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Race Equality Advisory Forum

Voluntary Sector Issues action plan

Key Issues

The voluntary sector in Scotland has grown in recent years, having an increasing role to play in the provision of support to communities and the delivery of services. It has also become more involved in initiatives relating to employment and training (for example through the New Deal) and more generally in overall economic development. At a national level, the input of the voluntary sector has been recognised in the establishment of the Voluntary Issues Unit within the Scottish Executive. There is also a "Scottish Compact" which outlines the relationship between the government and the voluntary sector and stresses the importance of the role of the sector in the continuing development of services and participation in Scotland. This is supported by a set of guidelines that highlight Scottish Executive links with the voluntary sector. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) also provides support and co-ordination at a national level, and local Councils of Voluntary Service (CVSs) provide support in local areas, while Volunteer Development Scotland (VDS) and the network of Local Volunteer Development Agencies (LVDAs) promote and support volunteering. A network of six Racial Equality Councils (RECs) supports local race equality work, including facilitating consultation and assisting local groups and individuals.

Within this overall context, the minority ethnic voluntary sector has had an increasing role in economic and social activity in Scotland and has influenced and informed policy development at a local level. Growth in recent years has meant that a total of 558 organisations were identified by SCVO as being part of the minority ethnic voluntary sector.

The REAF consultation process, as well as a recent paper by BEMIS, (Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland), identified a number of barriers and problems facing many of these organisations. The BEMIS report notes that many minority ethnic organisations, often established to fill gaps in existing service provision and to address issues relating to racism and social exclusion, have developed with little or no support from the statutory sector or the mainstream voluntary sector. The lack of provision of support is seen to remain a key issue, with many organisations considering that they experience problems in gaining access to mainstream and secure funding, relying instead (where funding is available at all) on short term, insecure provision⁵. There is also seen to be a lack of co-operation between funders, as well as barriers to access to capacity-building services and support.

It is suggested that all of these issues have constrained the development of the minority ethnic voluntary sector. The survival of minority ethnic voluntary organisations, as BEMIS points out, becomes "precarious" in this context, with organisations finding it difficult to undertake strategic planning or longer term development.

In addition, constraints to the development of the sector and to the provision of information to the sector reduce the opportunities for the input of minority ethnic groups to general community development, participation in consultative processes and forums, input to and involvement in key aspects of policy making (e.g. the development of community planning) and service monitoring. They also reduce the opportunity for minority ethnic organisations to have an effective political voice and to participate in the political process. The minority ethnic voluntary sector consequently assumes more of a reactive than proactive role, with opportunities for community skills development limited. The level of engagement with other agencies is also often poor and organisations are frequently left isolated and unable to influence and inform social policy.

It is also suggested that some aspects of the minority ethnic voluntary sector experience particular constraints, with services underdeveloped, for example, in terms of making provision for women, younger and older people and disabled people in minority ethnic communities. There is a need for greater recognition of the diversity both of communities and within communities. In particular, the invisibility of smaller communities and of minorities within minorities must be addressed. Most areas of the country outwith Glasgow, particularly rural areas, are also poorly served by minority ethnic voluntary organisations.

Stakeholders

A range of stakeholders need to be involved in taking action in partnership with voluntary sector organisations to address these issues and to begin to tackle the current barriers. These include the Scottish Executive, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), SCVO and the CVS network, VDS and the LDVA network, the Unemployed Voluntary Action Fund (UVAF), the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations (ACOSVO), the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the six RECs, the Community Fund, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Local Enterprise Companies, Health Boards, Community Learning Scotland and the Home Office in respect of their reserved functions.

