Martin Sime is director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, and writes a monthly column for The Caledonian Mercury.In his speech to the David Hume Institute last week, the finance secretary John Swinney made clear his views that an independent Scotland would fare better economically thanks to having control of tax, borrowing and spending powers. Whether or not independence would be a panacea to our economic woes is of course a subject of much debate – but, regardless of the outcome of the referendum, a major rethink or our economy is long overdue. The economic system is failing to deliver for most people. It’s time to see a radical change of the relationship between people, the state and the economy, and to fundamentally reshape public services. Using its links to communities across the country, the third sector can drive forward the movement to realign economic growth and prosperity to people’s wellbeing. As the sector strives to support the most vulnerable in society in the face of the harshest public spending cuts in generations, demand for services is nearing record highs. For SCVO’s members, who have deep roots in communities across Scotland, there is no escaping this clear clash between rising demand and falling resource. Add to this the promise of a referendum on Scottish independence, welfare reform and the prospect of a double dip recession and it is little wonder that uncertainty is the common bond we all share. Civil society organisations, including SCVO, have come together to launch the Future of Scotland campaign which will open out the debate about Scotland’s constitutional future to people across Scotland, giving them a chance to share the challenges they face in their everyday lives and consider what options for the future which help to address those issues. More than a third of Scottish charities have been left with no choice but to use their lifeline reserves to keep services open following a £96m drop in funding, and three-quarters of the third sector organisations who participated in our survey in November expect demand for services to grow over the next year. Even if the country manages to stay out of recession, 80 per cent of third sector organisations believe the financial situation of the sector will get worse in the next 12 months. As Women’s Aid centres, Citizens Advice Bureaux and housing services across the country have been forced to close services and face further uncertainty, it is the most vulnerable members of society who are suffering from the economic crisis. Voluntary organisations need a new and better deal from the public sector which recognises the high level of rhetorical support of it playing a bigger role in reforming public services and intervening earlier to prevent social problems arising and reduce demand for expensive services. Later this month the Gathering will host "The Big Debate – Crisis in Capitalism?", providing a forum to discuss the economic system – what has gone wrong, what needs to change and what should stay the same. Economists, representatives of business, social enterprise and the third sector will all have a chance to share their views on this contentious issue. From funding to community enterprise, welfare reform and youth unemployment, the Gathering will bring together more than 3,000 people interested in the third sector to share ideas on how to address some of the most fundamental challenges that face Scotland today. It will provide a rare opportunity to explore how we can harness the commitment and ingenuity of the sector to match the scale of Scotland’s challenges with creative plans and bold ambitions to create a better future for the people of Scotland.
The Gathering 2012, which will take place in Glasgow’s SECC on 29 February and 1 March, is a free two-day event which brings together more than 3,000 representatives of Scotland's third sector, members of the public, the media, MSPs, councillors and policy makers.
Donate to us: support independent, intelligent, in-depth Scottish journalism from just 3p a day
No related posts.