Latest Fair Funding briefings & policy papers

SCVO The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national membership organisation for the voluntary sector in Scotland. Our mission is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in building a flourishing society and support them to do work that has a... Read more

Our position Scotland’s voluntary sector is crucial to delivering public services, supporting early intervention and prevention, and strengthening communities across Scotland. Scotland’s voluntary sector must be at the heart of any serious programme of public service reform. The... Read more

Summary The Spending Review can recognise, resource, and support the voluntary sector and our essential services by aligning the Scottish Government’s “Fairer Funding” principles with SCVO’s definition of Fair Funding including: Multi-year funding: funding that provides a minimum... Read more

Summary Amongst many other valuable contributions to society, Scotland’s voluntary sector plays an essential role in supporting people and communities across Scotland experiencing poverty and inequality and is central to the Scottish Government’s plans to eradicate child poverty... Read more

Summary SCVO and colleagues across the voluntary sector welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to deliver Fairer Funding for the sector by 2026, including exploring options to implement multi-year funding deals. Years of underfunding and poor funding practices, and crises... Read more

Voluntary sector costs are climbing, funding is falling, and demand for services continues to increase. Similarly, years of underfunding and poor funding practices, and crises such as the pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis have put the voluntary sector under increasing... Read more

Summary Scotland’s voluntary sector plays an essential role in supporting people and communities across Scotland and is central to the Scottish Government’s ambitions to eradicate child poverty, grow the economy​, tackle the climate emergency, and improve public services. Without... Read more

SCVO will be engaging with political parties ahead of the next Scottish Parliament election, scheduled to take place in May 2026. This is our response to the Scottish Labour Party's Scottish Policy Forum's initial consultation - part of its policy development process, ahead of... Read more

Summary Scotland’s voluntary sector plays an essential role in supporting people and communities across Scotland experiencing poverty and inequality and is central to the Scottish Government’s plans to eradicate child poverty and inequality. To support this work and build a... Read more

Summary The voluntary sector continues to face unprecedented challenges. Voluntary sector costs are climbing, funding is falling, and demand for services continues to increase. Plans to increase employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will compound these pressures. The... Read more