Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Official Report 861KB pdf

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Celebrating Glasgow’s Third Sector

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S5M-00218, in the name of James Dornan, on celebrating Glasgow’s third sector. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament recognises the important work carried out by the third sector in Glasgow, including organisations such as Glasgow the Caring City, which is based in Cathcart; believes that, without their input and support, many people would find themselves in much greater difficulty, and congratulates everyone involved with the third sector for the crucial role that they play in supporting the wellbeing of the citizens of Glasgow and people throughout Scotland.

17:06  

The timing of this debate could not be better given that it is both carers week and volunteers week. I am sure that some of my colleagues will take this opportunity to praise the great work that is done by both carers and volunteers throughout their constituencies, and I will come back later to the work that is done by some of the third sector organisations in my constituency.

Did members know that the third sector employs 5 per cent of Scotland’s workforce and includes about 1.2 million adult volunteers, that it provides more than a third of all registered social care services, or that it includes more than 3,000 organisations that work in healthcare and nearly 20,000 that work in social care and development? All that highlights the sector’s importance in ensuring that Scotland becomes a healthier place.

Throughout Scotland, there are around 24,000 registered charities, 20,000 grass-roots community groups including sports and arts clubs, more than 3,500 social enterprises, 432 community interest companies—that is very specific—and 107 credit unions, and a vast number of those operate throughout and serve the city of Glasgow. In Glasgow alone, there are more than 2,000 voluntary organisations, social enterprises and community groups, and the sector contributes more than £1 billion to Glasgow’s economy each year, employs more than 28,000 people and supports 95,000 volunteers.

Third sector organisations and volunteers are the backbone of many local communities and a foundation of support to those who live there. It would be difficult for me to name every organisation in my constituency, although they are all worthy of recognition. In order for me to highlight the impact that third sector work has, I will touch on a few of them. For example, the Glasgow south east carers centre is an organisation that provides mentoring, peer group support and a social network. It provides education, resources, training and—at the most basic and maybe important level—friendship.

Carers UK highlights the impact of caring in its most recent report. One carer in three has seen a drop in their income of £20,000 or more, many say that they have had to cut back on heating or eating, and the health of many carers suffers as a result of money worries. However, the financial implications of caring are only the tip of the iceberg. Over and over again, reports and studies have shown that many carers suffer from poor physical and mental health. The physical toll of caring and the mental worry of making ends meet while ensuring that the needs of the person, who is often a loved one, are met often result in isolation. The Minister for Mental Health mentioned that in the previous debate.

Carers UK reports that 75 per cent of carers said that it was hard to maintain relationships and social networks because people do not understand the impact that caring has. Within the caring community, there are specific groups that many charities highlight as being at an increased risk of that demoralising isolation. For example, young carers are more likely to experience mental health issues and bullying than others of a comparable age.

One of my first duties as an elected member way back in 2007 was to attend a Glasgow south east carers centre event, at which I heard for myself the gruelling tale of a young girl who had been a carer from the age of nine. That had a huge impact on her life both educationally and socially, but thanks to the intervention of the centre, support was put in place that enabled her to discuss her situation honestly and openly with her teachers. Since then, she had progressed to become the fine young woman who I saw in front of me that day.

Carers, and specifically young carers, feel that they are misunderstood and detached. We have the responsibility to ensure that a bridge is built and that their social inclusion is seen as a high priority, not just by carers organisations but by wider society. That is why I am pleased to see the steps that the Scottish Government is taking to help carers, particularly young carers.

The third sector in Glasgow is to be praised not only for its outstanding local work but for its contributions beyond the city limits. Take, for example, its response to many recent international disasters such as the current humanitarian refugee crisis sweeping Europe, which has prompted a massive response from many Glasgow charities.

Glasgow the Caring City is a charity that I know well. It supports people at home and overseas by promoting health, education and security. Earlier this year, I had the good fortune of visiting Serbia with the charity to meet Syrian refugees and to see the clothes, soap and all the other items that had been gathered from the people of Glasgow by Glasgow the Caring City and how they were being distributed to the refugees who were coming from Syria as they reached Serbia. The experience was both a pleasure and harrowing, but it was an honour to be there and to see the outcome of the good deeds of the people of Glasgow.

