Over the last couple of weeks we heard from each of the political parties about their plans for the next administration, should they be elected, and how they envision the relationship between the council and charities, volunteers, and community groups, and the citizens of Edinburgh who use our services. We would like to thank all those who attended and to councillors and candidates, Maureen Child, Frank Ross, Cameron Rose, Chas Booth, Evelyn Weston, Susan Rae and Phill Meyers, for their time. 

With one day to go until voting day, we’ve done a round up of the key points that came out of the discussion. Unfortunately, Liberal Democrats were unable to send a representative, so we have four out of the five, and we hope that the issues discussed here are ones that will be considered by the Liberal Democrat candidates. 

Before we discuss themes, here are the answers to the two overarching questions we asked each party:

What is the one thing that you believe is the most important achievement for the next administration? 

Labour: “That the next administration work on the 90% of things that we all agree about and get them right, it isn’t about the 10% that is disputed – yes these controversial things are important, but not as important as the common good.”

SNP: “I truly believe that the delivery of social housing is the most wide-ranging thing that we can do because not only does it deliver homes, but it impacts congestion in the city, pollution and air quality, it assists in building communities and regenerating parts of the city that have been lying derelict for too long.”

Conservative: “Service to the public. It is the end user that it is the priority. Ultimately it is the service that we are giving to the public that has to be the driver for anything we do.”

Greens: “For successful co-production to become the norm,  reversing or resisting privatisation of services, and making a serious move on homelessness and housing.”

 

New councillors will make up 60% of the council this time round, what two pieces of advice would you give them? 

Labour:

• “You are only important because the people you represent are important. You are there to work with and help develop your community.” 
• “You will have to work in partnership with people, take the time to listen and treat people with respect.”

SNP:

• “Now that you’re a politician, don’t forget the skills that you bring to the party and all the work and experience you had before.”
• “Take the time to learn the system. You will be a lot more effective if you take the time to learn how things get done, how the processes work and who does what.”

Conservative: 

• “Do your homework, read the papers, get command of the facts. There’s no substitute to hard work.”
• “Each person that comes in will have particular experience and skills and strengths, play to those strengths. Being a councillor is a people job and  you have to take the time to understand people.”

Greens:

• “Be persistent. You will have to take up a number of issues on behalf of constituents and the answer is not always given or given right first time.”
• “Try to understand how services are delivered. Go out and get experience with the people who work on the front line.”

 

Common themes

 A lot was discussed at these hustings and too much to go into great detail, but here are a few of the stand out points:

Throughout all of the discussions, it was clear that there was agreement from all parties that councillors should take the lead on setting the tone for how future projects and services are delivered in good quality partnership and dialogue with the Third Sector. We need to go beyond tokenism and tick-box exercises if we want to have an equal and constructive partnership, and the Third Sector is ready and willing to engage. 

In general, Labour spoke to improving partnership working with the sector and with communities, focusing more outcomes and needs, and empowering citizens and communities to decide where they want to see their money spent, through methods such as Participatory Budgeting. 

The SNP also wanted to see a responsibility taken a local level for decision making around services, but the main focus of the hustings centred on affordable and social housing, and the creation of a champion on the council to keep this issue at the top of the agenda and to create strong links with communities and Third Sector organisations who can best advise on this area. 

Conservatives talked about improving refuse collection services and the quality of Edinburgh’s streets, as well as reviewing the standard of current services, and identifying gaps or inefficiencies and working to improve them.  

Greens (with four council candidates representing) covered a  number of issues, however, they too discussed the importance of co-production, identifying what the ‘need’ is and working with the right people to address it sustainably, rather than being driven by the process or the current pot of funding.

Housing, Homelessness and Fuel Poverty

With pledges to build affordable housing abounding at both a local and national level, this is a key area of concern for councillors, those working in the Third Sector and the citizens affected by housing policy and lack of affordable housing. Understanding what is meant by ‘affordable’ is something that Sector believes should be defined, along with agreed standards for construction, insulation and heating supply. Residents in affordable or social housing should be able to feel safe and warm, and secure. This can go a long way to reducing stress, improving both physical and mental well-being and helping vulnerable individuals to get back on their feet. 

