Consultation responses

Section A: Draft Guidance as a whole Question 1: Are you able to find your way around the draft Guidance? The guidance is generally easy to navigate, both in the PDF and the online version. The introduction of a web specific version is welcome as it is more navigable on mobile... Read more

Introduction With the recent introduction of the Scottish Government’s new economic strategy and fair work agenda, now is an opportune time to ensure that procurement is used to tackle poverty and inequality. As we said in our paper An Economy for All, there are four principles... Read more

The Impact of Welfare Reform Welfare reform exacerbates ingrained inequalities across a range of groups – combined with austerity and public service cuts, women have been deeply affected. Yet, gender remains largely absent from policy responses to welfare reform. As outlined by... Read more

Tax Gift Aid is a relief on income tax that benefits charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs); last year Gift Aid provided over £1 billion to the sector in the UK. Although the issue of Gift Aid is not covered in the draft clauses, income tax is. Therefore Gift Aid is... Read more

Introduction The ownership and use of land are important to the third sector and the people we work with in a number of different ways. For example, land is fundamental to tackling the current problem with the availability of affordable housing for rural and urban communities... Read more

SCVO welcomes the Department of Work and Pension’s (DWP) consultation on Universal Credit data sharing. This is an important issue for Scotland's charities and voluntary organisations, many of whom support some of Scotland's most vulnerable claimants. Please note that with the... Read more

Key Principles and Themes The purpose of devolution is to bring power to where it is most appropriate and to help: reduce inequality and celebrate diversity promote social justice create a more inclusive society enable and empower people promote environmental and economic... Read more

Our response We welcome the opportunity to respond to this consultation. Our response is drawn from discussions with a number of third sector organisations, including a formal discussion on the topic with the National Intermediaries group. Annual reporting by charities to the... Read more

Summary The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation, and would like to offer the following for consideration. Although there now won’t be a constitution in the near future, there are some key points that we believe... Read more

Timetable Lord Smith's initial request was to provide views by today, 10 October, in order to meet the challenging timetable agreed by the Better Together parties. Whilst we have appreciated the extension to 31 October, which was granted three days later, this has given rise to... Read more

Comments on the Bill To give communities a greater say over local spending priorities, 10% of the total budget for the public sector in each local authority area could be allocated for participatory budgeting processes We support the introduction of a single, clear process for... Read more

Delaying the bill to review options and delivery We are concerned about the relative speed at which the Bill is being taken forward. Given some of the concerns highlighted by our members, by the Evaluation of the Interim Fund and the significant carry-over of funds from 2013/1... Read more

Context Coproduction is a much used/misused term. The Christie Commission made a very strong case for service user involvement and for trust to be a key part of public service delivery. The arguments made by Christie have strong application to the integration of health and social... Read more

The Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the above consultation. Our response covers a number of areas: Recognising the third sector as an EQUAL partner Ensuring those whose lives will be deeply affected by integration have a... Read more

Introduction The consultation, 'Your voice, our vision', is a timely and welcome development to seek a broader input into the future strategic framework of the Big Lottery Fund. Spending £4billion between 2015-2021, roughly equivalent to £400m in Scotland, is a considerable... Read more

Key Points Strategic vision The Scottish Government places great stock on strategic direction within the Budget and its legislative programme. It highlights three underpinning aims: accelerating economic recovery and creating more jobs creating a fairer Scotland and empowering... Read more

SCVO’s policy work is driven by three strategic aims – Society, Economy and Democracy. Our response is structured around these aims: Society – ensuring that policy making reflects our changing society and the importance of empowering and supporting people, their connections and... Read more

Our response SCVO welcomes the opportunity to respond to the consultation, and would like to contribute the following. Introduction SCVO begins its response to this consultation by expressing disappointment at the questions being raised in the consultation document. Given that... Read more

No Safety Net Along with many of our members, SCVO believes that this new policy, alongside other devastating welfare cuts, will continue to undermine the very fabric of our society. We believe the policy will create another huge whole in an already inadequate safety net. As in... Read more

SCVO was invited to comment on the Scottish Government's draft Operational Programmes for European funding. This applies to the new European Social Fund and European Rural Development Fund during the next European funding cycle covering 2014 to 2020. ESF = European Social Fund... Read more

Our response Question 1 How would you rate your satisfaction with the budget as a whole? "Disagree" SCVO believes that the balance of funding in the budget continues to be disproportionately skewed in favour of farming and land-based industries and fails to sufficiently recognise... Read more

Our response SCVO welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation. Question 1 Do you agree that the purpose of the new scheme is correct? SCVO has spoken to and assisted many organisations over the years with problems stemming from the water rates exemption scheme. The... Read more

Review of existing Fund We are concerned that there is a sense of speed surrounding the introduction of the Bill to place the Fund on a permanent legal footing. Whilst we recognise that this is important, particularly for those families who will use it, we feel that time needs to... Read more

Implications of the current proposals The current governance arrangements for the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) are of great concern. Representation on the Programme Monitoring Committee (PMC) and subsequent decision-making structures should not only reflect a... Read more

Question 1: Do you agree with the general principles of the Bill and its provisions? By its very nature, the third sector will focus on ensuring that services are person-centred, asset based and sustainable. This focus is not well reflected in the Bill e.g. in terms of guiding... Read more