Policy blog

Summary The voluntary sector continues to face unprecedented challenges. Voluntary sector costs are climbing, funding is falling, and demand for services continues to increase. Plans to increase employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will compound these pressures. The... Read more

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance said that yesterday’s budget was one of hope. If you look hard enough, I do think there are glimmers of hope in there for Scotland’s voluntary sector, but overall I’m not sure it will do much to dispel the immediate sense of financial... Read more

SCVO’s Head of Policy and Research, Kirsten Hogg, said: “The chancellor's decision not to support voluntary sector employers with increasing National Insurance contributions is shortsighted, and belies a lack of understanding of our essential sector. We will continue to push... Read more

Ahead of the 2nd reading of the National Insurance Contributions Bill, SCVO's Chief Executive, Anna Fowlie, wrote to Scottish MPs. Below is the text of the letter, minus tailored constituency information. You can find constituency information for other MPs on the Geographical... Read more

Summary SCVO and colleagues across the voluntary sector welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to deliver Fairer Funding for the sector by 2026, including exploring options to implement multi-year funding deals. Despite this renewed focus, 18 months on from the policy... Read more

In September we welcomed the publication of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture (CEEAC) Committee’s report on Barriers to trade in goods and opportunities to improve the UK/EU trading relationship. The Scottish Advisory Forum on Europe (SAFE) was pleased to... Read more

Summary The voluntary sector continues to face unprecedented challenges. Voluntary sector costs are climbing, funding falling, and demand for services continuing to increase, as a result, eight out of ten organisations report that financial difficulties rank among their most... Read more

John Swinney MSP, First Minister Scottish Government 12 November 2024 Dear First Minister Autumn Budget 2024 As you have recognised in your recent public comments, the Chancellor’s intention to increase employers’ National Insurance contributions will have a significant impact on... Read more

Last week, following months of speculation, Britain’s first female Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, delivered Labour’s first Budget in 14 years. A historic moment and important opportunity.The Budget, the Chancellor promised, would invest, invest, invest, partly by raising taxes by £4... Read more

SCVO wrote to Scottish MPs on the 5th of November following the UK Autumn Budget on the 30th of October 2024. As part of the Budget process, we write to draw your attention to the impact of proposed National Insurance changes on charities and other voluntary organisations. You... Read more

Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MPChancellor of the Exchequer By email 5 November 2024 Dear Chancellor, National Insurance employer contributions increase Following my letter dated 25 October - co-authored with NICVA, WCVA, and NCVO - I am writing to address the increase in National... Read more

Councillor Cammy Day, Leader of City of Edinburgh Council Professor John Connaghan OBE, Chair of NHS Lothian cc Pat Togher, Chief Officer By email 31 October 2024 Dear Cllr Day and Prof Connaghan Proposal by Edinburgh Integrated Joint Board to remove grant-funding from voluntary... Read more

Responding to the Autumn Budget 2024, SCVO Chief Executive Anna Fowlie, said: “At a time when many voluntary organisations are facing severe financial difficulties, announcements in the UK budget place new strains on the sector, while cutting key funding that people and... Read more

Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MPChancellor of the Exchequer By email25 October 2024 Dear Chancellor Autumn Budget 2024 – employers’ National Insurance contributions We are writing to you on behalf of charities and community organisations across the UK, in relation to recent reports of... Read more

In January, I was at the Labour Party’s civil society summit in London. It was largely aimed at an England-based audience, and I was struck by the air of desperate hope in the room. Voluntary sector leaders in England had been subject to a toxic and hostile relationship with the... Read more

SCVO wrote to Scottish MPs ahead of the UK Budget on the 30th of October 2024. Congratulations on your election. In your constituency and across Scotland voluntary organisations play an essential role supporting people and communities. We hope that you can support our sector... Read more

At the time of the EU Ambassador’s visit to Scotland last spring, it felt like relations between the UK and the EU were beginning to improve. Today speculation is also mounting as to whether the actions of the new UK government will translate into a new (and dare I say, better... Read more

