PARLIAMENTARY BRIEFING

Supporting the Voluntary Sector

April 2008

We welcome the debate in the Scottish Parliament on 'Supporting the Voluntary Sector'. The voluntary sector faces particular challenges at the moment, and we hope this debate can help ensure that the voluntary sector can fulfil its full potential at this time of change.

The Voluntary Sector and Public Services
The voluntary sector welcomes the recognition on all sides of the debate of the contribution that an increasingly professional voluntary sector can bring to the provision of high quality public services. We recognise that the environment that we are working in is changing and recognise that there are new opportunities being offered for serving our communities better. We are principally concerned that people in greatest need of public services do not fall through the net as this environment changes. We hope to ensure that there is a smooth transition to the new funding arrangements

Is there a problem?
Yes, there are a number of new difficulties for the Third Sector - and most of these relate to changes in funding. The reluctance of the sector to damage relationships with funders and to speak up means it is very difficult to ascertain the full dimensions of the cuts in the sector indicating the scale of the problem may not become clear for some months yet. However, there have been a number of large cuts that have made the news.
For specific details on local funding issues the best point of contact is the network of 57 Councils for Voluntary Services (CVS). Glasgow CVS and Aberdeen CVS have been carrying out specific research recently on the specific impacts in their areas and can be contacted, as below, for more details.

What is the problem?

• Current problems with Third Sector Funding are the result of a combination of factors. These include:
• The  challenges of the current economic climate, including the local authority  funding settlement.  
• Specific funding decisions taken by Local Authorities
• Uncertainty  about the transition between the end of Community Regeneration Funding, and the new Fairer Scotland Fund
• Reductions in specific funding streams eg the Big Lottery Fund due to the Olympic diversion and changes to ESF programmes.
• Lack of  recognition of the value of the contribution of the sector, by some parts of  the public sector eg by the NHS  

• In the  short-term, voluntary organisations need a guarantee that they will be  involved in the further development of single outcome agreements at local  level to ensure that the interests of those they serve are considered as  future priorities for funding. They also need the resources to maintain  stability of funding and services through the transition to this new system  of planning. The Voluntary Sector should be involved in subsequent reviews and further development of outcomes and indicators.
  
  
• Monitoring  arrangements of third sector involvement in public service delivery should  be put in place, as a matter of urgency to track experience against  aspiration, in the context of the government's own target to increase social  economy turnover.  
  
  
• Commitment  by public sector purchasers to fund wages and conditions of employment for front line service workers in third sector providers at the same level as  comparable workers in the public sector.
  
  
• Minimum five  year contracts for Third Sector Providers. Many current contracts fall short even of the current officially recommended three years
  
  
• Agreement between Public Sector Purchasers and Third Sector Providers on the appropriate use of Competitive Tendering to avoid destabilising services and  provider organisations causing anxiety among vulnerable service users and  their carers, and significantly increase transaction costs.
  
  
• Best Value Guidance should be refreshed to clarify the importance of balancing cost against effectiveness and quality including the personalisation of services and added value embracing the involvement of the carers and relatives of  users and of the wider community including trades unions.