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 Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
SCVO responds to Draft Scottish Budget 2024/25
Responding to the 2024/25 draft Budget, SCVO Chief Executive Anna Fowlie, said:
“The draft Budget represents a missed opportunity to set out vital support for Scotland’s voluntary sector – at a time when it is being squeezed by the cost-of-living and running costs crises.
“While we welcome the Scottish Government’s commitments to move towards Fair Funding for Scotland’s voluntary sector by 2026, there was little evidence of that today.
“The UK Government delivered a modest but welcome package of running costs support for voluntary organisations in England – as part of the Spring Statement. Today, at the very least, the Scottish Government could have committed to doing the same here in Scotland. The sector is still waiting on any such commitment.
“While we recognise the challenging financial environment, the sector needs more than warm words and missed opportunities. Just last month the First Minister told assembled voluntary organisations at the Gathering that he'll move beyond warm words and put money where his mouth is. Today we didn’t see that.
“We need to see meaningful support for the sector, with urgent progress on Fair Funding to safeguard essential services. We stand ready to support the Scottish Government to deliver that progress.”
ENDS
Notes for editors:
Read SCVO’s budget briefing here: https://scvo.scot/p/87246/2023/12/12/scvo-briefing-scottish-budget-2024-2025
First Minister’s speech at SCVO Gathering 2023, November 8: https://www.gov.scot/publications/gathering-first-ministers-speech-8-november-2023/. He said: “We know there's further we have to go, and I hope when you see the Budget later this year, that it will give you an assurance and a confidence of, not just the warm words, not just the rhetoric - but the fact that we're prepared to put our money where our mouth is.”
SCVO’s Fair Funding for the Voluntary Sector: https://scvo.scot/p/56732/2023/01/16/%E2%80%8Bfair-funding-for-the-voluntary-sector
For more information, contact:
Niall Christie, SCVO Communications Officer, niall.christie@scvo.scot