Last week, on behalf of SCVO, I was invited to give evidence to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee as part of the Committee’s Pre-budget Scrutiny focused on third sector funding principles. As the Committee shared in June, this inquiry examines, “how the Scottish... Read more

Thursday 5 September 2024 Dear Secretary of State,Over the past couple of years, we have closely worked with partners in Scotland and with previous UK Ministers on the design and delivery of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). From the publication of the Levelling Up White... Read more

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... Read more

We’re not a nice-to-have sector. We’re an essential sector.  Read more

Summary SCVO and colleagues across the voluntary sector welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to deliver Fairer Funding for the sector by 2026, including exploring options to implement multi-year funding deals. Despite this renewed focus, 18 months on from the policy... Read more

Wednesday 14 August 2024 Dear Ms Robison, I am writing to you to express my concern about the emergency spending controls that you announced today, and to urge fair treatment of the voluntary sector. Of course, I recognise the significant financial pressures that the Scottish... Read more

The other week the Economy and Fair Work Committee published the findings of its enquiry into the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, looking at the impact the Act has had over the last decade. The Committee found that while the Act has had a positive impact on increasing... Read more

Summary of proposals Our proposals for the 2024/2025 Programme for Government cover two areas: Delivering Fair Funding by 2026 Transparent voluntary sector funding This paper focuses on Fair Funding, a long-term, flexible, sustainable, and accessible approach to funding essential... Read more

Summary of proposals Our proposals for the 2024/2025 Programme for Government cover two areas: Delivering Fair Funding by 2026 Transparent funding This paper focuses on transparent funding which is essential for everyone’s understanding of Scottish Government’s investment in the... Read more

Last week, after a discussion a few weeks ago with the Clerks of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, SCVO received the very welcome news that the Committee would focus their Pre-budget scrutiny on voluntary sector funding. The Committee want, “to examine how the... Read more

By email 7 June 2024 Our sister organisation in England, NCVO, has produced a manifesto for the forthcoming General Election, which we are happy to endorse. In it you will see calls to invest in the voluntary sector as an equal partner of the state, unlocking the talent... Read more

In 2019, the Scottish Government began the consultative process for what would become the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023. At the time, many across the sector – including SCVO – were somewhat underwhelmed after hoping for wider reform of charity... Read more

Congratulations on your appointment as Deputy First Minister of Scotland.  I very much look forward to working with you again in this new role. Read more

Community Wealth Building (CWB) became a buzzword in 2021 when the Scottish Government revealed plans to introduce CWB legislation in the current parliamentary session. The vision for Scotland’s future, set out in the Programme for Government 2021-22 and the National Strategy for... Read more

Dear First Minister Congratulations on your election as First Minister of Scotland. I very much look forward to working with you again in this new role, and I am very pleased that Shirley-Anne Somerville has retained her role as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice. We were... Read more

Responding to the First Minister's resignation, Anna Fowlie, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations' (SCVO) Chief Executive, said: As Scotland stops to watch the political goings on at Holyrood, it is vital that we don’t take our eye off the ball. While it is not clear how... Read more

Last year, the temporary debanking of Nigel Farage sparked a public discussion around access to banking. Questions around who should have access to banking, and the consequences of losing access, permeated public discourse. The situation brought much needed media attention to... Read more

At SCVO, we have worked hard over the last few years, with our sector, to pull together our Fair Funding principles and asks, and to champion those within the Scottish Parliament. But as successful as that work has been thus far, we can still do much more by amplifying our calls... Read more

Kirsten Hogg shares what she learned from her time in Cardiff Bay where she attended a conference on Strengthening Civil Society Impact. Read more

As any keen observer of politics will be keen to remind you, 2024 is a record year for democracy. Across the globe more people than ever will go to the polls. Here in Scotland and across the UK, it looks like we will be joining in, with a General Election slated for the second... Read more

