SCVO letter to Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Tuesday 10 September 2024

Dear Chancellor,

Autumn Budget 2024/Spending Review

I am writing to you regarding the upcoming UK Budget. The Civil Society Group (CSG), an informal collaboration of organisations representing members and groups from the charity sector and wider civil society across the UK, has responded to the Treasury’s stakeholder representation exercise. As a signatory of CSG response, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations supports the priorities outlined. I am writing to you in addition to this, with a focus on the impact of the UK Budget on the voluntary sector in Scotland.

Clarity on UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) replacement

SCVO and the TSI Scotland Network worked with partners across Scotland, and with UK Ministers, on the design and delivery of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. SCVO has been calling for clarity on the future of UKSPF.

Last week I wrote to your colleague, the Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, together with the TSI Scotland Network. A copy of this letter is attached for your reference.

As the UK Government considers next steps, I write to underline the importance of providing certainty and clarity on these funds for our sector. Any loss of funding would have a significant impact in Scotland, with most organisations likely to consider ending projects, resulting in redundancies and loss of services to vulnerable people and communities. To avoid this, we are calling for at least a one-year extension to existing funded projects. This would also ensure that data on the impact of UKSPF can be analysed, shared and used by all partners, including the voluntary sector, in designing any replacement scheme.

I would like to see a commitment from the UK Government to longer-term funding, so that more strategic and sustainable programmes can be put in place.

Multi-year spending reviews

For many years, SCVO has been engaging with voluntary organisations to understand the many challenges of income-generation, including public sector grants, and the solutions needed. The evidence we have collected demonstrates the urgent need for a Fair Funding approach to voluntary sector funding. One crucial element of Fair Funding is multi-year settlements.

In previous discussions relating to multi-year funding, the Scottish Government expressed difficulty in providing multi-year funding to voluntary organisations, as their own funding for future years is unknown. It is on this basis that we welcomed the UK Government’s commitment to multi-year spending reviews, which we hope will provide the Scottish Government with the clarity needed for forward planning, and to progress longer-term funding agreements for voluntary organisations. It is my hope that the UK Government will work constructively with the Scottish Government to make this a reality.

Sustainable funding settlement for Scotland

Finally, as you will be aware, our sector is not just a key partner in the delivery of public services in Scotland, but also takes pressure off ‘mainstream’ public services, preventing higher levels of spend further down the line. Our sector is invaluable, providing unrivalled expertise, resourcefulness and community reach. Indeed, it is on this basis that funding through grants and contracts is provided to the sector, from governments, councils and other public bodies.

Our sector already faces unprecedented challenges, contending with increased demand
against a backdrop of increasing financial uncertainty. That is why I wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, ahead of her statement on emergency budget controls delivered to the Scottish Parliament last week, urging fair treatment of our sector. A copy of this letter is also attached for your reference.

While I fully appreciate the challenging fiscal environment that the UK Government faces, I urge you to work with the Scottish Government to deliver a fair and sustainable funding settlement as part of the current budget process – one that provides the best possible chance of delivering the support voluntary organisations, their staff and volunteers, urgently need to support people and communities across Scotland. I look forward to receiving your response in due course.

Yours sincerely

Anna Fowlie,
Chief Executive,
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO)