Policy blog

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

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

It’s said that ‘defence of the realm is the first duty of government’. And, despite apparent agreement that this is the primary duty, there never seems to follow a list ranking the other ‘lesser’ duties of government – a sort of political Ten Commandments. Of course, with hammer... Read more

Charities from across Scotland have been granted additional funding to continue the delivery of projects which aim to reduce the impact of welfare cuts and poverty. SCVO, through the Community Capacity and Resilience Fund, has awarded £135,000 to 14 organisations to build on the... Read more

Straight back from the summer recess, MSPs had little chance to water their office plants and catch up with colleagues. No, no. Not when the Programme for Government is the main item of the day – with two subsequent days of debate and a series of Ministerial elaborations to... Read more

SCVO response to Programme for Scotland 2018/19 Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) responded today to the Scottish Government’s Programme for Scotland 2018-19: “There’s plenty in the Programme for Government that will make a... Read more

Universal Credit (UC) is the UK Government’s new benefit system for working age claimants, replacing six ‘legacy’ benefits - JSA, IS, HB, ESA, Work and Child Tax Credits - with a single monthly payment. UC Full Service, which is predicated on claimants managing their account... Read more

With our children and grandchildren now returning to the classroom, many of us will be thinking about how they are getting to school and back in a way that is healthy and safe. Is it easy for them to walk, scoot or cycle to school? If not, what might make it easier and what would... Read more

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has joined forces with other leading third sector organisations to highlight concerns over the effect of Brexit on volunteering numbers. Alongside Volunteer Scotland, SCVO has prepared a letter to the Home Secretary Sajid... Read more

Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP Home Secretary Home Office 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF 15 August 2018 Dear Home Secretary, The Contribution of Non-UK Citizen Volunteers The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national membership organisation for Scotland’s... Read more

How can the sector most effectively engage with Scotland’s political parties to progress their policy proposals? SCVO decided to ask the experts by hosting a series of, ‘Meet the Researcher’, events for members of SCVO’s Policy Officers Network. At the events, members have the... Read more

The Scottish Government has recently published their updated plan to tackle smoking in Scotland – “Raising a Tobacco-free Generation: Our Tobacco-Control Action Plan 2018.” The Plan centres on the Scottish Government’s priority that, by 2034, an entire generation of Scottish... Read more

Gender pay gap of Scottish voluntary sector May 2018 Download the PDF - Gender pay gap briefing May2018 All organisations with 250+ staff were due to report on their gender pay gap by 4 April 2018. The UK Government has published the full data set of organisations submitting... Read more

Recent OSCR research found that good governance is one of the top things that promotes trust in charities. People want to see charities are being ‘run well’. They want to know that the money or time they choose to put into an organisation is well looked after. In fact they expect... Read more

A landmark report on the UK’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been published. ‘Measuring Up’, produced by UKSSD, paints a gloomy picture of the UK’s performance, whilst highlighting successes across the 17 SDGs that tackle issues from improving health... Read more

At this start of 2018, the third sector was rocked by a fall in public trust and damning headlines of unacceptable charity failures. In reality, public trust in charities is still high in Scotland - 73% of those questioned in an SCVO survey in November 2017 strongly or tended to... Read more

Concern for the environment has never been greater and the way we use our natural resources is firmly in the public spotlight. The concept of a circular economy is one way to minimise the strain on natural resources and help eradicate waste by keeping resources and products in... Read more

Nicola Sturgeon fields new team as transfer window closes For Scottish Politics fanciers (yes, that includes both you and I) the last 24 hours have felt like premiership transfer deadline day. With Twitter tuned to #ScotReshuffle and thumb over the refresh button, we were treated... Read more

Growing up in Ecuador, I’ve witnessed the difficulty that marginalised communities face trying to access basic health services and quality education. I learned that the implications of these inequalities are vast, leading to higher prevalence of disease, homelessness, and... Read more

Volunteers’ Week is absolutely an important thank you to volunteers across Scotland and for the contribution they make to communities and society. But it is also a great opportunity to say thank you to, and recognise, those who help people volunteer and make volunteering happen... Read more

National celebrations will recognise the contribution of Scotland’s diverse volunteer community and encourage more people to get involved Thousands of charities, voluntary and public sector organisations are gearing up to celebrate the vital contribution made by volunteers across... Read more

Organisations across the third sector invest significantly in developing solutions to the challenges that face people and communities in Scotland. Highlighting these policy solutions to political parties is central to making many of these ideas a reality and improving the lives... Read more