Last week brought another Spring Budget – and it all felt a bit like Groundhog Day, didn’t it? Pre-election giveaways caught the headlines – against a backdrop of low growth and productivity. Disappointingly absent from the Chancellor’s statement was recognition of the... Read more

I can tell you three quarters of voluntary organisations just like them are facing financial difficulties. Read more

If you don’t have the time (or the desire!) to read this blog in its entirety – just read this: we are looking for voluntary organisations who are expecting funding from the Scottish Government in the forthcoming financial year to take part in a quick and easy monthly survey for... Read more

In August, the Charities (Administration and Regulation) (Scotland) Act 2023 received Royal Assent. It was the result of a lengthy process, beginning with a consultation on OSCR’s original proposals in 2019, and culminating in the bill moving at pace through its final... Read more

SCVO were invited to give evidence to the Finance and Public Administration Committee on the 9th of January 2024 as part of the Committee’s scrutiny of the 2024-25 Scottish budget. SCVO were also invited to suggest key issues that the Committee should be made aware of. For SCVO... Read more

Last month First Minister Humza Yousaf joined colleagues across the voluntary sector at SCVO’s annual conference, The Gathering, where he shared that Fairer, multi-year funding for the sector was on the horizon. As part of the Scottish Budget process, he offered the voluntary... Read more

Earlier this year, SCVO responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on access to information rights in Scotland - a process designed to collect the views of stakeholders on the need for future legislative change in relation to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act... Read more

If it now feels that the political conversation on Levelling Up has moved on, last week was a reminder that funding is still being distributed in Scotland. The Chancellor announced £80million for the ‘expansion of Levelling Up partnership programmes in Scotland’ in the Autumn... Read more

Last week the Living Wage Foundation announced the real Living Wage rate would increase by 10% to £12 an hour (£13.15 in London), as inflation and cost-of-living pressure continue to have the biggest impact on low paid workers. Scotland’s voluntary sector is a major employer... Read more

Rachel Le Noan blogs on the importance of the voluntary sector's voice in Europe, and how you can have your say. As daily news reminds us, world politics and dynamics are powerful and have consequences for us all, no matter where we live. Next year won’t be an exception with... Read more

Challenge Poverty Week, launched by the Poverty Alliance in 2013, is a fantastic week of events, discussion, and reflection on how we as a nation can come together and show that collective action can challenge the injustice of poverty in Scotland. Hundreds of organisations bring... Read more

Earlier this month on the one-year anniversary of Liz Truss beginning her short, ill-fated stint as Leader of the Conservative Party and UK Prime Minister, the First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf MSP, outlined his first Programme for Government (PfG). The PfG is an annual... Read more

Anna Fowlie, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations' (SCVO) Chief Executive, responds to the 2023/24 Programme for Government. Read more

In this blog, Kyrstie Brown shares 5 lessons she has learned from over 20 years of SCVO's policy network. Read more

Back in 2015, SCVO and TFN surveyed around 1,000 sector workers about their experiences working in the voluntary sector. Eight years, four UK prime ministers, two referendums and a pandemic later, it was high time for a refresh. Last month GCVS and the Scottish Centre for... Read more

The week represents an opportunity to showcase work that has been done throughout the year to tackle poverty, while also calling for system change to address the root causes of poverty. Read more

Each year at the beginning of September, the Scottish Government delivers its Programme for Government (PfG), a set of actions that the government will take over the next year to progress its priorities. Specifically, the programme will include the legislation, policy initiatives... Read more

SCVO's policy and public affairs team braced ourselves for a busy start to the year – you may recall my blog from December. We've needed to continue to raise the profile of immediate issues affecting voluntary organisations, such as the escalating energy costs and lingering high... Read more

Summary The current situation for voluntary organisations is worse than pre-pandemic, or even during the pandemic. This is because, just as voluntary organisations were at a low ebb post-pandemic, they were hit with the cost of living crisis, which has seen them facing a perfect... Read more

