Many organisations may be aware, and others not yet alert to the fact that a Scottish Government consultation has just closed, seeking views on further extending the coverage of FOISA, with a focus on those who provide services on behalf of the public sector.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA)

The full consultation description is here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/freedom-information-extension-coverage-consultation/ 

At the last meeting of the Third Sector Strategy Group the proposals were discussed and it was agreed that Edinburgh TSI would submit a succinct consultation response copied below:

We believe that the proposed extension is a ‘sledgehammer to crack at a nut’. Members of the public and all stakeholders are entitled to receive information on the provision of public services and this entitlement should be ‘blind’ to the nature, sector or legal form of the ‘provider’ of services.

However, to ask hard-pressed and already stretched third sector organisations to take on the responsibility of dealing with requests for information under FOISA is unnecessary, counter-productive, time consuming and would likely cause confusion amongst both organisations and members of the public. The necessary investment in training and awareness-raising would be, in itself, a waste of time and resources for all concerned.

The solution is a simple one; local authorities, Health Boards or other public bodies who contract-out services falling under FOISA regulations, should write into such contracts that they as the contracting authority can request from the contractor appropriate and proportionate information, should they receive requests from members of the public that require a response from organisations delivering that contract. Public bodies have the resources and policy frameworks required for dealing with FOISA requests. Using these existing channels for public enquiries, and seeking information from contractors for the public body’s FOISA team to then collate as a response to FOISA requests is a sensible and simple solution.

Fellow voluntary sector infrastructure bodies such as our friends at SCVO are taking a similar view to that expressed above and have developed an unrivaled depth of understanding around this issue.

Hopefully Scottish Government will listen and take a sensible approach.

ian.brooke@evoc.org.uk

THREE, four and 8.42 – these are the numbers that define the state of poverty in the UK today.

Three million more people fail to meet the Minimum Income Standard than did in 2008 before the Lehmans-driven financial crisis (the first year the Loughborough University research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation was released.)

One in four of us do not earn enough for a decent standard of living.

And a working-age couple with two school-age children need to allow £8.42 each week so that they can buy each other birthday presents.

That last one brought it home to me – the lives that live behind the numbers, the stories that sit beside the stats – one in four of us do not have enough to buy our partners and our children a present for their birthdays.

The experience of never having enough demonstrably damages our self-esteem, health and our social relationships – the grinding poverty that too many of us experience saps our strength and our resilience, damaging the warp and weft of our shared social fabric.

Launched at 10pm yesterday, in time for the nightly news,  the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s annual Minimum Income Standards report holds some grim statistics.

You can find the full report, and a press release on the Minimum Income Standards website.

Meanwhile, on the JRF website, you can view an MIS calculator – and the rich detail below the headline figures.

Since 2008, the researchers have tracked what the public agrees that we need, in order to have an acceptable standard of living.

The level of detail goes down to agreeing that an internet connection is essential, but only a moderately-priced service which includes free weekend and evening calls.

On birthday presents – remember that figure of £8.42 per week – the public agrees that an acceptable standard of living would enable the children to give presents, and the parents to give each other presents as well, but the children themselves account for the most spend in this category, an eye-watering £3.45 each week.

Read it, and weep.

I’m really sad to share the news that from September we will no longer be administering the BBC Children in Need small grants scheme.

EVOT has been working with BBC Children in Need for nearly 25 years, and we’ve helped around 60,000 families in Edinburgh during that time. Over those years I’ve worked with many good colleagues – health visitors, social workers and agencies – who depend on the Children in Need funds to assist families with basic necessary items for their children.

Much to our disappointment, the administration of the Children in Need money will be moving to the Buttle UK Trust in Glasgow from September 2012. This is part of an overall move by BBC Children in Need to centralise the administration of the fund across Scotland. So the fund itself is not disappearing, but the application process for it will be changing. 

EVOT will still be accepting individual grant applications (the next funding round begins 1st October) but there will be less money for us to use in our awards.

We hope that this change of process will go smoothly for all concerned and we will keep you informed of any other developments in due course. Meanwhile, please familiarise yourself with the Buttle UK Trust. For further information you may contact Anne Marie Peffer, Casework Manager, on applications@buttleuk.org with ‘request’ in the subject line. Alternatively, you can download an application form at their website and send it by post (together with a full supporting statement) to PO Box 5075, Glasgow, G78 4WA.

As the grant administrator of BBC Children in Need over these many years, I’d like to say thank you to all those with whom I’ve worked to help improve the lives of children in Edinburgh.