Sector responds to Scottish Budget
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 11th December 2024.
Organisations from across the sector have responded to last week's Scottish Government budget announcements.
The Poverty Alliance welcomed the scrapping of the two-child benefit limit in Scotland, and the Winter Fuel Payments announcement, but said that “we need to go further and faster if we are going eradicate child poverty.”
Inclusion Scotland called the Budget “a step in the right direction”, outlining its support for a number of measures, but that “key demands from the #DisabledPeopleDemandJustice campaign remain unmet”.
Volunteer Scotland have said there were causes for optimism but questions remain as third sector infrastructure and development funding faced a decrease, and a £3.5m reduction in Disclosure Scotland funding, as PVG proposals could mean new fees for community organisations.
SCVO have said that the budget offered glimmers of hope, but that it would “not do much to dispel the immediate sense of financial hopelessness felt by many of Scotland’s voluntary organisations.”
SCDC and CHEX have called for decision-makers to think of community organisations as a prudent long-term investment of resources, time, skills and commitment. A move to three-year funding would be key to achieving that kind of sustainability, with wider reform and big decisions on tax and redistribution required if we're to create a fairer, more equal society.
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