SCVO is urging third sector organisations to submit views and proposals on further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament to feed into the Smith Commission.
Lord Smith of Kelvin, who has been appointed to take forward the devolution commitments on further powers for the Scottish Parliament, has asked SCVO to gather initial third sector views and proposals.
Findings from across Scottish public life will be collated by the Smith Commission to form the basis of a bill to be launched in January which will start the process of handing more powers to the Scottish Parliament
SCVO’s Chief Executive Martin Sime said, “SCVO has agreed to provide Lord Smith with initial views from across the third sector about the powers and purposes which, if devolved to the Scottish Parliament, could make a real difference to the lives of the people and communities we serve.
“The key is being clear about what we want to do and the powers we need to it.
"It is very important that the experience of voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises can be brought to influence these developments and, although the timetable is very tight, I am sure that many organisations will want to have their say.
“SCVO has been working with the
Scottish Trades Union Congress, the
National Union of Students Scotland, faith communities and others on how civil society can build on the energy unleashed by the referendum and create a more bottom-up engagement in public life.
“Politicians, community leaders, all of us, need to spend more time listening to those who are too often excluded or marginalised from such processes
“A closed-door deal on what powers are to be devolved isn’t good enough – we need to renew our efforts to get people involved in our democracy.”
To contribute your views to the Smith Commission, please email
felix.spittal@scvo.scot by 24 October.
The terms of reference for the Smith Commission are:
To convene cross-party talks and facilitate an inclusive engagement process across Scotland to produce, by 30 November 2014, Heads of Agreement with recommendations for further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament. This process will be informed by a Command Paper, to be published by 31 October and will result in the publication of draft clauses by 25 January. The recommendations will deliver more financial, welfare and taxation powers, strengthening the Scottish Parliament within the United Kingdom.
You can find out more on the
Smith Commission website.
SCVO is organising a
third sector summit on 20 November in Glasgow to hear from a wide audience not just about powers but also about what needs to be done with them.
You can also follow our wider work on further devolution, including
blogs and articles from across the sector.
Published on 29 September 2014
