ALLIANCE reiterates calls for fair funding and equal partnership with the third sector

Multi-year funding was at the centre of the Scottish Parliament debate on a Third Sector Partnership Agreement

Ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, fair funding for the third sector was one of the key asks of the Health and Social Care Alliance (the ALLIANCE) and our partners across the sector. In their election manifesto, the newly re-elected Scottish Government committeed to developing a new partnership agreement with the third sector. Following this, on 16 June the government led a debate on “Strengthening Scotland’s Partnership with the Third Sector“.

In advance of the debate, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) circulated a short briefing to the relevant party spokespeople, highlighting the key messages we wanted MSPs to be aware of:

• 64% of the ALLIANCE’s members reported financial insecurity by December 2025, up from 49% in March 2024.
• 60% had experienced cuts to their core grants and 25% to contracts.
• We welcome the proposed agreement with the third sector but need further detail on timescale, signatories, accountability and scope.
• Urgent progress is needed on multi-year funding arrangements, adjusted for inflation, with full and meaningful inclusion in planning and decision-making.

Opening the debate Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing, Shirley-Anne Somerville, acknowledged the vital work of the third sector, the role of volunteers, and how the sector contributes to addressing the Scottish Government’s four core missions. She further stated that the Third Sector Partnership Agreement will be co-designed with the sector and inclusive of all organisations not just those with a direct funding relationship with the Scottish Government. Whilst accepting the importance of multi-year funding and noting the steps taken towards that, she cautioned that a lack of multi-year funding from the UK Government to the Scottish Government was a limiting factor.

Every opposition party submitted an amendment to the motion, and in their speeches all of them praised the work of the third sector and called for multi-year funding to be embedded. However, each party also had particular areas of focus:

• Reform expressed concerns that money alone doesn’t solve problems, and that the conditions attached to funding matter and can impact how effectively the money is used.
• Labour noted that Scotland was the only part of the UK without an agreement with the third sector and echoed the ALLIANCE briefing in calling for clear lines of accountability.
• The Greens emphasised the precarious nature of third secture employment and the need for funding to go beyond projects and include sufficient funding for core functions, and noted the number of ALLIANCE members who reported finanical insecurity.
• The Conservatives suggested that there was more flexibility for multi-year funding than the Scottish Government claimed, but raised concerns about the independence of the sector.
• The Lib Dems noted the economic importance of the third sector, and called for an explicit right for organisations to criticise Scottish Government policy.

Following the debate, the motion was passed as amended by Labour, the Greens and the Lib Dems. You can read the full debate here.

You can also read the ALLIANCE briefing via the resource links below.

End of page.