Volunteering participation in Scotland has declined for both adults and young people. The last thing we should be considering right now is introducing fees for people to give their time to support some of Scotland's most vulnerable groups. news.stv.tv/scotland/plans…

Disappointed to hear this proposal to remove the fee waiver. We cannot expect volunteers to pay for their PVGs. Some insurers require another PVG every 3 years too. Vols would have to pay up organisations can ill afford to reimburse them.

#BecauseOfCLD #Barriers

Our new consultation response delves into volunteers' impact on community learning and development. It offers recommendations for CLD's sustainability and alignment with Scottish skills reform and community empowerment. Read here: ow.ly/pVWK50QKIGN

This simple maths also extends to charities. Where local government must make deep cuts, charities lose funding and also see demand for their services increasing as people lose access to support from councils.

Our response to #DemocracyMatters incorporates views of the #VolunteeringActionPlan Policy Champions Network. In our response, we call for alignment with the #VolunteerCharter , Fair Funding & greater accountability and transparency in the transfer of power.bit.ly/DemocracyMatte…

Sara Redmond of The ALLIANCE: The third sector’s economic contribution and development seems to be too often overlooked
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This was such an important response for me to get right. The voice of volunteers is often missing in conversations about #CommunityEmpowerment & #LocalDemocracy . If you work in this sector, please give it a read. Thanks to Policy Champions Network members for their insights too.

We've just published our latest findings from the Scottish Household Survey 2022.
The report covers an initial analysis of formal, informal and total adult volunteering participation from the SHS 2022 Survey. Read in full here: ow.ly/CMMo50QIIaJ

“ We cannot continue to take the sector for granted, or we risk losing much of this vital social fabric of our civil society”

Powerful message from ⁦The ALLIANCE⁩ Chief Officer ⁦Sara Redmond⁩ ⁦TSI Scotland Network⁩ alliance-scotland.org.uk/blog/opinion/t…

Warm words about the 3rd Sector won't embed Fair Work, or tackle recruitment challenges, short term funding, job insecurity.
Have we forgotten the COVID lessons – the importance of local responses, strong communities & voluntary organisations? #ScotBudget
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I'm not going to lie - today has been tough.

In one day, The Herald revealed that Glasgow City Council is cutting it's support for MCR Pathways, the DYW workers in the city are to lose their jobs, and that the Fine Art degree at Moray School of Art is at serious risk.

18 months on from OVO trying to increase my payment to £450 pm (I live in a 2 bed mid terrace) and me cancelling my DD, I thought I'd see what my DD amount would be now. In the last year the most I've paid in a month is £126 and average is £74. New DD: £235 pm. 🤣

Great to meet with Miles Briggs MSP along with Lynn from TSI Scotland Network this afternoon for a wide-ranging discussion. A common thread was the need to recognise and protect the vital role of volunteers and the third sector. Thanks for your time Miles!

We're excited to Welcome Shirley-Anne Somerville Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to Volunteer Scotland this morning to discuss the future of volunteering in Scotland, including the #VolunteeringActionPlan

On a visit to Volunteer Scotland 💚 and Stirling Reuse Hub, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville heard how our joint Volunteering Action Plan is reducing the barriers to volunteering.

The actions in the plan will help more people to volunteer, more often ➡️ bit.ly/VolunteeringAc…

“Rebuild the relationship”: Scottish Labour MSP commits to “New Deal for Third Sector” in conference speech.

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Check out a recent guest blog from Girlguiding Scotland - They share how they have looked into new ways to recruit volunteers while also supporting individuals to change career, upskill, or enter employment for the first time. Read in full here: volunteerscotland.net/news/guest-blo…

Yesterday in Rafah, #Gaza , one of our doctors recounted via voice message the harrowing experience her family lived through as airstrikes and bombs dropped around them at 5am. Today, she sent us the below series of text messages describing the situation.