelled, leading to a restructure that has put 47 per cent of staff at risk of redundancy.

Ms Docherty said: "Scouts Scotland is one of 40 charities who run outdoor centres who went to the Scottish Government and said that, to keep the sector alive, between us we needed about £7m.

"They said no, get a bank loan. But they've just given £10m to Scottish theatres to keep them open.

"I'm not saying we're more important than them but some sectors are getting funding and I don't know why we're not getting any support."

As well as Fordell Firs, Scouts Scotland have centres at Lochgoilhead, in Argyll and Bute, and Meggernie in the Highlands.

There were fears one of the centres would close for good but the board have taken a "phased approach" to the cuts, leaving each one open with a skeleton crew.

This will be reviewed in October.

Scouts Scotland did apply to the Third Sector Resilience Fund but were unsuccessful as charities who had reserves at the start of the crisis were not eligible.

Ms Docherty said the criteria should be changed and added: "It's not just us. The only charities that can get government support, those with less than three months of reserves, are those that, frankly, were already at risk of closing.

"Everyone else is locked out."

And she added: "We are a well-run organisation but because we earn our income and are not reliant on government funding, our ability to earn that income has evaporated and there's nowhere to go for support."

Eighty per cent of staff were furloughed and, although lockdown restrictions are easing, there's no clear indication of how they can bring in the money they'll need to pay staff and operate their activities.

Ms Docherty said it would be "catastrophic" if schools cancelled or postponed their residential trips and explained: "For us in Scouting, that's about 50 per cent of our income. For many other centres, it's 100 per cent.

"Some councils are announcing there'll be no residential trips until the end of 2021, I don't see how those centres will have any future while we'll have to reduce to a skeleton staff to preserve what we have."

She added: "We're lucky in that Fordell, because of where it is next to Dunfermline, Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay, we can offer daytime and evening activities where people don't have to stay overnight.

"We can get it up and running much faster because people can be dropped off, they can walk or cycle there.

"The other centres are more remote and there are bigger challenges. How do you socially-distance if you're on a coach or there are 10 of you sleeping in a dorm?"

Politicians have stressed the importance of outdoor learning in education, especially after lockdown, to help with mental health, and Scouts Scotland contacted Fife Council to "offer a number of ways that we could help".

Outdoor experiences could be run at a centre or at the school but, while the council was "enthusiastic", Ms Docherty was told there's no money to deliver this.

Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman said: "I have heard from other organisations in a similar situation to Scouts Scotland who are working out how they can continue post-COVID and I have written to the Deputy First Minister and Fife Council to ask how centres that deliver outdoor education can be incorporated into the curriculum when schools return.

“We cannot lose an organisation with such importance as the Scouts; generations of Fifers have moved through the ranks as Beavers, Cubs and Scouts and learned skills they will have for life and made memories they will never forget at Fordell Firs.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We know this is a difficult time for organisations. Across Scotland, youth work charities including local Scout groups have already been awarded funding from the Third Sector Resilience Fund in recognition of the very important work they carry out.

“The majority of applications to the Third Sector Resilience Fund are granted. Where an application is declined, this is likely to be because the charity has a higher level of reserves than other charities. In these cases, a charity is asked to reapply once their reserves are lower.”