Meeting of the Parliament 16 June 2026 [Draft]
That is exactly why we have been trying to provide a greater level of multiyear funding. Murdo Fraser has gone through enough budget rounds to know that there are always changes to UK Government decisions and to UK budgets, so we have to wait for the UK Government’s budget to be passed before we know what is happening with the Scottish Government’s budget. We cannot get away from those intrinsic links. I say that to demonstrate the context, not as an excuse not to deliver further multiyear funding, which is definitely the direction of travel that the Government wishes to go in.
Ensuring accountability at all levels of the partnership is another important part of the framework. We will work with the sector to develop appropriate monitoring and evaluation, which ties into the point that David Linden made, so that the delivery of the partnership is embedded across the Government and the third sector. I am also committed to ensuring that voices from across the sector contribute to shaping a partnership that is rooted in trust and respect, that supports the sector’s long-term sustainability and that drives better outcomes.
I have heard calls from some to give the partnership a statutory footing akin to that of the Welsh third sector scheme. I am also aware of calls from those in the third sector in Wales to review that scheme. We have an opportunity to learn from the Welsh approach and work with the sector to explore what would work best for Scotland. Although I will not take that option off the table, I suggest that giving something a statutory footing is not always the most effective approach and that more work is needed to get this right. Legislation is both time and resource intensive. The Parliament would rightly expect us to continue to progress third sector policies such as those relating to charity law, volunteering and fairer funding, and I would not want the development of legislation on the framework to impede any of the wider work that the Government intends to take forward to support the third sector.
A sustainable and thriving third sector benefits us all. It benefits the workforce, it benefits the people of Scotland and it benefits the Government, through stronger delivery, better outcomes and more resilient communities. That is why the development of the partnership is such an important way to demonstrate and implement our support for the third sector right across Scotland, in every community.
I move,
That the Parliament commends the essential role that the third sector plays in supporting people and communities; recognises the contribution that the third sector provides to the delivery of many Scottish Government key priorities, including eradicating child poverty; acknowledges that the Scottish Government understands it has a shared responsibility alongside other funders and those who contract out to the third sector to take action to ensure that the sector is sustainable; agrees that a Third Sector Partnership Agreement provides the opportunity to formalise the relationship between the Scottish Government and the third sector, building upon the Scottish Government’s progress in delivering on its Fairer Funding commitments to date and responding to the views of the sector, and agrees that the Third Sector Partnership will be co-designed with third sector stakeholders to embed their knowledge and experience, demonstrating the value that the Scottish Government places on the sector.