Scotland’s national membership organisation for charities has welcomed a commitment from the country’s government to a multi-year funding pilot but criticised a lack of further support in yesterday’s budget.
The Scottish budget confirmed a multi-year “fairer funding” pilot for some charities but did not provide further measures called for by some in the sector including inflation-based increases and more flexible funding models.
“We will make progress on our commitment to fairer funding for the third sector and will continue to update and strengthen regulation to support charities in Scotland,” the budget document reads.
Presented by the Scottish government’s finance secretary Shona Robinson alongside a spending review, the budget contained other fiscal changes, including additional council tax rates and a real-terms local authority funding increase.
In response, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) said it wished to see “real progress and recognition” of its call for further support for the sector.
However, it acknowledged that wider reforms were now unlikely to be seen before the next parliamentary term.
Charities ‘treated as the poor relation’, says SCVO
SCVO was previously critical of the Scottish government’s lack of additional support for charities in its June 2025 medium-term financial strategy in light of increased employer national insurance contributions.
The membership organisation has long called for the Scottish government to align its “fairer funding” principles with the SCVO’s definition, including a longer-term commitment to offer multi-year funding.
Responding to yesterday’s budget, SCVO chief executive Anna Fowlie said: “Too often and for too long, voluntary organisations that provide vital services to people and communities across Scotland are treated as the poor relation to mainstream public services.
“They have had to contend with budget cuts, short-term funding cycles, late payments, incoherent decision-making, poor communication, inadequate grant management, and more.
“Reform of the voluntary sector funding landscape is long overdue. The Scottish spending review is welcome, giving the government the long-term outlook to make progress on its commitment to deliver improvements, including multi-year funding for Scotland’s voluntary organisations.
“Welcome too is the Scottish government’s commitment to multi-year funding for sections of the voluntary sector – this shows, again, what is possible.
“Today we had hoped for more than a recommitment to the ‘first step’ announced last February – the Scottish government’s ‘fairer funding’ pilot.
“We know the benefits of multi-year funding: better staffing, stability, and future planning for the services people and communities rely on. The government’s own research confirms this.
“Multi-year funding alone, however, will not provide the sustainable funding environment the voluntary sector so desperately needs, funding that is flexible, sustainable, and accessible.
“We need to see real progress and recognition of SCVO’s Fair Funding asks beyond multi-year funding. Wider reforms are, unfortunately, now unlikely to be seen before the next parliamentary term.
“In the meantime, it is essential that in the weeks following the Scottish budget the Scottish government support local authorities and voluntary organisations by meeting their commitments to timely notifications and payments.
“We look forward to further engagement on both Fair Funding and charity regulation in the next parliamentary term.”