Paths for All recently commented on Scottish Government proposals for a strategy to tackle social isolation and loneliness and build stronger social connections. We were pleased that the strategy recognised the value of our work to develop and deliver an action plan for the... Read more

Do you want to help transform government? Imagine a country where citizens and governments come together to solve the most pressing challenges we face; where the decision making process is transparent and accountable, and where you have a real say in the policies and services... Read more

Today, Wednesday 23 May, sees the launch of a pro-EU, anti-Brexit “Declaration: Scotland for Europe”. Signed by over 40 civil society figures, the Declaration marks the start of a Scottish civil society campaign in favour of staying in the EU. The “Declaration: Scotland for... Read more

Communities and charities with new ideas to tackle child poverty will be given the opportunity to bid for part of a new £7.5 million Innovation Fund. Announced as part of the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, the fund, financed by the Scottish Government and the Hunter... Read more

The Scottish Government’s revised National Performance Framework is important to us all. It sets the Scottish Government’s overarching purpose and the indicators that show how the Government is performing against National Outcomes that cover economic, health, social and... Read more

Volunteers week 2018 has the strap line ‘Volunteering for All’ for all UK countries. I’m especially pleased about this, as it’s a direct take from the work being led by the Scottish Government with bold and ambitious thinking to make it the norm for everyone to be engaged in all... Read more

As you might already know, ‘volunteering for all’ is the theme for this year’s Volunteers’ Week (1st -7th June). We’ve been chatting to Louise McGinty, Volunteer Development Manager, at Quarriers about the types of volunteer opportunities they have across Scotland and hearing... Read more

People volunteer for a number of reasons and over the last few years Good HQ has been encouraging people to share their experiences of volunteering to help raise awareness of the charities they support and encourage others to volunteer too. Take a look at just some of the... Read more

On Wednesday, following a vigorous, four hour debate MSPs voted unanimously in favour of establishing Scotland’s first social security system. Around the Chamber, there were smiles from MSPs, while I, like many colleagues from the third sector, watched on from the gallery... Read more

A campaign which aims to encourage EU nationals to stay and continue to live and work in Scotland despite ongoing uncertainty around Brexit took place in Edinburgh today. Created by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), the #EUareValued campaign was launched at... Read more

Universal Credit is back in the news. While there have been a steady stream of stories over the past few years about both the administrative disaster of the rollout and the misery that ‘welfare reform’ has caused recipients, the focus this week has been on how plans for a single... Read more

I was really annoyed to read that new Charity Commission Chair, Baroness Powell, thinks people trust charities no more than they trust the average stranger they meet on the street. I was even more annoyed that she said it in her first major speech in the role, and at the National... Read more

439 days. That’s how long I’ve been Project Coordinator for the Open Government Pioneers Project. It’s the longest I’ve spent in any role. I’ve enjoyed managing a project touching on so many of the things I love – policy, public affairs, campaigns, events and project management... Read more

With key votes coming up on Brexit, SCVO and the Human Rights Consortium Scotland have written to members of the House of Lords to ask them to change the UK Government’s plans to reduce our rights’ protections post-Brexit. Peers will vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill beginning today... Read more

Microvolunteering can have a big impact on your organisation if you do it right. On Sunday, organisations were taking to social media to encourage people to take part in microvolunteer opportunities to support their cause on Microvolunteer Day. What is microvolunteering? Well, it... Read more

Organisations across the third sector have welcomed the Scottish Government’s aspirations to take a rights based approach to social security and are now calling for MSPs to support an amendment to the Social Security (Scotland) Bill, on the subject of independent advocacy. A... Read more

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been with us for well over two years, and now in our third year of action, my most recent blog looked at whether Scotland is moving towards a National Implementation Plan for the Goals. It’s been some time since the First Minister... Read more

There are some things that sit on your ‘to-do’ list for weeks, maybe even months. Things that you really want to do but just never get around to actually doing. It might be starting a new hobby, signing yourself up to that dreaded half marathon or volunteering for a good cause... Read more

In response to the Scottish Government's publication of ‘Protecting what matters – what’s at stake for individuals in the Brexit talks’, John Downie, Director of Public Affairs for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), said: “SCVO warmly welcomes this report... Read more

As a newcomer to the SCVO Policy Officers Network, I had never considered how the Sustainable Development Goals relate to my work, and their impact on policy and priorities in Scotland more broadly. This blog will look at how this works in practice for some elements of Goal three... Read more