A few years ago, I visited Uganda and South Sudan and saw Glasgow the Caring City’s work for the child soldiers. Members will remember the child soldiers in that part of the world, and how many young children were left as orphans. We visited orphanages, primary schools, nurseries and so on. We saw people who had been through the most traumatic of circumstances but, with a wee bit of care, love and attention, they were starting to become good citizens in their own country; it was well worth seeing.

Given that I have just highlighted the great work that is being done by the third sector in Glasgow, amazingly it appears that instead of it receiving support, obstacles are being placed in its way. Glasgow the Caring City might even be forced out of my constituency, having been there for 17 years, as a result of City Property Glasgow increasing its peppercorn rent of £1 per year to a market rent of £4,000 a year.

I absolutely recognise the work of Glasgow the Caring City, but does Mr Dornan recognise the fact that there was cross-party agreement to shift from the process whereby charities paid peppercorn rents to their being sustained through the integrated grant fund? That work was supported across parties, so perhaps it now has to be worked through as a consequence for individual charities.

I do not recognise that a charity should have to go from paying a peppercorn rent to having to pay £4,000 a year because Glasgow City Council took out a mortgage for £240 million to pay for redundancies and early retirements. I do not think that that is a justifiable use of Glasgow city property.

City Property Glasgow was a monster that was created to do exactly that. Glasgow used to have a community ethos so that empty properties could be used for community benefit until such time as they were required. When City Property Glasgow came into being, it was told to squeeze every single penny out of the tenants to pay back their rent. The company’s remit is to maximise income but it says nothing about social welfare. Glasgow City Council has to look at itself and the reason for City Property’s existence.

I will finish by talking about the elderly. The Scottish population is ageing, so that by 2035 it is expected that the population of over-65s will have increased from 17 to 25 per cent. While the age at which people retire seems to be ever increasing, many reports suggest that the need for post-work support will be greater. The Senior Centre Castlemilk has just received the Queen’s award for its services to the elderly community. The centre promotes independent healthy living, community engagement and, possibly most important, social interaction.

Our society neglects the wisdom and experience of our elderly at its peril. In my many visits to the centre, I have heard many stories that remind me of the difference that those people’s contributions have made to my constituency and to wider Scotland. The centre would not be available without the hard work, commitment and support of the massive crew of volunteers, for which we should be eternally grateful.

17:14  

I echo the sentiments of James Dornan regarding the excellent work of third sector organisations in Glasgow. In my maiden speech, I laid out how I wished to see more being done to encourage and provide support for organisations such as Glasgow the Caring City and how we should encourage people from all walks of life to get involved in making their communities a better place.

Glasgow the Caring City stands out because it represents the sense of pride that we Glaswegians have in our city, our feeling of duty when it comes to helping others and, more important, our knack of simply getting things done. The charity concentrates on grass-roots solutions centred on health, education and security, recognising how they interplay with one another in society, in order to create real opportunities for young people to try something different and escape what might otherwise seem like an inevitable path.

For example, give a kid a goal—the Glasgow the Caring City project that focuses on getting pupils in schools to think more closely at an early age about issues that are important to them—encourages children to achieve their own ambitions and to seek to help other children in developing nations as well as those in their communities. The project encourages children to strive for themselves and, most important, for others. That is the kind of initiative that we need.

Another example from Glasgow the Caring City is the sofa-cycle initiative, which involves unwanted furniture across the city being redistributed to those in need. Those are commonsense solutions—in theory they are simple, but in reality they need a dedicated team of grafters who are willing to give up their time to work in their communities.

As we all know, third sector work does not stop there. Recently, I was contacted by Marie Curie, a charity that specialises in caring for patients with terminal illnesses and their families. The Marie Curie hospice in my home town of Springburn has had nearly 500 new patient admissions last year and this year alone and it boasts a volunteer group of nearly 400. Those are impressive figures indeed.

