The Scottish Churches Social Inclusion Network brings together a
wide range of representatives of the work of the churches and
church agencies tackling poverty and social exclusion across
Scotland, for the purpose of an ongoing conversation with
Parliament and Government. It seeks to be as inclusive as possible
and brings together "practitioners" and "commentators" or
"analysts" from the churches, so that viewpoints are clearly linked
into experience. It is resourced through the Scottish Churches
Parliamentary Office.
This year the SCSIN has been enquiring into funding for
community based social inclusion work in Scotland. A number
of politicians, civil servants and policy makers within NGOs have
met with the Network. These include:
- Pat Watters, President of COSLA (August 2009)
- Peter McColl of SCVO (March 2009)
- Alex Neil MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Housing and
Communities (October 2009)
- Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury
and Labour Party vice-chair for Faith Groups (November 2009)
- Johann Lamont MSP, deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party
and party spokesperson on Communities, Equal Opportunities and
Housing (June 2010)