Scotland’s National Performance Framework (NPF), a policy tool that sets out Scotland's National Outcomes and 81 Indicators as specific measures of progress, is currently under review. At a time when a new policy framework or strategy emerges every week in Scotland with little to... Read more

From the 1st of July 2023 all recipients of public sector grants will be required to pay at least the real Living Wage and provide effective workers’ voice as a minimum standard. These changes are part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to become a Fair Work Nation by 202... Read more

SCVO has written to Neil Gray MSP on the recently released Fair Work First guidance. Dear Mr Gray I look forward to meeting with you on 10 May to discuss how we collectively ensure that the Scottish Government's approach to economic development recognises the value and potential... Read more

SCVO has written to Shona Robison MSP following her appointment as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance. Dear Deputy First Minister Congratulations on your recent appointment as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Deputy First Minister. I really appreciate the... Read more

SCVO has written to Neil Gray MSP following his appointment as Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy. Dear Mr Gray Congratulations on your appointment as Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy. I had the pleasure of meeting you at... Read more

For those amongst us working to decipher the Levelling Up agenda, the past twelve months have been busy building new relationships and trying to assess the impact of this policy on the ground. A year on from the publication of the Levelling Up White Paper and the UKSPF Prospectus... Read more

SCVO and The Third Sector Interface Scotland Network have written to Natalie Don MSP, Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise, to raise concerns about the administration of the Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning Third Sector Fund (CYPFAL TSF... Read more

The Scottish Government’s Building Community Wealth in Scotland consultation was launched at the start of the year and seeks to legislate on the delivery of a wellbeing economy in Scotland. SCVO are responding to the consultation and are seeking views from the sector on what this... Read more

Another day, another budget, at least that’s how I felt on Wednesday morning as I prepared for the Spring Statement. Yet, despite a glut of fiscal events over the last few months, the last UK Budget took place in October 2021, 500 days before our new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt MP... Read more

In response to the UK Government's Spring Statement, SCVO Chief Executive Anna Fowlie said: "The UK Government's announcement of over £100m of additional support for charities and communities in England is welcome news and comes on the back of calls from organisations across the... Read more

Banks are supposed to provide essential services that enable voluntary and community groups to run their organisations, deliver vital services, and safeguard money received from donors, grants and fundraising. However, the reality is that many of these services are increasingly... Read more

SCVO has written to Ivan McKee MSP, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, to urge the Scottish Government to re-open the national frameworks for the Supply of Electricity and Supply of Natural Gas that provide a potential lifeline for the OSCR registered charities... Read more

On 19 January 2023, SCVO wrote to Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work to outline the key challenges facing Scotland's voluntary sector in relation to Fair Work. Fair-Work-and-Grant-Funding-Mr-Lochhead-2023-01-19Download Read more

When the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act was first passed in the Scottish Parliament, the average price of a pint was £2.40, sold in venues that would not yet see smoking indoors banned until the following year. The best-selling phone in the world was the Nokia... Read more

“While we are pleased that the Energy Bill Discount Scheme will continue to support charities at the same level as businesses, we are disappointed that the level of support will fall." Read more

Without question, the start of 2023 is shaping up to be one of the busiest periods I've encountered at SCVO. 2022, however, was no breeze. Six years into my time here, there remains an ever constant need to deal with new policies and challenges, explore different ways of engaging... Read more

SCVO and The Third Sector Interface Scotland Network have written to Clare Haughey MSP, Minister for Children and Young People, to raise concerns about the delays in communicating decisions on applications to the Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning Third Sector... Read more

It is important to remember that we’ve heard things like this before, and there is no way to tell from a one- year budget how this on paper commitment might be implemented.  To Read more

“I welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to Fairer Funding Principles in this week’s budget - including a commitment to multi-year funding. Read more

SCVO, The Third Sector Employability Forum, and The Third Sector Interface Scotland Network have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government to raise our concerns about the delays in communicating the outcomes of the Investing in Communities... Read more

