Scotland cannot achieve its Fair Work or child poverty ambitions without Fair Funding for the voluntary sector

2026 has been a busy year in Scottish politics. A new Scottish Parliament has brought fresh opportunities for engagement, emerging evidence on Fair Work First has reinforced the many benefits of Fair Work, discussions on the future of public service reform are beginning to take shape, and for many in policy and public affairs local election priorities are already on the horizon.

As is often the case, there is no shortage of issues requiring engagement, evidence, and action.

Sometimes amongst all these competing priorities we can lose sight of why our work matters. For me personally, Challenge Poverty Week offers an annual reminder of both why change is needed and the contribution of the Scottish voluntary sector to that change, as organisations across the voluntary sector share powerful stories about the realities of poverty that people and communities across Scotland face every day.

After well over a decade in policy and public affairs in Scotland's voluntary sector, these stories are a mix of inspiring, motivating, and hugely frustrating in equal measure. While I appreciate there have been many policy successes over that period- many of which our sector has been central to- the pace of change can be disheartening.

Poverty is not inevitable. It is the result of systems, structures and, crucially, political decisions. Nowhere is this better understood than in Scotland's voluntary sector.

Often, discussions about poverty focus on social security. Support like the Scottish Government's Scottish Child Payment, a payment advocated for by the voluntary sector, which can and has made a real difference for many families - though an increase is needed to have any hope of meeting Scotland's statutory child poverty targets, targets that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has found will be missed by some margin in a report that makes for grim reading.

Our sector understands, and the report makes clear, that poverty cannot be addressed through a single intervention. Challenge Poverty Week itself covers several essential themes: Social Security, Energy, Tackling Child Poverty, Communities and Volunteers, Mental Health, Care, and today, Fair Work.

While work is not an option for everyone, for those who can work, Fair Work is a crucial part of the Scottish Government’s ambitions to eradicate poverty. The Scottish Government has increasingly recognised this since it established the Fair Work Convention, an independent advisory body, in 2015. In the years that followed, the Scottish Government gradually began to apply Fair Work First criteria, including the requirement to pay at least the Real Living Wage, to public sector grants.

The recent evaluation of Fair Work First provides encouraging evidence that this policy is making a difference. Employers are taking positive steps to pay the Real Living Wage, offer channels for effective voice, and invest in their workforce. This matters as too often people experience poverty despite being in work - something many politicians would do well to recognise.

The evaluation also highlights, however, challenges for voluntary sector employers that will come as little surprise to colleagues in the sector, including:

• Cost pressures from rising wage bills.
• Uncertainty over increases to the Real Living Wage.
• Difficulties in planning and investing in Fair Work practices due to short-term funding cycles.

Fair Work for Scotland's voluntary sector workforce should be a priority. Scotland's voluntary sector is a major employer, employing over 135,000 people, around 5% of Scotland's workforce. Our workforce makes a huge contribution across Scotland, offering a lifeline to people, families and communities as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite. This lifeline shouldn't need to be extended to voluntary sector staff.

SCVO believes in the principles of Fair Work, but for many years we have highlighted that poor funding and procurement practices can undermine the aspirations of voluntary sector employers to realise their ambitions to become Fair Work employers. The recent evaluation recognises and supports these concerns.

Funding systems must keep pace with both the Scottish Government's Fair Work agenda and its wider ambitions to tackle poverty. Fair Funding is the foundation on which these ambitions depend. This means:

• Addressing short-term funding cycles, delayed decision-making, and poor communication.
• Covering full costs, including the full costs of employing staff, including at least the Real Living Wage and uplifts on a par with those offered to public sector staff.

These commitments are central to delivering Fair Funding and realising Fair Work.

Charities and community organisations are often at the forefront of supporting people experiencing poverty. Implementing Fair Funding would offer greater security not only to voluntary organisations and their staff, but also to the people and communities they support. While some progress has been made, the Fairer Funding Pilot Feedback Survey highlights that the Scottish Government’s Fairer Funding pilot does not go far enough.

Alongside progress on Fair Funding, the next challenge is ensuring that the UK Employment Rights Act, its subsequent secondary legislation, and Scotland's Fair Work agenda work together to improve conditions for workers while remaining deliverable for employers. If Scotland is serious about becoming a Fair Work nation and meeting its ambitions on child poverty, Fair Work and Fair Funding must go hand in hand.