The voluntary sector plays a vital role in delivering services in Scotland and retains the strong support of Government, Cabinet Secretary for Finance John Swinney said today.

Speaking at a conference hosted by Holyrood Magazine on the implications of the concordat between central and local Government, Swinney reassured the voluntary sector that the new deal would not adversely affect their work.

Many voluntary organisations have expressed concern that the removal of ring-fencing of funding for many areas of work by local government may jeopardise their operations, an issue that Labour leader Wendy Alexander has repeatedly highlighted.

Swinney said:

“Can I make clear that over the eleven months of this administration that we attach the greatest importance to the work of the third sector, we see that the third sector plays a pivotal role in reaching individuals in our society who hard to reach, we see the third sector being central to the provision of a number of very clear and effective interventions for both individuals and communities in Scotland.

“I appreciate the argument that ring-fencing perhaps removes an element of focus in the decision making over funding that would have existed for the third sector in the past. But this Government is absolutely clear in its commitment to support the third sector which was evidence by the spending review settlement which increased their share over the spending review period by 39 per cent.”

Swinney also said that all draft Single Outcome Agreements had been received from local authorities by the Government and that he was confident the final agreements would be signed off by the June 30 deadline.

COSLA President Pat Watters reiterated that the concordat had fundamentally reshaped the relationship between local and central government, and emphasised his commitment to both local government and the concordat terms.

Referring to councillors who went on to become MSPs and now opposed the concordat, he said:

“If they still wanted to run local government, then they should have stayed councillors.”

Watters said a return to ring-fencing was not going to happen and urged all sides of the argument to accept this.

“We will not go back to being told how to do things,” he said.

Also speaking at the conference, Andy Kerr MSP, the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Public Services today dubbed the Concordat the Concordat con.

The former Health Minister questioned the capacity of many voluntary organisations to secure funding from local authorities and the SNP government’s ability to deliver its manifesto commitments.  He also highlighted that there would be future friction between national and local government on policy control.

The conference heard that many voluntary sector organisations are apprehensive about securing future funding now that the Concordat agreement is in place. The Prince’s Trust Scotland claimed its funding is down by 30 percent from last year.   

Kerr said “I may be wrong, and I will be the first to hold up my hands and admit it, but I must express doubt about the Concordat and debunk some of the myths. The most concerning question of the agreement is who pays the price?

“The voluntary sector is going to struggle and they cannot rely on funding from corporate organisations, who are going to pick the ones that reflect their image, which will be the most shiny and attractive groups.

“This Concordat will not be a new great relationship between national and local government.  There is going to be real tensions between them over priorities such as strategic waste planning and flood prevention.” 

Asked whether Labour would repeal the Concordat if returned to power, Kerr said: “We would have a really good look at it and check out the real life effect.”

Director of the Prince’s Trust Geraldine Gammell claimed they had lost a significant amount of funding this year due to difficulties in securing public funding from Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

Gammell said: “This is a fundamental change, not a blimp but a watershed.  The challenges are going to be enormous, but we are supportive of the direction of the Concordat."