On Tuesday, the Employment and Fair Work Minister Richard Lochhead and Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater, announced that all organisations that receive grant funding from Scottish Government, enterprise agencies, and public bodies must pay the... Read more

Spruce was set-up in 2005 as the UK’s first social enterprise specialising in re-use flooring. Read more

In 2020, as part of its response to the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery, Scottish Government sought to address the barriers facing the third sector by bringing together SCVO, the TSI Scotland Network, COSLA and the Scottish Government Third Sector Unit in the Strengthening... Read more

Chief executive Anna Fowlie has now offered to meet with Mr Swinney as we continue to work closely with the Scottish Government as the #RunningCostsCrisis worsens.  Read more

Scotland’s voluntary sector is a major employer, employing over 135,000 people, around 5% of Scotland’s workforce and a third more people than the 100,000 staff employed in Scotland’s digital and technology sector. This workforce makes a huge contribution to people and... Read more

SCVOBriefing_CostOfLivingDebate_22_10_26Download Read more

Scouts Scotland is passionate about equipping young people with the skills they need to succeed and be happy in life. Connection with the outdoors promotes good mental health and wellbeing, and it also inspires young people to get involved in climate action. Read more

Context The Fair Funding – Collaborate, Challenge, Change event at this year’s Gathering was organised by SCVO and our Strengthening Collaboration partners (the Scottish Government, COSLA & the TSI Network). The event brought together leaders from across the sector to look at... Read more

SCVO commissioned an independent consultant, Arrivo Consulting, to conduct depth interviews with several of our members. The aim of the project was twofold: To deepen our understanding of the key challenges faced by third sector organisations, specifically in relation to funding... Read more

This case study is part of a series of work undertaken by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) looking into the funding situation of Scottish voluntary organisations. In this paper, we draw upon the experiences of voluntary sector intermediaries to shine a... Read more

Andrew Williams is environmental projects co-ordinator for CEMVO Scotland.  Read more

To mark Scotland’s Climate Week 2022, we caught up with Sustainable Thinking Scotland CIC, our Climate Conscious winner at this year’s Scottish Charity Awards. Hear from Sean Kerr, director at Sustainable Thinking Scotland to learn about their important contributions to a net... Read more

The Living Wage shouldn’t be an aspiration or a ceiling – it’s the bare minimum anyone should expect.   Read more

The UK/EU relationship is at a new stage. As the implementation of the Trade & Cooperation agreement (TCA) between the UK and the EU is now in focus, partners across Scottish civil society are keen to ensure that the Scottish voluntary sector is included, heard and understood in... Read more

“We are concerned with the suggestion of households and organisations footing the bill for this energy price guarantee through their bills and taxes for years to come." Read more

"The needs of the sector, even those that cost nothing, are simply invisible." Read more

Summer 2022 has been like no other, dominated by excessive heat, drought, and what we have all learnt is the wrong type of rain. The political climate has fared little better, paralysed by a leadership contest while energy costs and inflation spiral. Despite the increasingly... Read more

SCVO ran a Greener Gathering this year - find out more about what was involved and what it achieved Read more

Graham McQueen on funding for charities to encourage more active travel Read more

Both statuatory and independent funders will soon be asking about charities' envrionmental impact. Make sure you're ready. Read more

Each year at the beginning of September, the Scottish Government delivers its Programme for Government, a set of actions that the government will take over the next year to progress its priorities. Specifically, the programme includes, legislation, spending, policy initiatives... Read more

Jonathan Mail explains why the Scottish Government's Circular Economy Bill presents an opportunity for charity retail Read more

Today the SCDI published the report and recommendations from the The Business Purpose Commission for Scotland. As a member of the Commission, I found the discussion fascinating in exploring the role of the public, private and voluntary sectors in delivering economic, social and... Read more

Purpose is key to work-place satisfaction and the reason why people chose to work in the charity sector. Charities don’t have a monopoly on purpose though, staff across all sectors are motivated by the idea they are making the world a better place. In fact 83% of Millennial... Read more