Action on fairer funding is crucial

The Scottish Government must meaningfully commit to fairer funding for charities in its forthcoming Programme for Government (PfG).

First Minister John Swinney will set out his administration’s legislative priorities for 2024/25 when he addresses Holyrood tomorrow (Wednesday, 4 September).

There is some trepidation on what this PfG will contain and will commit to, as senior Scottish Government figures have been talking up cuts and claiming that “tough decisions” will have to be made over spending as we have entered a "new age of austerity".

Any cuts to public services and spending will impact on Scotland’s voluntary sector either directly or through local authorities.

Fiscal austerity also increases the workload of charities, which are at the frontline of helping its primary victims.

While the PfG is not a budget, it will be a good indicator of the Swinney administration’s direction of travel.

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has said the PfG must made good on commitments to implement to Fair Funding principles, including multi-year deals, by 2026.

This was a commitment given 18 months ago by previous first minister, Humza Yousaf. However, since then, there has been little progress.

This reflects the position over the past ten years, where successive SNP administrations have made encouraging noises over fairer funding – but have not backed that up with any action.

This has led to increasing frustration and anger in a sector which has been hammered by successive crises.

Vital charities and services have closed, jobs have been lost and some organisations are now eating unsustainably into their reserves in order to survive.

In a briefing paper ahead of the PfG, SCVO states: “Scotland’s voluntary sector is an employer, a partner, and a vital social and economic actor central to delivering on the Scottish Government’s three missions of equality, opportunity, and community.

“The Programme for Government is an opportunity for the first minister and the cabinet team to recognise and support the many contributions of voluntary organisations, their staff and their volunteers across Scotland by making progress towards the Fair Funding our sector desperately needs.

“To achieve this the Scottish Government must commit to progressing multi-year funding, develop timelines and goals, and make plans to monitor progress. To support a sustainable sector, multi-year funding must also recognise and incorporate essential Fair Funding elements.”

Read SCVO's briefing paper here.

Other voluntary sector groups have been publishing their demands ahead of the PfG.

The Human Rights Consortium Scotland has seven key ‘expectations’ it would like to see, including plans to tackle hate crime, reform Civil Legal Aid and to reinstate free bus travel for asylum seekers – a programme recently, and controversially, axed by the SNP administration.

It also wants to see a long-touted Scottish Human Rights Bill introduced – and it has been backed on this by law charity JustRight Scotland.

The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland says the PfG must prioritise anti-poverty measures.

It states: “With public finances under severe pressure and Scottish Ministers under a legal requirement to meet child poverty targets, the 2024-25 Programme for Government must prioritise action to achieve the Scottish Government’s ‘number one policy priority’.

“Action on social security and on removing barriers to employment, childcare and housing, are vital to protect and build on the progress that has already been made.”

Read CPAG Scotland’s briefing here.

The Stop Climate Change Scotland (SCCS) coalition – of which SCVO is a member – wants to see further action taken to hit climate targets, after previous backsliding, a Heat in Buildings Bill, more woodland creation and the banning of the sale of peat for horticultural use.

It also backs a Scottish Human Rights Bill, which would include a statutory human right to a healthy environment.

Read more about SCCS's position here.

Amnesty International and the Scottish Human Rights Commission have also called for the bill to be included in the PfG.