Scottish Affairs Committee Inquiry: Work of the Scottish Affairs Committee

Introduction

SCVO welcomes the Committee’s call for views on its future work programme and how the Committee itself should undertake its work. At a time when there is a strong public, press and policy focus on Scotland, largely following the substantial engagement in the Referendum campaign, this opportunity for everyone to engage with the Committee is strongly welcomed by Scotland’s third sector.

Ways of working

What are the best ways for the Committee to engage with organisations in Scotland and the Scottish public? We urge the Committee to spend as much time as is feasible in Scotland so that it can engage with people and organisations directly, in situ, rather than asking witnesses to travel to them. Going on site and meeting with organisations would help those charities which may not have the capacity or budget to visit London. Scotland's third sector organisations would happily host visits from the Committee in order to share their knowledge and experience regarding relevant inquiries. Such visits would allow the Committee to see “policy in action” and hear first-hand from those being affected/likely to be affected by the work of the UK Government. SCVO would be more than willing to help facilitate such interaction. In addition, SCVO would also be happy to host a roundtable with the Committee and some of our members to explore the specific issues and challenges which matter to the people supported by the third sector in Scotland. This approach could enable Committee members to engage with a wide audience in one session, exploring the differing issues facing Scotland's third sector and those it supports, and perhaps helping the Committee identify particular issues for further inquiry. Smaller, more focused roundtables could also be arranged to focus on key areas such as equality or welfare reform. There are also a wide range of intermediary organisations in Scotland (for example, Voluntary Health Scotland or the Scottish Sports Association) with which the Committee may want to engage directly as these can provide access to particular groups of charities. By engaging with Scotland's third sector the Committee would be able to tap into wealth of expertise and meet directly with the public. Where should the Committee meet and what type of meetings (e.g. formal evidence sessions, informal discussion panels, etc.) would be useful? As outlined above we believe the Committee should try and meet outwith Westminster and in Scotland whenever is feasible. External meetings are a common feature of Scottish Parliament Committee meetings and MSPs value the opportunity to meet and engage with people outside Holyrood, in a setting that is less formal and, depending on the nature of the inquiry, more appropriate. In regards to the type of meetings we think the Committee should hold we believe that a mixture of formal sessions and informal roundtables would work well. This approach has been taken by a number of Scottish Parliament committees and we consider that this balance allows for the committee members to hear a range of views. The Welfare Reform Committee has hosted a number of very successful and powerful roundtable sessions on issues such as benefits sanctions and with benefit claimants (“Your Say”). This can provide a more relaxed environment for people not used to giving evidence to parliamentary committees. We would also encourage the Committee to reflect upon the recommendations of the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy and the role digital technology could play in making the work of the Committee more transparent and inclusive. This would enable people to better able to engage with not only the Committee but by extension the parliament and their democracy. SCVO explored some of the options for digital parliament approaches in its discussion paper on democracy released in autumn 2014. How can the Committee make sure it engages effectively with the work of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Parliament Committees? Regular meetings between the Scottish Affairs Committee clerks and the clerks from relevant Scottish Parliament’s Committees would be one way of ensuring that both parties are aware of the work being undertaken by the other. We wonder if there could be scope for joint evidence and roundtable sessions between the Scottish Affairs Committee and specific Scottish Parliament committees on joint areas of interest. This would build on the intentions within the Smith Committee and pick up on criticisms of poor intergovernmental working.

Potential work areas for the Committee

What issues should the Committee be examining during this Parliament and why? SCVO considers not only how the third sector in Scotland operates but also issues of importance to our members and the people they support. We hope that the Committee will have heard about the latter directly from some of our members and the wider third sector. The following list of potential work areas for the Committee is based upon areas identified within SCVO's response to the Smith Commission and SCVO's work priorities: Social Security & Employability Social security is a massive issue for our sector, not only due to the reforms that have taken place over recent years but also in how effectively the system operates and delivers support. We know that the Committee in the previous session looked at impact of the Bedroom Tax and other changes to housing benefit in Scotland. This demonstrates the Committee’s interest in, and ability to examine, the effects of social security policies on areas of devolved responsibility. This may be an area the Committee choses to examine again. We would also suggest that a number of specific inquiries, roundtables or panels could focus on welfare reform and its impact in Scotland. In particular the Committee could consider:

• The impact of welfare reform on third sector organisations: We know from our own research that welfare reform has had, and continues to have, a substantial impact upon third sector organisations in Scotland. For example, demand on the third sector from people seeking support continues to grow; however, funding is not keeping up with demand. In addition, helping people to cope with welfare changes specifically distracts from core, preventative work of charities.
• The effect of welfare reform on specific groups in Scotland: For example, upon women, people with disabilities, carers.
• Sanctions and conditionality: Whilst largely negative, there are a few examples of some positive working between charities and the DWP locally. The opportunity for this to be examined by the Committee and lessons shared across the devolved nations would be welcome.

