Third Sector Organisations Call for Reform of Public Services
Respondents to consultation by the Scottish Parliament say more effective ways of working are needed
Seventeen Third Sector organisations in Scotland have called for wide-ranging reform of public spending in response to a consultation by the Scottish Parliament.
The organisations made up a third of the 50 respondents to the continuing consultation, which is being carried out by the Scottish Parliament’s finance committee as part of its 2010 budget strategy.
Respondents to the consultation, which closed to written responses in March, included the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition, Community Care Providers Scotland, Barnardo’s, Oxfam and Save the Children
The SCVO said key themes in the third sector responses included a call for the Scottish Government to focus on preventive spending, a warning against cutting budgets without careful thought and a belief that the Government should work with third sector organisations to develop more effective services.
“It is clear that there is a need to think beyond the existing structures of public service delivery and ensure that the focus is on how to deliver high-quality services, particularly those that prevent longer-term social problems taking root,” said Ruchir Shah, policy manager at the SCVO.
The finance committee will receive oral evidence in April and May from organisations including voluntary group Children 1st.