The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Caledonian Exchange, 19A Canning Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EG.
Delivering sustainable public services
The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), Scotland’s third sector membership organisation for health and social care, watched with disappointment as ambitious, yet achievable, plans for a National Care Service and Human Rights Bill were scrapped or delayed. This was despite sustained engagement with civil society and people with lived experience, and the emergence of a growing recognition of the need for reform to close the gap between policy intention and people’s experiences.
Public service reform cannot be limited to the public sector alone. Third sector health and social care services, for example, are at the heart of communities across Scotland. Hundreds of ALLIANCE members deliver an incredible array of person centred, rights-based programmes that promote prevention and wellbeing, whether that’s social care, money advice, counselling, self-management, peer support, independent advocacy – the list goes on.
Too often, the third sector is left on the sidelines of decision-making whilst our vital services are first in line for devastating cuts. This has increased demand on statutory services and let people slip through the cracks until they hit crisis point at far greater cost to dignity, rights, and the public purse.
The third sector must be included as an equal partner in public service decision-making and delivery. Fair and sustainable funding for our trusted, flexible and responsive services, that create and maintain good health, and that allows for long-term planning and growth, is one of the smartest investments governments can make.
The Scottish Government has been very clear over previous years that ensuring people in Scotland have access to high quality and sustainable public services is one of its top priorities, describing “our precious public services” in the 2025-26 Programme for Government as “the engine that keeps our country running”. Progress towards realising this priority is perhaps most ambitiously outlined in the government’s Public Service Reform Strategy, setting out to boldly change Scotland’s system of public services in the form of a long-term programme of reform.
It is even within that strategy that the Scottish Government recognises our sector’s crucial role, stating “the third sector often provides a huge range of services from specialist to generalist support – it is often more trusted by people enabling stronger relationships to be built that help to understand need more deeply”. And so, if the Scottish Government’s priority of ensuring high quality and sustainable public services is to be achieved and its strategy of reform implemented, it surely must be paired with taking the clear steps required to ensure a sustainable voluntary sector that can subsequently operate as a truly valued partner.
We know that 4 in 5 households use a voluntary sector service in a typical year. We know that public sector funding makes up 40% of the sector’s income, with around £1.6 billion from local authorities and £1 billion from the Scottish Government. And we know that Scotland’s voluntary sector is essential to delivering for communities and that the Scottish Government cannot do it alone. Across Scotland, voluntary organisations are commissioned by public authorities to deliver services but are disadvantaged by funding arrangements.
“Our funding is insufficient with no uplifts to reflect the cost-of-living,” says a national organisation providing services for care experienced people.
“The way we are funded has a major impact on what we can offer,” explains a national Scottish charity supporting children and families affected by imprisonment. “Because most of our funding is short-term and confirmed late, it is difficult for us to plan ahead, keep services stable, and retain experienced staff. We spend a lot of time reapplying for funding instead of developing services or improving long-term support.”
“The pressures of having funding streams that are year to year make it difficult to commit to sustainable support,” admits a small community-based additional support needs provider. “There is always a worry there that ‘what if’ we don’t receive continuing funding.”
“Funding is short-term, funding won’t cover core costs,” adds a medium-sized rural community hub and transport provider. “How are we expected to run services without staff, buildings, [or] transport? It just doesn’t make sense.”
The crucial improvements that Fair Funding would bring to the voluntary sector, and therefore public services in communities across Scotland, are obvious, particularly to those delivering such services every day.
“[Fair Funding] would reduce administrative burden and allow organisations to focus more of our time and resources on delivering impact for communities,” says a national membership and development organisation for Scotland’s library and information sector. “Ultimately, implementing Fair Funding would strengthen the resilience of organisations across the voluntary sector.”
“Fair Funding should offer hope,” suggests the community hub. “Longer-term funding which meets a charity’s needs [and] enables them to get on with their aims and objectives. Imagine having time freed up to actually do our jobs rather than constantly chasing funds? That would be great!”
CHAI Edinburgh
CHAI (Community Help & Advice Initiative) is an Edinburgh-based charity supporting and empowering people and communities through free, confidential, high-quality, impartial advice, information, and representation on welfare benefits, money, debt, housing, and employability. And yet, despite providing such vital services, the organisation finds itself in the midst of an unsustainable funding landscape.
Following a significant redundancy process, the direct result of an end to UKSPF funding, CHAI continues to face serious issues with staff retention. Against a backdrop of increased national insurance contributions, and with the organisation unable to ensure salaries that increase in line with inflation or pension contributions any higher than 3%, there is an ongoing trend of experienced, trained staff leaving for better paid, more secure jobs in the public sector.
This situation is made even more difficult by a short-term approach of funders, which results in an inability to plan for the future and deliver services to those who need them, leading to an estimated 8,500 people in Edinburgh unable to access vital advice and information. CHAI’s contracted service providing hugely valuable support and representation in court for private tenants and homeowners has had to have its funding topped up by the organisation itself through a combination of unrestricted funding and reserves – a direct result of the funding not increasing in line with inflation since the contract was first awarded in 2014.
The future for CHAI is precarious and services continue to suffer as a result. For example, due to current funding restraints, there is now a lack of advice services available in Edinburgh schools, while mental health and recovery hubs across the area suffer a similar fate. And, despite demand continuing to rise, the number of services being lost will consistently increase without improvements to funding processes.
There is, however, a case for some cautious optimism. The local authority has recently confirmed its intention to move towards a multi-year core funding model, something that CHAI has described as potentially transformational. This would not only provide some necessary stability but would also allow the organisation to attract more independent funding by being able to demonstrate greater security over the long-term, rather than being deemed too much of a risk due to a lack of core funding.
It is with such a proposed change to the way a local authority may approach its funding that the organisation can see clearly the potential game-changing impact of Fair Funding in full, ensuring a funding landscape that would allow better staff retention, provide the security for long-term planning, and create the space and capacity needed to source funding from elsewhere.