Policy blog

SCVO, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) and One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) have written a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, ahead of today’s Opposition day debate on Universal Credit in the House of Commons. The piloting of... Read more

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has today re-iterated its strong support for the UK to remain in the Single Market and Customs Union, following recommendations made in the Scottish Government’s paper ‘Scotland’s Place in Europe: Our Way Forward.’ In... Read more

SCVO has repsonded to the First Minister's speech regarding Fair Work at the SNP Conference this afternoon. SCVO Chief Executive Anna Fowlie said: “We welcome the First Minister’s expanded commitment to Fair Work – it’s essential that the Scottish Government uses all the drivers... Read more

I couldn’t have been the only one who found it a little toe-curling to see SNP conference emblazoned with (SNP-branded) Obama-era ‘Yes We Can’ posters and banners this week. At least Donald Trump had the good grace (a concept usually alien to him) to wait 36 years and add the... Read more

Commenting on the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) report Charity Street Scotland, which shows more than three quarters of Scottish households have used a charity service in the last 12 months, Chief Executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations Anna Fowlie said... Read more

Scotland’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Network began with fifteen people in a room. They strongly felt that the SDGs in Scotland needed a push; momentum had been lost and those at the heart of working with the SDGs were determined to step up the pace with government and... Read more

For a healthy and vibrant democracy it is essential that the voluntary sector feels able to participate in democratic debate. At the Electoral Commission we are currently undertaking a review of the guidance we produce for non-party campaigners and we are looking for help from... Read more

As part of Challenge Poverty Week 2018 John Watson of ASH Scotland wants to throw out the old stereotypes about poverty and smoking, so that we can start a new dialogue between health and anti-poverty groups. Working in public health I’m very conscious that we do what we do... Read more

No one can be in any doubt that the third sector in Scotland is overwhelmingly pro-European. SCVO’s engagement with the sector on Brexit over the past 18 months, found that over 80% of organisations felt that leaving the EU would negatively impact the Scottish economy, poverty... Read more

Minority government is an opportunity to be seized. This was the key message from our most recent Meet the Researchers event at which SCVO’s Policy Officers Network met researchers from the Scottish Labour Party. The seven strong research team, led by Head of Policy, Michael... Read more