Engagement Officer Allan Young says that despite good progress, human rights remain under threat - and we all need to protect them. Seventy years ago the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly. Since then, despite many setbacks... Read more

Let’s assume that you think open government is a good idea. You’d be hard placed to find someone in Scotland who would say otherwise – open sounds better than closed, right? That may be so, but do we really know what it means and why it’s a good idea? Are we sure of the value... Read more

On International Women’s day Sheghley Ogilvie looks at issues around gender equality, from ‘every day sexism’ to the serious social problems that stem from basic inequality. This week I went for lunch with a friend. We chatted about this and that and as we all do from time-to... Read more

On Thursday March 15th next week, a stramash of people frustrated with the way political decisions are made will descend on the Mac in Belfast. They will be binded by their concern for democracy, and the way in which society is being increasingly sidelined by greedy and power... Read more

I recently spoke at The Gathering, the annual event for Scotland’s charities and third sector organisations, run by SCVO. Alongside me on the panel were Dr Kendra Briken from the University of Strathclyde and Rhodri Davies from the Charities Aid Foundation. The question we were... Read more

What is the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)? Often referred to as the ‘women’s bill of rights’, CEDAW is a core international human rights treaty devoted to gender equality. CEDAW spells out in detail women’s human right to... Read more

The pace of progress must accelerate to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). That’s according to the latest report from the UN on progress across the world. Now in our third year of action, these words ring true for Scotland as well. Our country’s commitment to the... Read more

I work for the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG). We provide advice to NHSScotland on which health technologies offer the best treatment for the people of Scotland. Health technologies can be anything from a wound dressing to a hip replacement. We do not look at medicines... Read more

This year's Gathering was another outstanding success. Two days of stalls, workshops, showcasing, networking, learning and celebrating. Near 3,000 people visited over two days at the SEC and I'm sure every one of them took away at least one nugget of information that will serve... Read more

Survey finds that the public’s trust in charities has dropped, but also highlights some positives, and areas for improvement OK, given that this week is The Gathering and a celebration of charities, let’s start with some good news! Trust and confidence in charities remains high... Read more

The stark message from SCVO’s latest trust figures is that general trust in Scottish charities is down - from 82% in 2016 to 73% in 2018. It is difficult to understand all the factors influencing trust, but one thing is clear - negative media stories continue to be a much... Read more

Why is it that, on average, people born only miles apart in Scotland can have vastly different health outcomes? How do we address these differences and ensure that living a long, healthy life is not a postcode lottery? Who is doing this work and how do we best support them? Those... Read more

Over 100 charities, campaign groups and civil society leaders have joined forces to launch a new Scotland Declaration on Human Rights, calling for leadership to protect rights in the face of Brexit, as new research published today shows considerable public support for human... Read more

The next 12 months will see the UK begin to shape its future relationship with the European Union and set out domestic arrangements to either replace, replicate or re-design existing EU-wide frameworks and institutions. At the moment, discussions are dominated by the technical... Read more

Scottish Social Security Committee vote not to amend Bill to include ‘due regard’ duty This morning (Thursday 8 February 2018), the Scottish Social Security Committee continued to consider the many amendments (over 200 at my last count) lodged at Stage 2 of the Social Security... Read more

With the UK's talks with the EU reaching crunch point, the Prime Minister has 'categorically' ruled out staying in the Custom's Union - a decision caused by the chaos and politics in her own party and her failure of leadership, rather than the result of any thought to the... Read more

A joint statement issued today* by the national third sector bodies of devolved nations Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales details various measures they feel are essential to avoid or minimise the potential harmful impacts of Brexit. The key recommendation from Northern Ireland... Read more

When the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) came into being, they marked a tectonic shift in how the UN considered global problems – that they are just that – global – and affect all of us. This has the potential to revolutionise how different actors and sectors across the... Read more

Research published by the IPPR Scotland today (31 January 2018) has found that the proposed income tax cuts on lower earnings, through a new Starter Rate, will not be effective at supporting the poorest households in Scotland, and will not help the Scottish Government to meet its... Read more

A national network co-ordinated by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has issued an open letter to government bodies asking them to evidence their commitment to delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Scotland. Scotland’s Sustainable Development... Read more

The Prime Minister has guaranteed that the UK will participate in Erasmus+ until 2020, but what happens next is far from certain. Theresa May has recently guaranteed that the UK will retain access to the Erasmus+ programme until 2020. This was largely touted as good news but... Read more