Another organisation that I want to mention is Possibilities for Each and Every Kid, otherwise known as the PEEK project. This summer, I will be rowing from Glasgow to Paris—in mileage only—for a charity that again uses new initiatives to change the lives of young people and children in the north and east of the city. The PEEK project hosts theatre groups, art groups and even blogging groups, to name a few, in order to increase the confidence and self-esteem of our young people.

Finally, I would like to highlight the current celebrations taking place up and down the country as part of volunteers week. The latest figures show us that 27 per cent of Scottish adults have carried out unpaid voluntary work in the past 10 months, 75 per cent of them having done so for more than 10 hours a week. Those are fantastic figures that make me proud to be a Scot.

Those organisations serve to highlight that, with the involvement of Glasgow’s citizens in their own communities, positive solutions to those issues can be found within the city. Although action cannot be taken overnight to eradicate all the city’s problems, the hard work and determination of people who give up their time voluntarily have shown what a significant difference can be made. I welcome James Dornan’s motion.

17:18  

I welcome Kevin Stewart to his new role as Minister for Local Government and Housing. I am sure that he will enjoy it immensely and I am sure that we will also enjoy his contributions immensely.

I congratulate my colleague James Dornan on securing the debate and I thank the whole third sector and all the volunteers, who are all ages and from all sectors of society. Without them, many organisations simply could not continue to deliver services or indeed survive.

Like James Dornan and others, I want to mention a number of organisations. In my Kelvin constituency, there are many organisations carrying out the most amazing work, including charity shops and their volunteers—people seem to forget that many people give up all their time to volunteer as front-line staff in charity shops. I can assure members that I have been in many charity shops where there have been big, bulky items that have needed big, bulky men to carry them in. Lots and lots of work is being done by amazing folk—in charity shops, delivering meals and shopping for our elderly and most vulnerable—ensuring that their presence is felt in the communities that they serve.

I have a great deal of time for many organisations. One is the Glasgow Old People’s Welfare Association, or GOPWA, which is based in my constituency in Sandyford. It has the most amazing staff and does the most amazing things, bringing older people together and ensuring that they get meals and have company. Unfortunately, because of charges from Glasgow City Council, its services have been cut back slightly, but we hope that, through various ways, we will be able to get those services back again. The Glasgow Old People’s Welfare Association does a fantastic job.

The Annexe Communities healthy living centre in Partick also does amazing work. I have joined in with what it calls healthy walks. I must admit that some of the older people on those walks put me to shame. People pay their £1 and they can have a walk around the Kelvin walkway as far as Maryhill and all the way up to Townhead. The centre does a lot of outreach work in Townhead and Anderston, as well as in the Partick area. It has been going for many years. Julie Fox and her staff are absolutely great people.

The Woodlands Community Development Trust is another fantastic example of people power. The trust has taken over a piece of derelict land and woodland at Prince’s Street. When I was there, it was the first time that I had ever tasted mustard lettuce, which is grown there and which is absolutely fantastic. Apparently, it is native to Scotland, because it grows in damp ground. The trust opens up the gardens to the community, schools and nurseries. Volunteers have started cooking to encourage healthy eating and to ensure that people know about zero waste. That is done in the Fred Paton centre in Woodlands, which is also used by the Glasgow Old People’s Welfare Association. Last Monday, volunteers cooked and served a meal for asylum seekers, who were invited there. The Woodlands Community Development Trust does a wonderful job.

Flourish House provides an absolutely fantastic mental health service. Each person who uses Flourish House is a member of the board, so it is very equal in that respect. The charity puts people into employment and training. I encourage anyone in the Glasgow area to visit Flourish House, because it is a wonderful place. I have certainly already asked the minister if he will visit it.

