Martin Sime is director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, and writes a monthly column for The Caledonian Mercury.
After the majority government that was supposed to be an electoral impossibility, Scots are starting to get their head round what the new SNP administration means for them. In the third sector – Scotland’s charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises – we are watching intently as the newly elected MSPs take their seats.
Judging from the manifesto commitments laid out before the election, and the actions taken in the days since, it is clear that the third sector and the new Scottish government have many ambitions in common.
Whether it’s supporting an urban right to buy for community groups, integrating health and social care, or ensuring communities benefit from the renewable energy revolution, there are plenty of third sector objectives that the new government has pledged to deliver on.
Take renewables, for example. A key ask in the
third sector manifesto How to do things differently was to use the tax-take from renewable energy generation for community benefit. This became a manifesto pledge from the SNP, and now the new Scottish government is taking forward plans to devolve the
Crown Estate – a crucial step in ensuring communities benefit from renewables. This is one of the big three issues dominating discussion around the
Scotland Bill, alongside corporation tax and borrowing powers.
As well as the three priorities for the Scotland Bill which have made the news this week, the SNP has also pledged to amend the Bill to devolve
Job Centre Plus to Scotland. SCVO supports such a move in order to better integrate employability, training and work placements. The third sector is also set to be a key player in delivering
Community Jobs Scotland – a programme to create 2,000 jobs for young people over the next year.
Another key area that the new Scottish government may move on fairly quickly is the integration of health and social care. On older people’s care, the manifesto promises to ensure that the individual is at the centre of service delivery.
An urban right to buy for derelict or disused land looks set to be a key part of the proposed
Community Empowerment Renewal Bill, although it is less clear when work will start on this.
But perhaps the biggest question for the third sector over the next five years is the same question facing the rest of the population – what would greater autonomy or even independence mean for us?
With a referendum now a certainty, the SNP have a serious challenge to fully explain what they mean by independence. For the third sector, the challenge will be to make sure we are at the heart of discussions over how any move towards greater autonomy would work at a practical level. What would it mean for international development? Would there be greater or lesser investment in social housing if we had more economic powers? And, crucially, how would an independent Scotland approach welfare and benefits?
These questions will be tough to face up to, but the debate is one we can’t afford not to be part of.
Want to discuss other issues? Join the debate on our new Scottish Voices forum
Related posts:
- Why the Department for Work and Pensions is failing the third sector
- Opinion: new Work Programme a catalyst for skills and employment sector
- Scotland’s renewables sector ‘to surpass 2011 target’