# A National Care Service & the voluntary sector

The creation of a National Care Service is potentially one of the biggest changes to public services for decades.  In the course of its development, the critical roles played by voluntary organisations in both delivering and complementing public services must be recognised, celebrated and enhanced. 

Thanks to the work of key intermediary bodies in the social care sector, the voluntary sector is relatively prominent within the current public consultation.  These organisations will be strong advocates for those already part of the social care system, and SCVO’s response to the consultation will support their detailed understanding of this part of the sector. 

At the same time, however, we are hearing rumblings from smaller, local groups, that the consultation doesn’t feel accessible.  A combination of length, complexity, timescale and competing demands is making it difficult for infrastructure bodies, locally and nationally, to engage with and support these organisations, and ensure that the diversity of voluntary sector voices are heard. SCVO’s response to the consultation will flag this as a significant concern, and impress on Scottish Government the importance of working closely with these groups as plans progress. 

Our response will also touch on our own policy priority areas of procurement, Fair Work and relationships between the voluntary sector and public sector partners.  We will be working with intermediaries to ensure that our general understanding of these issues as they apply across the sector will complement their more forensic understanding of their applicability to the care system. 

While we see a key role for SCVO in coordinating and amplifying the voices of intermediaries in presenting a picture from across the voluntary sector, as ever we’re also happy to hear from all voluntary organisations – please contact me on [Kirsten.hogg@scvo.scot](mailto:Kirsten.hogg@scvo.scot) if you’d like to discuss.

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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)