Hansard

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which says that I am a member of Glasgow City Council. I thank the cabinet secretary for collaborating with the Greens on this important motion.

I begin by thanking the third sector workforce, who are there for us day in, day out. They are the ones who step up when schools close, when the national health service is stretched to its limit and long after the police leave. They ensure that the vulnerable have a safe bed for the night, provide solace to people fleeing domestic abuse, listen to the voices of young people and stand side by side with children experiencing poverty. They do not just provide services; they guide people through the most traumatic experiences of their lives. I also thank them for their expertise ahead of this debate—most notably the SCVO, the Corra Foundation, Volunteer Scotland and the Poverty Alliance.

There is one unifying experience among staff who work in the third sector in Scotland, regardless of whether they are specialists in crisis support or in advancing human rights, and that is the experience of funding. Entry-level jobs in the third sector are routinely part time and temporary with one-year contracts, as Carol Mochan pointed out, and that is a direct consequence of how the Scottish Government and other bodies structure their funding. Funding is isolated and it is often provided for single projects with tightly restricted budgets, which completely ignores the charity’s core costs. What about the maternity cover, the human resources costs and the legal requirements for the charity simply to exist?

Core funding for charities is essential, yet it remains painfully elusive. For people working in the third sector, those precarious contracts create a gruelling treadmill. For decades, that has driven good, passionate staff away to other sectors that offer them stability. However, it does not have to be like that.

Nowhere is the crushing precarity of short-term funding felt more acutely than in services tackling violence against women and girls. As former chair of the violence against women and girls partnership in Glasgow, I wrote to the former Minister for Equalities, Kaukab Stewart. Although we were successful in securing inflationary increases for that financial year for those sectors, the reality is that that sticking-plaster funding is no longer enough. We must fairly and sustainably fund the third sector for the life-saving work that it delivers.

I take a moment to pay tribute to Kaukab Stewart for her historic time as the first woman of colour to be elected to this Parliament and as a tireless, authentic champion for equality.

Earlier this week, I met Sisters Against Cuts, which is a grass-roots feminist campaign that is fighting the closure of the women’s service at Murray’s Initiative. As my colleague Iris Duane pointed out, it is a vital trauma-informed sanctuary for survivors of gender-based violence, domestic abuse and addiction.

A service user shared her reality with me, and I thank her for trusting me to share her experience. She said:

“Whenever we ask for support, we are told these cuts are due to tough choices, but why are women’s services always the first to be attacked? Murray’s keeps us alive. After fleeing domestic abuse, being homeless for two years with two disabled children and surviving rape, this service was my lifeline. We just want to live free from violence and recover with dignity.”

Do tough choices mean abandoning women who have survived the unthinkable?

The system is fundamentally broken. When will the Government move past temporary fixes and provide multiyear, inflation-proof funding that will keep such lifelines open? I am pleased that the cabinet secretary indicated in her speech that there will be some changes in multiyear funding.

The cabinet secretary will be aware that the SCVO’s 2026 manifesto calls on the Scottish Government to bolster the third sector and ensure the survival of what are essential, often life-saving charities. The SCVO says that that should be underpinned in statute, and I agree. I respectfully disagree with the cabinet secretary’s point that it is a time and resource-intensive experience to put legislation through this Parliament. The two things can go in tandem. There is a glaring lack of consistency between some Government departments in relation to legislation and strategies, and it is pushing the sector to the brink.

Since 1999, Wales has legally embedded third sector collaboration into its government. Through a 25-member council that meets the Welsh Government twice a year, the scheme provides charities with high-value recognition, strengthening accountability and cross-Government co-operation. We can learn from our devolved nation counterparts.

The First Minister’s decision to create a Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform signals that cuts are coming. However, we know from decades of austerity that, when statutory services are slashed, the third sector is left to plug the gaps, acting as the last line of defence for our most vulnerable.