Policy blog

What practical steps should you take now to be ready for the Lobbying Act? Read more

New regulations expect too much of charities, and offer little public benefit Read more

Civil society can play a huge and unique role Read more

As the UK Government try to close the gap, our sector is vital Read more

SCVO Open Government Coordinator on ways to achieve accountability, participation and transparency Read more

SCVO media release 6 February 2017 86% of Scotland’s charities fear Brexit economic shock Charities in Scotland are warning that Brexit could have a severe impact on their survival, with further negative effects on their ability to help the people they support. The stark findings... Read more

06 February 2017 Full survey findings 1. Impact of leaving EU 86% felt that leaving the EU would have a negative impact on the Scottish Economy 81% felt that leaving the EU would have a negative impact on Poverty & Social Exclusion 80% felt that leaving the EU would have a... Read more

The future looks far from clear, but Scotland’s third sector may be uniquely placed to influence post-Brexit direction Read more

Irresponsible policy making by the Treasury ups threat to benefit claimants Read more

Big questions for the future affordability of social housing Read more

Child Poverty Action Group highlights worrying examples of how the benefit cap reduction is hitting people in Scotland Read more

Casting an eye on the big policy issues for Scotland's third sector Read more

Applications are now open for the Scottish Government’s exemption scheme Read more

We share the latest information on Scotland's Lobbying Act. Read more

Proposed housing changes mark new low in UK Government’s savage approach to welfare cuts Read more

Third sector must ensure prevention remains paramount Read more

New grant making standards will replace gagging clause - but what do they mean? Read more

As we reach the end of our #RightApproach campaign, Allan detects a change in the air Read more

Tumultuous year kept third sector sounding board busy Read more

SCVO media release 8 December 2016 The Scottish Fundraising Implementation Group has announced the members of the Independent Fundraising Standards & Adjudication Panel for Scotland, which will oversee fundraising standards and fundraising complaints about charities registered in... Read more

Monday 5 December 2016 SCVO media release The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) in partnership with the Wales Council for Voluntary Organisations (WCVA), Involve, and Northern Ireland Environment Link has been awarded a £500k Big Lottery Fund grant to support... Read more

Third sector reaction to the Autumn Statement Read more

On 23 November 2016, the UK Chancellor Philip Hammond presented his autumn statement to the UK Parliament. Commenting on the statement, SCVO Director of Public Affairs, John Downie, said: This budget offers little hope to the people that Scotland’s charities and voluntary... Read more

Introduction In general, we welcome the broad direction of travel of social security in Scotland, in particular the emphasis placed on ensuring each individual is treated with dignity and respect. Our members recognise the scale of the challenges facing the Scottish Government... Read more

Care Inspectorate consultation is an opportunity to promote human rights in social care Read more

A baseline year for children’s rights in Scotland Read more

SCVO media release 10 November 2016 The Scottish Fundraising Working Group is recommending to charities in Scotland that they do not need to screen against the FPS. Chair of the Group and Partner at MacRoberts LLP, Val Surgenor, said: “The Scottish Fundraising Working Group’s... Read more

Chair of recent review into fundraising in Scotland sets out what trustees need to know Read more

Leaders from across Scotland’s third sector have come together with a rallying call for all the nation's charities and voluntary organisations to commit to seizing the opportunities presented by new technology and the internet. Over the last six months, 19 senior charity leaders... Read more

It's time for bold thinking to close the gap between the old and the young Read more

Budgeting Fun This should be the time of year when many of us have fun with the Scottish Government budget. How much has the third sector got? Is the money going into any exciting new funds? Which communities look set to benefit? However, a delay to the budget has caused everyone... Read more

Third sector can help make children in care review a success Read more

Until charities have a strong voice in Brexit discussions, the vulnerable will remain voiceless Read more

As we move from paper to action, practical projects like Community Jobs Scotland are key. Read more

Stand for SCVO’s policy committee Read more

There are some brilliant resources out there to help third sector organisations Read more

People of the city are absent from major new economic report Read more

Forum has regular access to highest levels of government, ensuring third sector voices are heard loud and clear Read more

Rate relief is very important for the third sector in Scotland Read more

Scotland's charities and voluntary groups should embrace global movement Read more

#RightApproach Resource Bank This page provides useful links and resources about human rights in Scotland and the wider UK, including news sources, government bodies and organisations promoting rights. Equally Ours Campaign The Equality and Diversity Forum’s ‘Equally Ours... Read more

The #RightApproach can help tackle poverty Read more

Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities reflects on the #rightapproach Read more

Opportunity missed to promote a modern, flexible approach to our working lives Read more

Engender and the #rightapproach Read more

Analysis of the big issues for charities and voluntary organisations Read more

Poverty and inequality will be in focus at free event Read more

The #RightApproach is central to securing equality for young people Read more

Using the #rightapproach has helped different faiths in Scotland support refugees and asylum seekers Read more

Social and economic justice campaigners have long used the title of this blog as a slogan to campaign on a range of human rights issues. It means simply you cannot make fair and just decisions which significantly impact people’s lives without first listening to those people... Read more

The #rightapproach that goes to the heart of our society Read more

Taking the #rightapproach empowers people with dementia and their carers Read more