The Scottish Government are creating plans to tackle our nation’s obesity problem and create a healthier future for Scots. They are seeking views on their ambitions on diet, activity and healthy weight strategy which includes increasing opportunities for people to be more active... Read more

In 2015, the First Minister confirmed that the Scottish Government would be one of the first anywhere in the world to commit to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, both at home and overseas. Since then, all 193 UN member states have signed up to the 17 goals that seek to... Read more

As charities and CASCs, we do not need to worry about recent changes to income tax bands – and nor, in the main, do our donors. Unless you were otherwise engaged with, oh, I don’t know, Christmas shopping last week, you may have noticed the draft Scottish budget being announced... Read more

John Downie, Director of Public Affairs for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) said: “Today’s Scottish Government Budget was a landmark one, with the Scottish Government quite radically overhauling the tax system. We welcome the introduction of a more... Read more

Responding to the announcement that facilities run by council arm’s-length bodies will continue to benefit from charity relief from non-domestic rates, John Downie, Director of Public Affairs for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), said: “This decision flies... Read more

A further twenty three organisations from across Scotland have been granted funding for innovative projects which aim to reduce the impact of welfare cuts and poverty in Scotland. Earlier this year, Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities, Angela... Read more

In response to today’s (Wednesday 22 November 2017) Budget announcement by the Chancellor Philip Hammond, John Downie, Director of Public Affairs at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) said: “Predictably, The Chancellor’s budget statement today did nothing to... Read more

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) are asking Scottish and Welsh MPs to back the cross-party amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill drafted jointly by the Scottish and Welsh Governments. While both... Read more

In response to today’s (Thursday 2 November 2017) publication of the Scottish Government’s ‘The Role of Income Tax in Scotland’s Budget’ discussion paper, John Downie, Director of Public Affairs at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) said: “SCVO welcomes the... Read more

A few weeks ago, SCVO asked us to write a short blog about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Specifically, the SDG concerning gender equality and its link to the rest of the goals. For those unfamiliar, the fifth of the 17 SDGs commits member states to achieving gender... Read more

In recent weeks, Theresa May has resembled the dismembered Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Despite receiving seemingly fatal blows, she somehow survives and carries on regardless. Think what you may of the Prime Minister, her determination is something to behold... Read more

Speak to anyone who has been to a child’s birthday party, to a pipe band competition or a demonstration, and they’ll tell you that more ‘voices’ make you sit up and take notice. This is something that the Scottish voluntary sector knows well. Collective campaigning is our norm... Read more

Most of us have goals that we seek to achieve, either set by ourselves, by who we work for, or both. Common, shared goals are important in delivering real change and none more so, in my opinion, than the global ones for sustainable development set by the United Nations in... Read more

It’s hard to argue with the idea that we all want to live in a more peaceful, fairer world. But is that achievable? The answer is yes, and we have a road map to get there too. The internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 overarching goals which can lead... Read more

Saved from the chopping block by May’s post-election weakness, Phillip Hammond was yesterday able to jump to the dispatch box to deliver another budget and, alas, another u-turn. This time, the roll-out of Universal Credit got a face lift of sorts. The changes include: • The... Read more

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) apply to every country in the world; they recognise that we only have one earth, there is no umbilical cord to provide us with extra resources, there is no extraterrestrial land fill site where we can dispose of our waste. Today, the... Read more

At the weekend I picked up on the story of the Grimsby Seafood Trade having a meeting at Westminster demanding the area receieves Free Trade status after Brexit. It caught my eye because Grimsby was a town that overwhelmingly voted to leave the EU. Grimsby voted 70% to leave... Read more

Policy makers must provide support to the sector to underpin tough legislation on alcohol “This is not a silver bullet.” That’s likely the line we’ll hear most from MSPs and health professionals in the coming months, as minimum unit pricing for alcohol is introduced in Scotland... Read more

With Big Ben currently out of action, the assembled masses of the House of Commons are set to put on a ding-dong of their own. Later today, we will see the beginning of the committee stage of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. And it looks like it might be a show worth... Read more

Would you be surprised to hear that Scottish grant-making trusts and foundations gave £300million to Scottish charities last year? Or that the amount donated by grant-making trusts has doubled in the last decade, up from £128m in 2007? Or that it now accounts for 6% of the sector... Read more

Scotland’s Third Sector Governance Forum was set up in 2009 after a roundtable meeting to discuss findings from study into leadership and governance that showed that boards consistently rated their organisational effectiveness higher that the CEO and staff of the organisation. At... Read more