Policy reports

Our response SCVO welcomes this Independent and Scottish Green Debate ‘An End to In-work Poverty’, and would like to contribute the following: Well-being through the economy Creating material wealth for its own sake cannot be the driving force behind our economy. After a certain... Read more

Land Reform Review Group We strongly welcomed the publication of the Land Reform Review Group (LRRG) Report: ‘The Land of Scotland and the Common Good’ as a thoughtful, comprehensive and coherent report, providing the rationale and agenda for action to achieve greater fairness... Read more

Dignity and Choice; Action not Rhetoric We welcome the addition of a dignity clause at Stage 2 but remain disappointed that the third sector’s more detailed amendment was rejected. Whilst political rhetoric in Scotland calls for a more compassionate and empowering approach to... Read more

Beyond legislation The Community Empowerment Bill is one small part of the change needed to enable more empowered communities. It is vital that this Bill is considered in those terms and not seen as the totality of the approach that is required. It is our view that the impact of... Read more

20th January 2015 The third sector in Scotland has long thought that ensuring the well-being of people across Scotland should be the guiding principle behind any vision for Scotland. Inequality is not just about the money in people’s pockets. It’s about a range of other issues... Read more

Income, Regional and Social Inequality SCVO considers that any future Scottish Government economic strategies should focus on using the economy, and the wealth it creates, to tackle Scotland’s endemic social, health and income inequalities. Scotland suffers from economic... Read more

Responding to Stage 1 report We welcome the depth and detail in the Welfare Reform Committee’s consideration of the Bill. In this section we respond to some of the points made in the Stage 1 report. Fraud/Trust We are supportive of the Committee’s recommendation that the ethos... Read more

On Wednesday 3 December, the Chancellor George Osborne announce his Autumn Statement – outlining the latest spending and tax decisions of the UK Government. Read full statement and report What does the statement mean for the third sector? Here we list the main announced changes... Read more

Why do we want to rethink our democracy? On the face of it, Scottish democracy works. People exercise their right to vote in a number of different elections and are then governed and represented by those who the majority voted for. Yet this is a very simplistic assessment of the... Read more

The human costs of welfare reform The sector has been at the forefront of dealing with the fall out of a range of cuts and changes to benefits and tax credits.[i] Working with our members and partners and a whole range of voluntary organisations, the picture we are building is... Read more