Our wonderful third sector is not in the best of health and, ahead of this year’s election, improving our sector’s life expectancy is a key priority. Fair Funding and formal recognition of the sector would help, but is a shift to prevention in public services the long-term cure that we need?
SCVO have admirably led the charge for Fair Funding in recent years, and they have called for a formal partnership between the Scottish Government and the third sector in their recent manifesto. Our Voluntary Health Scotland Manifesto for Health Creation mirrors this, calling for third sector parity which recognises third sector organisations as ‘vital and equal contributors in the delivery of public services.’
Whilst these are undoubtedly important and necessary goals, I’m starting to question if they go far enough to truly heal our sector. In a political system which prioritises the growing need for acute and emergent services, will the ‘warm and fuzzy’ third sector continue to get a look in when difficult decisions are being made?
In his 2011 report, Dr Campbell Christie wrote that ‘focussing on consequences rather than causes…has a high cost for society and high costs for public services’. He recognised then the vital importance of prioritising prevention for safeguarding the future of public services. He further cautioned that ‘as a society we no longer have time for delay’.
Dr Christie would likely be frustrated with the pace of progress 15 years on. The Scottish Government has made promising commitments to prevention in a range of policy documents, including the Population Health Framework, in the past year. However, the public purse is stretched increasingly thin, there is a stubbornly persistent gap between national policy on prevention and local implementation, and vital third sector services continue to bear the brunt.
In addition to calls around third sector parity, our Manifesto also presses for a prevention-centred health system, the prioritisation of health equity, and improved health measures and data sets. These asks are distinct yet interdependent. Until we pivot to a prevention-centred system that prioritises and measures progress based on equity and human rights, any commitments to third sector parity may simply treat the symptoms of our sector’s poor health without finding the cure.
Partnership and collaboration are key to achieving a shift to prevention. Last year we co-authored a joint statement on prevention with several third sector health organisations. This statement emphasised the importance of not shying away from the ‘hard-to-do’ aspects of policy implementation around prevention, including co-production with communities and long-term investment in solutions which work. It also called for honest and courageous leadership which truly shares power with the third and community sectors. We need to work together and advocate collectively for the change that matters.
We would urge all third sector organisations to join us in calling for investment in prevention to be a priority in the Scottish Budget this month, and for all political parties ahead of the 2026 election. A shift to prevention really is the perfect prescription for increasing the life expectancy of our vital third sector for decades to come.
Voluntary Health Scotland champion third sector organisations that support people to live well and prioritise good mental and physical health. If you are a third sector organisation that works to address health inequalities or promote good health, join our movement for health creation today.
Sarah Latto, VHS Policy and Public Affairs Lead
