Latest Sector's role in the economy news & opinion

Thursday 5 September 2024 Dear Secretary of State,Over the past couple of years, we have closely worked with partners in Scotland and with previous UK Ministers on the design and delivery of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). From the publication of the Levelling Up White... Read more

Tuesday 10 September 2024 Dear Chancellor, Autumn Budget 2024/Spending Review I am writing to you regarding the upcoming UK Budget. The Civil Society Group (CSG), an informal collaboration of organisations representing members and groups from the charity sector and wider civil... Read more

Wednesday 14 August 2024 Dear Ms Robison, I am writing to you to express my concern about the emergency spending controls that you announced today, and to urge fair treatment of the voluntary sector. Of course, I recognise the significant financial pressures that the Scottish... Read more

Congratulations on your appointment as Deputy First Minister of Scotland.  I very much look forward to working with you again in this new role. Read more

Dear First Minister Congratulations on your election as First Minister of Scotland. I very much look forward to working with you again in this new role, and I am very pleased that Shirley-Anne Somerville has retained her role as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice. We were... 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

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

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

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

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