Devolution: The Scotland Act 2012 and the forthcoming Scotland Bill SCVO firmly believes that the Committee should consider the impact of the devolution of powers. Over the term of this parliament a range of new powers will come to Scotland via the Scotland Act 2012 and the Scotland Bill 2015/16. The Committee, therefore, may want to take evidence on the following:

• The operation of Gift Aid in Scotland: We know that this will be impacted by the devolution of income tax and have consistently raised this during the 2015/16 Bill’s progress.
• Transitions: How will people be affected by the transition from receiving a previously reserved benefit to a now devolved benefit, and how can we ensure minimal impact and negate any potential negative effects?
• The operation of the DWP in delivering devolved benefits: Both in isolation and in conjunction with reserved benefits.
• The operation of the HMRC: With the commencement of the new Scottish Rate of Income Tax as of April 2016, the Committee may want to consider how HMRC is managing the new arrangements.
• The process of devolution: Looking at how it has been done previously, learning what worked and what didn’t and reflecting on how devolution could be done differently both in Scotland and across the UK in the future. SCVO has consistently stated that it considers devolution ought to be a people-led process. We would welcome the Committee examining how this could be done in future.

Equality Law & Human Rights The Committee could consider how UK equality law affects devolved areas such as housing, employment and justice, appreciating how the impact may differ from other parts of the UK and suggesting how more coherence could be created between equalities legislation and devolved responsibilities. In addition, the Scottish Parliament has consistently expressed its support for the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights. This is demonstrated by Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP), a partnership that has cross-party support and extensive commitment and backing from across Scottish civil society. Consequently, the policy intentions of the current UK Government (for example, the introduction of a British Bill of Rights, or the prospect of an in/out EU Referendum) could affect equalities and Human Rights in Scotland. An examination of how these changes could impact upon Scotland would be welcome. Land Reform We appreciate that this is an issue that the Committee has previously examined in some detail. However, it remains a current issue for our sector, especially with the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament. We would like to see the Committee return to the issue and further consider reserved areas such as taxation and subsidy and their effect on land ownership and use in Scotland. Asylum This was an issue identified for further consideration by the Smith Commission and we consider that this would be a good issue for the Committee to take forward. As well as the issues raised by Smith, the Committee could examine whether the operation of asylum support (accommodation, advocacy, and so on) for those asylum seekers located in Scotland could be delivered by the Scottish Parliament. Economy There has been significant conversation across Scotland’s third sector and wider civil society about the economy. For example, the Poverty Alliance currently works to increase take up of the Living Wage in Scotland, and many in our sector are keen to see the economy work better for the majority. Given that significant levers relating to economic decisions remain at UK Government level, we are sure that many in our sector would appreciate the opportunity to discuss economic issues with the Committee. Tax SCVO calls for: a progressive tax system across all taxes; a change in the conversation around tax to ensure that the benefits of tax are understood and that conversations around tax are positive and a change in the conversation around tax to ensure that priority is not given to the desires of those who contribute the most in monetary terms. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss these ideas with the committee, as would others in the Scottish third sector and wider civil society. Digital Part of SCVO's work concerns digital participation We think the Committee could usefully explore what more could be done to ensure that people in Scotland have the basic digital skills to make use of digital services and opportunities and to ensure there is sufficient "assisted digital" provision for vulnerable groups. We also think it would be helpful to explore the interaction between the different aspects of the digital agenda, including digital public services, and proposals for further devolution, referencing some of the particular issues Scotland faces, for example, in regards to connectivity.

Conclusion

SCVO is pleased that the Committee wishes to involve people in its work as we consider that people's views are essential to the creation of good legislation and for a healthy democratic process. We hope that the Committee will be inspired by some of our suggestions for alternative ways of working and peruse some of the issues we have highlighted. SCVO would be happy to explore these further with the Committee and hope to continue to engage with the Committee going forward.

Contact

Kate Wane Policy Officer kathryn.wane@scvo.scot 0131 474 6157 Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB Web: www.scvo.scot

About us

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national body representing the third sector. There are over 45,000 voluntary organisations in Scotland involving around 138,000 paid staff and approximately 1.3 million volunteers. The sector manages an income of £4.9 billion. SCVO works in partnership with the third sector in Scotland to advance our shared values and interests. We have over 1,600 members who range from individuals and grassroots groups, to Scotland-wide organisations and intermediary bodies. As the only inclusive representative umbrella organisation for the sector SCVO:

• has the largest Scotland-wide membership from the sector – our 1,600 members include charities, community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations of all shapes and sizes
• our governance and membership structures are democratic and accountable - with an elected board and policy committee from the sector, we are managed by the sector, for the sector
• brings together organisations and networks connecting across the whole of Scotland

SCVO works to support people to take voluntary action to help themselves and others, and to bring about social change.  Further details about SCVO can be found at www.scvo.scot.