# Spending review likely to be slashfest

The autumn statement will set out the tenor of the UK Government's spending review, and it's likely to be a slashfest. The Chancellor has little room for manoeuvre. His plans to create a £10bn budget surplus by 2020 have been effectively crippled by the House of Lords rejection of his tax credit cuts, the lacklustre growth in the economy and the tory manifesto commitment not to touch VAT, National Insurance or Income tax.

> **SCVO will be checking the Chancellor's announcements tomorrow and tweeting with #SR2015**

Given that international Aid, health and (now) defence are all protected, social care and local authority budgets are exposed. In England, even health sector representatives, where the budget will be protected, are expressing concerns over the impact of cutting social care on demand. And these are the areas where third sector organisations are most vulnerable to public spending cuts. From a Scottish perspective, the block grant is subject all sorts of consequences from slashing UK department budgets. SCVO will be checking the Chancellor's announcements tomorrow and tweeting with #spendingreview These are some of the key points we will be watching closely:

*   changes to plans for a Budget surplus by 2020, and related impact on cuts to social security budgets.
*   propositions around the Scotland Bill 'fiscal framework' settlement and the implications this may have for Scottish public services.
*   mention of the rumoured diversion of funds from the Big Lottery to subsidise cuts to arts, heritage and sports quangos.
*   conclusions of the UK Government review into business rates and charity relief for England, and any implications this may have for Scotland.
*   references to the UK Government's promise to engage Scottish civil society on the impact of devolving income tax on Gift Aid.
*   mention of bolstering up the National Citizen Service approach, which could undermine volunteering initiatives in Scotland.

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## About SCVO

SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector.

Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact.

SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector.

Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners.

Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored learning opportunities.

SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience.

Discounts and savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org).

For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)