Common Sense to boost our voluntary sector

On the second day of her tour of North East Scotland, Annabel Goldie, Scottish Conservative Leader, set out our plans to boost the voluntary sector in Scotland.

Annabel Goldie, Scottish Conservative Leader, said:

"Voluntary sector organisations are vital cogs in our communities, offering a wealth of expertise and experience on some of the most pressing social issues. I want to see them more involved in the fabric of social life.

"I know that the third sector is more than capable of stepping in to supply public services but big government, vested interests and fiefdoms have often got in the way. This has to change and I am determined to deliver that change.

"Scotland has a proud and long-standing charitable tradition and we are convinced that charities and social enterprises should play a major part in our civic renewal. Many of them have strong local roots and specialist knowledge and may be better placed to deliver services.

"We will therefore consult on introducing a 'right to bid' for the voluntary sector. We will encourage the use of multi-year funding deals for the voluntary sector, and require all public bodies to report what proportion of their funding is provided on such a basis.

"To encourage additional investment in the voluntary sector through private investors, we will also pilot Social Impact Bonds. Payments will only be made under SIBs where programmes have been successful – this is payment by results.

"It is common sense to boost Scotland's third sector and that's exactly what Scottish Conservatives will do. Every voter in every seat in every region of Scotland can use the peach ballot paper to vote for these common sense policies on May 5th."

"Social Impact Bonds are an innovative way of attracting new investment around such outcomes-based contracts that benefit individuals and communities. Through a Social Impact Bond, private investment is used to pay for interventions, which are delivered by service providers with a proven track record. Financial returns to investors are made by the public sector on the basis of improved social outcomes. If outcomes do not improve, then investors do not recover their investment.

"Social Impact Bonds provide up front funding for prevention and early intervention services, and remove the risk that interventions do not deliver outcomes from the public sector. The public sector pays if (and only if) the intervention is successful. In this way, Social Impact Bonds enable a re-allocation of risk between the two sectors. "

http://www.socialfinance.org.uk/work/sibs

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