Policy blog

The number of new charities set up in 2017 was higher than ever, but financially it’s a mixed picture of winners and losers. Growth has been in the right direction, but for many it’s been pretty anaemic. Our new interactive data hub has pulled together the latest financial data... Read more

Poverty is a political choice, this was the key message from the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, after he visited the UK this month. In a scathing denunciation of austerity Britain, the Special Rapporteur condemned the UK Government for... Read more

Our new interactive data hub pulls together all the basic data on the third sector such as how many organisations there are, how many employees, what they do, and where they are. What’s new is that you can now filter data yourself to find out things like – how many people work in... Read more

How are you feeling about 2019? Once again we're giving third sector colleagues and organisations the chance to tell us what you think next year's biggest challenges and opportunities will be. What you tell us will help us get a better idea of the issues that matter the most to... Read more

Politicians are set to consider plans for an independent review of Brexit’s impact on health and social care. Brendan O’Hara MP introduced a Private Member’s Bill at the House of Commons last week (14 November 2018) in response to concerns raised by those in the third sector... Read more

Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), today responded to Audit Scotland & the Accounts Commission's report ‘Health and social care integration: update on progress’: “The Auditor General has rightly reminded us that the purpose of... Read more

In the last fortnight alone, Glasgow has seen its fair share of collective action from workers. From the equal pay marchers and strikers, to the teachers marching for a decent pay rise and most recently Tuesday seeing precarious workers and campaigners taking to George Square for... Read more

Red box in hand, the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, posed outside 11 Downing Street in front of journalists who had been informed only a few weeks previously by the Prime Minister that "austerity was over". Delivering his last Budget before Brexit, 'Spreadsheet Phil' (as the... Read more

Charities and philanthropy are at the heart of our business. Each year Gillespie Macandrew donates 1% of their pre-tax profits to charitable causes, which over the past three years has topped £80,000. Our own charities and not for profit legal team is skilled and experienced and... Read more

It’s Pro Bono Week! - a global celebration of professional services for the public good #PBW18 And it’s also a cause for celebration here at SCVO because our very own Free Legal Advice Service is 10 years old. Since we started the Service in 2008, we’ve dealt with over 60... Read more