Just last night, at my surgery, an issue was raised about the African Caribbean centre, which is in my constituency and which works with and promotes the African Caribbean community in Glasgow. Well over 1,000 people within the Glasgow city limits are in the African and Caribbean Network. Given the historical links that the city has, we need to work on that. However, I must again raise the point that, because of City Property Glasgow, the network is having to vacate its premises because of a rent rise.

17:22  

I am delighted to participate in the debate. I congratulate James Dornan on securing it and on securing cross-party support for it. I was delighted to support the motion and to recognise in particular the work of Glasgow the Caring City, an organisation with which I have had a great deal of contact, not least because of the energy of its founder, Neil Galbraith, who has the capacity to draw in people from all sides and of whatever political colour to focus on the work that he is so passionate about.

I of course want to recognise the role that the third sector plays across Scotland. Since being elected to the Parliament, it has been my privilege to work with some of the most dedicated and committed people in Glasgow Pollok, more broadly in Glasgow and across Scotland. In organisations that are involved in sport, housing, health and dealing with learning disability, as well as in credit unions, women’s organisations that are determined to support women fleeing violence and Home-Start and other organisations that understand the challenges that families face, at every turn we meet people who do things simply because they need to be done and not to gain credit. They recognise a need and we should celebrate that, as it tells us that our society is not broken but is one where people desperately want to support those around them.

I am proud of the record of my party in that regard, at both local and Scottish Government levels. I ask the minister where we are now with the compact between the third sector and the Scottish Government and the compact with local government. We need to revitalise those agreements, which said that there was parity of esteem. They were not about us passing on challenges from our communities; they were about how we work together to ensure that there is sustainable funding and that the third sector can do what it does best.

The third sector not only does the practical delivery but raises critical issues, shapes the thinking of the people who have the money and resources and then, critically, is part of delivering on decisions. We would never have done the work that we did on financial inclusion without looking to what the credit unions were asking for. That is simply one example. That approach of recognising the third sector was continued by our colleagues in the SNP when they came to power.

All I ask is that, no matter what we think of the individual decisions that are made in individual places, we respect the fact that, across parties at both local and Scottish Government levels, there is a commitment to the power of the third sector. It is not only for the tough times but is central to understanding and meeting need. Scottish Women’s Aid was not simply about finding a place for women to go; it understood and described to us what violence against women was and what support women needed. It was not simply about bricks and mortar.

We must now recognise that there are groups and organisations that are under massive pressure. One organisation that provides care in my city will have a £100,000 shortfall because it has to fulfil new conditions imposed by Europe in relation to sleepovers and because of the new national minimum wage. That is not what John Swinney described as minimum impact. There is a huge consequence for the resources of those really important organisations.

Although we agree across the board about the importance of the voluntary sector, we must address a fundamental truth about the way that it works: warm words are not enough. The sector judges itself by its ability to make a difference. It is not just about people knowing that we care, because third sector organisations have the practical capacity to deliver on those aspirations.

Yes, we need to see, be concerned about and test the individual choices and decisions that are made at local government level. However, I contend that we also need to have a far more mature debate about resources. It is not good enough to vote through £130 million of cuts to Glasgow and then denounce the consequences of that decision. I am not defending any individual decision made by any local authority but, if £130 million of cuts are made without the capacity to raise resources locally and without the Government taking the opportunity to raise resources through fair taxation, it is not good enough for us simply to wring our hands.

It is about choices and valuing the sector. We agree on that. We will never have the capacity to make a difference to people’s lives if we cut resources to third sector organisations. As Glasgow politicians, one simple thing that we could do is to unite in speaking up for Glasgow and finding the resources to ensure that its third sector organisations continue to do what they care about.

17:28  

I, too, thank James Dornan for securing the debate.

The third sector plays a vital role not only in Glasgow but in all communities throughout Scotland. We should never underestimate the help, support and—ultimately—the contribution to health and wellbeing that such organisations provide to the Scottish people.

One of the biggest challenges that the third sector currently faces is the impact of welfare reform on vulnerable people and the resultant increased demand on third sector services. The reforms have led to cuts to a wide range of benefits, which affect large numbers of people across all communities. People with disabilities, families and individuals in and out of work have all been detrimentally affected by the changes.