Actions

The key actions required are seen to be as follows:

a) Leadership and strategic direction

1 This plan should be adopted and championed by the Scottish Executive with specific responsibility for its delivery to be given to a designated Departmental Minister and a named senior official with a specific remit for race equality;

2 A short-life multi-agency advisory network to be brought together to advise the Minister on the implementation of the plan;

b) Infrastructure and capacity building

1 The Scottish Executive to take the lead in the development of a longer term strategic approach to the development of the minority ethnic voluntary sector through a sector-wide audit of policy and practice, the provision of a separate, new funding stream and the development of race equality performance indicators specific to voluntary issues;

2 The Scottish Executive to take the lead in the strengthening of the minority ethnic voluntary sector by supporting the development of a national infrastructure in Scotland to provide a stronger co-ordinated voice for the sector;

3 The Scottish Executive to encourage the public sector generally at a national, regional and local level to respond to the need for capacity-building of the minority ethnic voluntary sector;

4 The Scottish Executive to take the lead in providing accessible and appropriate information in relation to the role of key organisations, including mainstream voluntary sector organisations, which can provide support to minority ethnic voluntary sector organisations;

5 The Scottish Executive, in partnership with the mainstream voluntary sector and others such as local authorities, to take the lead in ensuring that minority ethnic voluntary organisations have access to relevant expertise, including a named contact within funding and support organisations and information in appropriate and accessible formats, including provision in community languages;

6 The Scottish Executive to identify and support a means of gathering and disseminating examples of good practice in the promotion of race equality across the voluntary sector;

7 The Scottish Executive to provide secure, mainstream funding to support individual minority ethnic voluntary organisations to enable the growth of individual organisations and to build the capacity of the sector overall; the provision of such funding to take account of geographical and cultural factors;

8 The Scottish Executive to work in partnership with the mainstream and minority ethnic voluntary sector and others such as local authorities and the Community Fund, to develop a new and specifically-funded positive action programme to support leadership and build capacity within minority ethnic voluntary sector organisations; this programme to include assistance with training, secondment, mentoring, the sharing of good practice and the development of innovative approaches;

9 The Scottish Executive in partnership with other stakeholders to provide support to the mainstream voluntary sector to enable the development of work to address issues of institutional racism and inappropriate service delivery, and to promote race equality;

10 Organisations with funding, support or decision-making responsibilities relating to the voluntary sector (such as the Community Fund or CVSs) to provide staff with race equality training and to develop standards for that training; the Scottish Executive to consider the provision of development funding for this programme;

11 The Scottish Executive to support the development of good governance and accountability frameworks and self-assessment toolkits across the voluntary sector;

c) Consultation, partnership and networking

1 As an early priority, the Scottish Executive to promote the development of links between the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Executive, COSLA and the minority ethnic voluntary sector at a national strategic level; such links to reflect and draw on the diversity of communities and interests across Scotland and across sectors;

2 Organisations providing funding and support to the voluntary sector to develop strategies to address any under-representation of people from minority ethnic communities in their workforces and management structures;

3 The Scottish Executive to support the development of increased consultation by statutory organisations with minority ethnic voluntary sector organisations in Scotland and increased consultation with minority ethnic service users in the assessment and development of services. As far as is practicable, statutory organisations should be required to demonstrate through their Annual Reports the ways in which they have undertaken this consultation and the extent to which the outcome influenced policy or practice;

d) Volunteering

1 Volunteer Development Scotland, Local Volunteer Development Agencies and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, in partnership with community-led organisations, to facilitate and encourage the development of good practice by mainstream voluntary organisations in the recruitment and retention of volunteers from minority ethnic backgrounds; this good practice to include the adoption of positive strategies to increase the recruitment of volunteers from minority ethnic backgrounds;

2 Larger mainstream voluntary organisations to ensure that volunteers and paid staff receive equality, including race equality, training appropriate to their duties;

e) Data and monitoring

1 The Scottish Executive to co-ordinate the development of a programme of research, data-collection and evaluation relating to the operation and activity of minority ethnic voluntary organisations in Scotland, within the overall context of the development of accountability and monitoring within the voluntary sector as a whole;

2 The Scottish Executive to take the lead in the ongoing collection and publication of data in relation to funding provision to minority ethnic organisations in the overall context of funding support to the voluntary sector as a whole;

3 From the earliest practicable date, the Scottish Executive to support equality, including race equality, auditing of voluntary sector services and overall practices; this to become a condition of funding where it is possible to do so.

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