Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, Edinburgh - Briefing Document Eight

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Parliamentary Officer:Rev Graham Blount
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Briefing Document No 8 - Page 2 of 4

Supporting Active Communities - Continued.

Commentary

(A) Context

This is not a consultation paper which will inflame a great deal of passion; it could be said to comprise "motherhood and apple pie translated into current jargon". But it does represent a significant shift in thinking - away both from the "no such thing as society" of the Thatcher era and from the traditional Labour stress on the public sector. One of the marks of "new Labour" thinking is to try to get beyond the public vs private debate, and one dimension of that has been a much greater recognition of the role of the "third sector". Rightly or wrongly, a political consensus has emerged about the limits to what the state can or should do, and that has opened up more positive interest in the growing voluntary sector.

The Chancellor, speaking recently to the NCVO Annual Conference (available at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/speech/cx90200.html, or from SCPO) congratulated voluntary organisations on their work as representing "society at work, compassion in action, community at its best". He called for a new "civic engagement" and "civic patriotism" in which "the word neighbour (is) not just a geographical term but an ethical term as well" (a distinct Biblical echo).

Of course, it is easy to be fairly cynical about this, as an attempt to find cheap solutions which absolve government of its proper responsibilities. And one of the immediate responses from church groups has been to contrast the encouragement of such positive sentiments with the discouragement of funding cuts.

But there has also been a broad welcome from many in the churches of the recognition of the significance of what is done by the voluntary sector (of which the churches themselves represent an important part). In particular, the Scottish Parliament has stressed the vital contribution of the sector, with a vigour that comes partly from the high proportion of MSPs with direct personal experience of working in it. The Parliament has a Committee on "Social Inclusion, Housing and the Voluntary Sector", with Karen Whitefield MSP as its "reporter" on voluntary issues, and the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations has become a key player in political debate.

(B) Concerns

Discussions at the launch of the consultation paper and in the Scottish Churches Social Inclusion Network raised a number of concerns about the proposals:

1) Although volunteering is an important part of what makes an "active community", it is not the whole story. To be active and inclusive, communities need the public, private and voluntary sectors all to be functioning effectively together. A welcome stimulus to voluntary efforts must not deflect from other aspects of community building.

2) As graphically illustrated by its cover, the paper completely ignores the churches. Yet the Scottish Household Survey recently found that 24% of those who volunteer do so in or through a church or other religious group. Perhaps some negative stereotyping has influenced the thinking here, or the fact that much of the churches' work goes on without seeking funding may make that work "invisible" to the Executive and councils who only "see" those with whom they have a funding relationship. Any serious look either at individual volunteering or at the voluntary sector is missing out on a big part of the engine and experience if it omits churches and other faith communities.