Taking the #rightapproach can empower people to challenge decisions made by governments or local authorities Read more

We cannot allow the prospect of uncertainty around resourcing and funding the sector to dominate our response to Brexit, but we mustn’t bury our heads in the sand and ignore it either. Other sectors, including farming and business, are already making strong cases for continued... Read more

The #RightApproach to gender justice Read more

Our new campaign to promote Human Rights in the third sector Read more

Applications open for Scotland’s Land Commission Read more

Our out-dated, inflexible labour market is a key barrier to equality in employment Read more

Scotland’s social security agency must listen to people who have been silenced Read more

Why is the UK-wide Big Lottery Funding scheme so important? Read more

Any use of foreign aid to support post-Brexit trade deals will be shamefull Read more

Named person ruling just a snag for Scottish Government Read more

As the pondering and posturing over Brexit continues, we're getting ready to take the #RightApproach. Read more

Ambitious plans hatched to improve social care support in Scotland Read more

Three years on from SCVO’s last local funding survey, Policy Officer Jenny Bloomfield looks at where we are now and how you can help. Read more

*Disclaimer: No one knows! Read more

SCVO media release 7 July 2016 A new free-phone fundraising complaints line and website has gone live to assist members of the public wishing to make a complaint about charity fundraising in Scotland. Scottish Fundraising Complaints, which has been set up by the Scottish Council... Read more

One week after the referendum, SCVO’s Policy Officers Network met to wrestle with the implications of Brexit for the third sector. Read more

EU referendum result is a bitter blow, writes Carla McCormack from the Poverty Alliance Read more

It has been a difficult couple of years for many fundraising organisations. High-profile media coverage of instances of poor fundraising practice in the UK came as a shock not only to the public, but also to the vast majority of those fundraising organisations and many in the... Read more

SCVO media release 30 June 2016 An enhanced model for charity fundraising regulation in Scotland will see more responsibility placed on charities and the Scottish charity regulator, OSCR, to encourage good practice. The move follows an extensive period of consultation with the... Read more

Synopsis Scottish Fundraising Working Group June 2016 Foreword Scotland’s charity sector is a critical component of our civic society. The impact of charitable fundraising every day, in every community across Scotland, is genuinely life changing. It is, however, not without its... Read more

We must work together to make sure that the word ‘fair’ has a strong, practical definition Read more

We're in unchartered territory and the future looks uncertain Read more

With the murder of Jo Cox we have lost a bright and talented public servant. Read more

Could it be that smaller is actually better? Read more

Many reasons to be positive and a rallying call from International Non-Governmental Organisations conference Read more

Here's why people in Scotland love small charities Read more

Another election has failed to achieve balanced gender representation and now the Scottish Parliament must seize the opportunity to promote equality via internal practices. Read more

Last week I chaired a joint SCVO-ICAS event on charity tax. We had speakers from the UK Treasury and Revenue and Customs, and from the Charity Tax Group. ICAS also spoke. It was a good session, with about 30 attendees – a mix of sector (large and small) and chartered accountants... Read more

Given the significant rise of working households experiencing poverty, the performance of the labour market can no longer be adequately represented merely by counting the number of people in work. Working with the UWS-Oxfam Partnership and Warwick Institute for Employment... Read more

Three important messages for Scotland’s voluntary sector Read more

With most of the formalities behind us, business has begun in earnest Read more

Making our economy work for the majority will only succeed if the third sector is a key partner Read more

Childrens rights in focus at 2016 seminar series Read more

Changes afoot with new ministerial appointments looking likley Read more

Changes to benefits look ever more likely to cause more harm than good Read more

SCVO's new Public Affairs officer Craig Wilson on the aftermath of #SP2016 Read more

While the polls display that the SNP are heading for victory, it is a bad idea to write off any parties or ignore their proposals. Read more

The ALLIANCE's Policy and Information Manager Andrew Strong looks at the party's manifestos to find out. Read more

Condensing a two hour hustings into a short blog, I am now painfully aware of the challenge we set our panel: how to speak concisely about mental health Read more

The story behind the city of discovery’s set of asks from the next Scottish Government. Read more

Hustings hears that Scotland is ready to do more, but hard work is needed. Read more

Our sector has an ambitious vision for Scotland’s future. The question is how can we make our vision a reality? Read more

Scotland set to lead the way internationally Read more

SCVO media release 13 April 2016 The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) will lead the civil society response in a pilot programme which has selected Scotland as one of 14 pioneers across the world to make governments more open and transparent. Led by the Open... Read more

Our short survey only takes five minutes I read this Guardian piece on charities not staying neutral on the EU vote and immediately agreed with it. Then I saw the interesting debate over BMW explaining its position to its Rolls Royce and Mini workforce. Employers using their... Read more

Making the case for charities to respond to the Scottish consultation on fundraising regulation Read more

1 April 2016 The Scottish Fundraising Working Group, convened by SCVO, has developed three options for a new charity fundraising regulatory system in Scotland. The group is seeking views throughout spring 2016 on the best direction to take. The online survey closed (closed 3... Read more

A look at who'll be affected when new Lobbying (Scotland) Act starts. Read more