LABOUR WILL NEVER COMPROMISE THE INDEPENDENCE OF SCOTLAND’S CHARITIES 

By Democrat reporter

Labour will reset the relationship between Scotland’s third sector and Government, Kirsty McNeill will tell a conference of charities today.

The Scotland Office minister will speak at the Gathering, the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisation’s annual conference.

McNeill will call for a new era of partnership between the sector and government, saying Labour will never compromise the independence of the sector and expect them to speak out.

Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill is expected to say: “I want to be really clear about this: this Labour government will never compromise your independence.

“Not just because it would be improper, but because it would make you less effective, because one of your most important roles is to challenge us.

“And I want to stress how much I really mean this. Not in a mealy-mouthed way to say of course there is a ‘right’ to protest and to speak out in this country.

“No, I’m saying something bigger than that – that you have not just the right but the duty to challenge us when you think we’re getting it wrong.

“It’s not an accident that the members of charity boards are called ‘trustees’, because they are indeed entrusted with something very important.

“It is their job to steward an institution on behalf of all society at large but in particular on behalf of the beneficiaries the organisation exists to support.

“Those beneficiaries need you to bring their perspective right to the heart of the national debate – even if, especially if, they are marginalised or traditionally shut out of power.

“In my old life I often used to say to the teams I worked with that ‘campaigners make things possible, politicians make things happen’.

“Civil society’s job is to inform conversations, challenge assumptions, pioneer new practice and give support that the state is unable, unwilling or not best placed to give.

“Government’s job is to pass laws, devise budgets, enact policies and, above all, to reconcile competing interests for the common good. In the end, we make decisions about how best to get things done and it’s our jobs on the line if we get things wrong.

“These roles in our democracy are distinct, but mutually reinforcing. Both sides need each other.”

Kirsty McNeill will also restate the UK Government’s civil society covenant, and Scottish Labour’s pledge for a new deal for the third sector in Scotland, including, multi-year funding. 

She said: “The UK Government is creating a new Civil Society Covenant, based on four principles: recognition for your contribution, partnership rooted in respect, participation so you can be heard and transparency, so that both civil society and government have the information we need to come to shared diagnosis and prescriptions.

“There are more than 46 thousand organisations in the Scottish voluntary sector, employing 5 per cent of Scotland’s workers and mobilising 300 million hours of volunteering every year.

“Those are enormous figures. Just imagine if those efforts could be aligned with investment from the private sector, policy ambition from UK government and proper support from the Scottish Government.

“Implementing the Covenant is where we will start, but it won’t be where we will end.

“I want to see a new deal for the third sector in Scotland.  That should start with multi-year funding for the sector.

“Too many of you face the annual anguish of issuing redundancy notices to your own staff because there are question marks over whether your funding will be renewed and the money delivered on time.

“I know many of you face significance bureaucracy and feel like you are jumping through hoops and getting tangled in red tape to access funding.

“That places unfair stress on you and your staff when you want to be laser focused on helping others.”