A proportion of Glasgow’s citizens are in receipt of welfare benefits, and 12 areas within Glasgow have been identified as suffering most in Scotland from the impact of welfare reform. Across Glasgow and wider Scotland, an ever-increasing number of people require assistance from the third sector. In Scotland, volunteers provide a staggering 126 million hours of support per year.

The number of third sector organisations in Glasgow is growing, and the invaluable work of their volunteers is to be commended. I refer to organisations such as Glasgow south-east carers centre, which is part of the Carers Trust. It works with carers across Glasgow to improve support, services and recognition for constituents who face the challenges of caring unpaid for a family member or friend. It is estimated that three out of five of us will become carers at some stage in our lives and that one in 10 of us is already fulfilling some sort of caring role.

I would like to highlight the work of Home-Start Glasgow South, which is based in Pollokshaws. The regular support, friendship and practical help that it delivers to families across the south side of Glasgow assist vulnerable parents and help them to gain the necessary skills and confidence to enable them to give their children the best possible start in life. The service is also there in times of crisis or breakdown. If a parent or family is struggling to cope, they may feel isolated and alone, and the friendship and trust that is built through regular visits from a home-visiting volunteer provide vital support and can make a massive difference through those stressful times.

Glasgow is also blessed with the fantastic Castlemilk Youth Complex. Its vision statement is:

“Creating a better future by inspiring young people to recognise, raise and achieve their aspirations.”

Castlemilk Youth Complex opened in 1994 and has gone on to become Scotland’s leading independent youth arts organisation, with a unique youth-led management structure. It has a state-of-the-art building that has a fully operational, flexible 80-seater studio theatre. Young people are supported to develop their interests in music through a youth music forum, and they have contributed to a number of wider community events. Through those programmes, young people are given the opportunity to develop new talents and skills. That, in turn, helps to build their self-esteem and confidence.

The unique group also provides a multitude of projects that are designed to inform and educate, from its chill me nightly drop-in programme that offers people the chance to discuss a range of diverse topics including drugs, alcohol and cyberbullying, to its link me school transition programme, which supports vulnerable schoolchildren from deprived backgrounds. Castlemilk Youth Complex brings young people from different backgrounds together and provides them with access to knowledge and understanding that have wide-ranging benefits, while encouraging their involvement in their local community.

Across Scotland, many of our third sector organisations are struggling to cope with the demand that is being placed on their services. They are also faced with the added burden of their budgets being either drastically reduced or even completely removed by local authorities. I consider that action to be short-sighted. If third sector services are reduced, extra pressure will inevitably be put on council services such as housing and social work, and on the national health service.

All MSPs in the chamber today will have a wide variety of third sector organisations across their constituencies that are all dedicated to helping individuals, families and community groups. The experiences, knowledge, support and reassurance that they provide make a considerable difference to the lives of many of our constituents, who would be a lot poorer without them.

17:32  

I thank my colleague James Dornan for securing this debate during volunteers and carers week. It gives us an opportunity to celebrate the excellent work of the third sector in Glasgow, and to acknowledge the wider contribution that the third sector makes to communities across Scotland, to the Scottish economy and to our social and civic life.

We have heard a passionate description of the work of Glasgow the Caring City and how it is supporting children in crisis internationally and here. With its focus on health, education and the provision of long-term security for children, it is playing a valued role in the life of Glasgow and is, through its aid, supporting work overseas. In that regard, Parliament has heard before of Mr Dornan’s visits to Serbia, where he met Syrian refugees, and to Uganda and South Sudan. I compliment him on his efforts.

Glasgow the Caring City is one of many Glasgow third sector organisations that make a real difference to people’s lives. I will name but a few such organisations. There are organisations that help older people, such as the Food Train. There is Milk café, which supports asylum-seeking women in the south side, and there is the Experience, which is a social enterprise venue that is run by Kibble and provides training and employability for young people. More organisations were mentioned by Annie Wells, Johann Lamont and Sandra White during the debate. Many of those organisations operate on limited resources, but do an amazing job.

