Policy blog

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

SCVO will continue to work with TSIs and partners in the Scottish and UK Governments, as well as COSLA on these issues Read more

The Circular Economy bill will present opportunities and challenges for third sector organisations. Michael Cook explains what its about. Read more

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has warned that third sector groups have been let down by today’s Spending Review.  Read more

The climate crisis seems less important than the cost of living crisis but the two are inter-linked, says Susan Smith Read more

Foundation Scotland has been exploring the role of funders in tackling the root cause of problems rather than paying for lots of sticking plasters Read more

Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary Shona Robison argues for a broader view of what it means to be a prosperous economy and advocates for the role of the third sector in supporting that. Read more

Alastair Davis argues that the social enterprise sector can only achieve exponential growth in economic impact through mainstream its products and services within consumer and B2B markets. Read more

The Circular Economy 360 series is delivered by Social Investment Scotland and supported by Zero Waste Scotland. In addition to our live sessions will be sharing inspiring interviews from organisations across the globe and our resource pack information will help you on your... Read more

A rundown of what the team has been up to and what’s ahead in each area of interest for SCVO.  Read more

Last week, the UK Government launched its long-awaited UK Shared Prosperity Fund prospectus. But what does it mean for us in Scotland’s voluntary sector?  Read more

Neil McInroy explains how Community Wealth Building could provide the practical answer to transforming Scotland's economic system Read more

Working in partnership across sectors should be the backbone of Levelling Up. We now hope to see this outlined as a key principle in the new UKSPF prospectus due to be published imminently.  Read more

Professor Iain Black argues the third sector must help disrupt the existing growth focused economic goal to ensure social and environmental goals are achieved. Read more

Addington offers some thoughts about a possible framework to help organisations think more broadly about their role and recognise opportunities to help achieve a sustainable future. Read more

Many of us who work in policy and public affairs in Scotland will no doubt have experienced the hustle and bustle of the Parliament in Edinburgh – the commotion in the lobby as school trips and visitors wait to receive their guest passes; the buzz about the building as... Read more

Sandy Macdonald on some of the ways the third sector is helping the business sector achieve economic success Read more

Our sector is an employer, a partner, and a vital social and economic actor.  Read more

The Scottish Government’s consultation on its first multi-year resource spending review since 2011 closes in three weeks, on 27 March. We need to use this time to rally together to secure a spending review that delivers for Scotland’s voluntary sector. By deliver, we mean the... Read more

It won’t address poverty and inequalities, which are the biggest draining effect on our country’s economic and social wellbeing Read more

There are still many questions as to how the Levelling Up agenda will be implemented in Scotland.    Read more

We have never attempted to estimate the overall economic contribution of the third sector. Professor Mairi Spowage of the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) explains what it's doing to change that Read more

Enter the Scottish Charity Awards Climate Conscious Award and inspire others to take action Read more

Social businesses are stepping in when markets fail bringing £165m and more than 7000 full time jobs to the Highlands and Islands Read more

Bringing together the innovative thinking and ethos of Scotland’s incredible charities and social enterprises with the innovation ecosystem in our universities and colleges can help to spark a new wave of third sector services Read more

The policy cycle, like everything else, has been somewhat uncertain over the last couple of years. First Brexit and then the coronavirus pandemic have delayed the UK Budget, having a knock-on effect here in Scotland. Before the Christmas break, however, the Scottish policy-cycle... Read more

Ian Marr explains how Social Impact Investment brings together the skills, experience and strengths of the public, private and social sectors to work together for the common good. Read more

Susan McGhee explains how social enterprise Flexible Childcare Scotland is disrupting the childcare industry from within. Read more

We need a Wellbeing Economy so that we can focus on delivering the things that make life worthwhile rather than just the things that make life possible. Read more

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has written to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Shona Robison MSP to highlight concerns over the recent announcement of the Scottish Budget for 2022-23 - you can view SCVO’s Chief... Read more

Rami Okasha explains why Children’s Hospices Across Scotland decided to measure the economic impact of its work in 2021. Read more

The voluntary sector – which empowers citizens, sustains wellbeing and advocates for change – is undoubtedly a super sector: striving for progress towards social, economic, environmental and democratic outcomes  Read more

Findings from a third sector research project are providing crucial insights into how Scotland’s charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Run by independent research company DJS Research on behalf of the Scottish Council for... Read more

Wave one - Summer 2021 The Scottish Third Sector Tracker is a community of third sector organisations based in Scotland. This large and inclusive community of organisations share their experiences and challenges in a quarterly survey. The information gathered from the community... Read more

Anoushka Kenley, research and policy director at Pro Bono Economics explores the true value of the voluntary sector Read more

Julia Unwin outlines five ways that civil society plays an essential role in the economy Read more

Each Autumn, Committees at the Scottish Parliament prepare pre-budget reports to share with Scottish Government Ministers ahead of the December Budget. Each one is packed with recommended commitments. Like colleagues across the sector, over the last few months the policy team at... Read more