A partnership to boost outcomes and better support
communities.
The Scottish Government will develop an agreement with the third
sector to strengthen its voice and improve lives, Social Justice
Secretary has said.
The Third Sector Partnership will
be co-designed with the
sector, guided by some of the
key principles in the Scottish Council for
Voluntary Organisation's 2026
manifesto, to set out how both
can work together to enhance services.
This includes:
- protecting the sector's future and independence with fairer
funding
- a focus on shared goals to improve outcomes for people and
communities
- providing greater opportunity to contribute to policy and
service design
Ms Somerville said:
"Scotland's third sector is essential to the wellbeing
of our communities. From local charities supporting vulnerable
families to national organisations tackling poverty and
inequality, they reach people and places that
government cannot reach alone.
"This partnership will put our relationship with
the third sector on a clear, principled footing,
strengthening their voice and improving lives. It builds on our
commitment to fairer funding and signals that we value the sector
as an essential delivery partner and as an
independent, strong voice that provides support
for people across the country every single
day.”
The Scottish Government intends to work with partner
organisations and the
wider third sector to develop and refine the
agreement in the next Scottish Parliament, subject to the
outcome of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
This is in addition to delivering a Fairer Funding pilot that
provides multi-year funding worth more than £130 million over
2025-2027, prioritising organisations that deliver frontline
services and tackle child poverty.
Background
The draft Scottish Budget 2026-2027
commits a dedicated £20 million fund for
third sector partners to deliver support that people
need in their communities. The Gathering is
organised by SCVO and runs on 10 and 11 February
2026.
A Fairer Funding
pilot to deliver on the Scottish
Government's top priority of eradicating child
poverty. The Pilot commenced in
April 2025 and consists of 51 separate grants, totalling over
£130m over 2025-26 and
2026-27 to organisations across
Scotland.