We are proud to have a vibrant, diverse and engaged third sector in Scotland. More than 24,000 charities and 5,199 social enterprises operate in Scotland, and an estimated 1.3 million people—an extraordinary figure—volunteer annually, giving their own time to support others in their communities. Volunteers week is being held between 1 and 12 June this year; it recognises and celebrates the tremendous contribution that is made by Scotland’s volunteers.

The Voluntary Action Fund delivers the volunteer support fund—amounting to £1.1 million in 2016-17—to local grass-roots organisations on behalf of the Scottish Government. The fund supports and promotes volunteering among a variety of groups, including through such projects in Glasgow as For All Bridgeton—FAB—which is a small Scottish charity that provides activities for children, families and older people in the east end of Glasgow; the Kinning Park Complex—a community centre and community interest company—which advances and promotes artistic activity, public participation in sport and recreation, good citizenship and community development; and the Africa in motion film festival in Bridgeton, which is an annual African film festival comprising screenings and complementary events.

All those activities are why this and previous successive SNP Scottish Governments have been clear and unambiguous in support for the third sector, by maintaining investment in the sector throughout the period of recession and austerity.

Scotland is internationally recognised and leads the world because of its system of support for social enterprise, which has included helpful legislation and policy, including the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, programmes of direct investment in the sector, support for social investment and for social entrepreneurs, highly successful work with schools, provision of dedicated business support, and a programme to improve third sector access to markets. However, we are not complacent; we are determined to maintain our reputation and standing in the field, which is why we are working in collaboration with the sector on a 10-year strategy for social enterprise that will take us to the next level and position us well for the next decade.

I am interested in the 10-year strategy for social enterprise. Will it include rental? I am thinking of the difficulties that are faced in Glasgow through City Property Glasgow.

I am coming to that. In respect of reports about the rent hike that has been facing Glasgow the Caring City from CPG—which I understand is an arms’ length external organisation, or ALEO—I understand that the current position is that the charity has now vacated its premises and hopes to confirm arrangements for a new lease in a more central location within the next few days.

I am aware of reports of other such instances involving charitable organisations. I simply say this: the operation of an individual ALEO is a matter for the council and that organisation. However, when a council delivers services through an ALEO, it must demonstrate that that provides best value for its communities, and that the ALEO secures a balance between social, economic and environmental wellbeing in how it operates. I urge that consideration be given to the broader picture in order that we recognise the immense good that organisations such as Glasgow the Caring City are doing in our communities.

Will the minister confirm that he believes that people in Glasgow City Council, of all parties, support the voluntary and third sectors, and that he is not suggesting that they are in some way wilfully attacking Glasgow the Caring City? I asked for the re-establishment of a compact in which the impact of the cuts to Glasgow’s budget on the third sector and its ability to deliver the things that matter could be assessed. Would the minister support that?

We will always work in collaboration with people, but that is a matter for the ALEO and for Glasgow City Council, which, as I said, need to ensure that services secure a balance between social, economic and environmental wellbeing.

The Scottish Government is determined to play its part. As we said in our manifesto—[Interruption.]

Could members stop arguing across the chamber, please?

We will also consider what more we can do to support the wider third sector, including how we can give more financial certainty, and how we can streamline and improve how funding is provided.

As the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities has said, we would like to take steps to consolidate voluntary sector funding into single-grant funds in order to provide greater clarity to applicants. We would also like to give organisations more financial certainty by introducing three-year rolling funding, where possible. We will also introduce a system across Government that indicates when funding is due to end, in order to provide greater clarity for the sector and to allow better planning for the longer term. We would encourage all funders, including local authorities, to try to move away from short-term funding arrangements.

We believe that the third sector plays a crucial role in tackling inequalities, supporting people and communities, and delivering public services. We want to work with the sector to create a fairer and more inclusive Scotland, and we want to see the sector work to its full potential.

Meeting closed at 17:40.