SNP’s Frank Ross commented that the provision of social housing was at the heart of the party’s agenda with work starting on a secured site in Meadowbank. The Green’s want to push forward an Edinburgh Standard of housing which connects or can be retrofitted to connect to a district heating system, while the Conservative’s Cameron Rose suggested that creating efficiencies through better insulation can help, but also that we need to look to the macro issue around the price of fuel. Candidates were advised by those in attendance, that the construction of social housing needs to be considerate of the needs and wants of the people they are building for. Transplanting people from one part of the city to another can remove people from a community they know and feel safe in, cause disruption in a child’s education, or cost more to travel to work.

Thinking carefully about the type of heating and insulation for these properties is also key. An example was raised about the trend toward fitting storage heaters in new build properties because they are cheaper to install. However, these heaters often expensive to run, and trap residents on the highest tariff with no option to change. 

Yes, we need more homes and more affordable homes, but the outcome we want is for people to be able to live in an area they feel at home in and to live affordably for the long-term. We believe that councillors should take the time to consult with the experts in the Sector as well as the communities they represent to better understand the needs of vulnerable people in terms of housing, before investing in construction of properties that are inappropriate or poorly designed for the people they are intended for. 

Procurement

Procurement and the tendering process came up time and time again at the hustings, and with quite an amount of fervour which was not limited to Third Sector representatives. While there is a general agreement from all parties that a certain amount of competition is healthy and necessary, it was also agreed that the state of the procurement and tendering process in Edinburgh is inconsistent at best and at worse it puts at risk the service users and can systematically disadvantage certain types of provider. 

Cameron Rose suggested that big isn’t always bad, but there needs to be a way to prize local knowledge and expertise. Chas Booth from the Greens stated that the process needs to be designed to best fit and meet the needs of service users, a perspective that was echoed by Maureen Child from Labour. SNP’s Frank Ross stated that it has become a process in itself as a means to achieve an end and it needs to be seriously reviewed.

Mental Health

Councillors recognised the pressing need for greater support for the improvement of mental health services, and spoke of raising awareness and tackling stigma. Reducing stigma is a positive step forward, however we need to ensure that people know how to and have access to mental health services, and that organisations have the capacity and funding to supply them. 

Many more issues were raised throughout these hustings, including recognising care work as a legitimate vocation that provides training, qualifications and career development, while also recognising the tireless work done by unpaid carers who are typically family members. Lunch clubs for children and the elderly were also raised, although work is needed to make sure these opportunities are truly universal to all. We want to continue these dialogues with all parties and recognise that the issues we have covered are a snapshot of the many complex issues that affect our citizens. We look forward to welcoming and working with the newly appointed councillors and the next administration. 

Again we would like to thank all those who attended and to all of the parties for speaking. 

The full manifesto pledges for the political parties can be found here and our manifesto Everybody’s Edinburgh, which covers a number of these topics can be found here. 

Decisions are made by those who turn up. Make sure you know where to vote and encourage as many people as you can to have their say by voting on May 4th. 

If you have any queries about our manifesto please contact Holly Thacker – [email protected] 

^{– by Christina Hinds}

My colleagues and I recently attended a series of sessions with the Parliament Outreach Team to learn more about the ways that Edinburgh’s Third Sector organisations and community groups can engage better with Parliament. These sessions were very useful, and highlighted several routes into engagement with parliament and how best to use them, including public petitions, committees, and cross-party groups.  

Public petitions can be a useful way to get attention for your cause, particularly where you believe it to be beyond citywide concern and would like to evidence that. This is a proactive way to create greater interest and drive the conversation on a particular issue, rather than waiting for an issue to be raised and responding to it.  Individuals or organisations considering starting a petition should always get in touch with the petitions committee clerks – they can offer tips and advice on drafting your petition to make sure you maximise its effectiveness. https://www.parliament.scot/gettinginvolved/petitions/CreateAPetition.aspx

Committees are small groups of MSPs from various parties who look at specific issues, do research, and make recommendations, and hold the Scottish Government to account. The topics they look at will come from the MSPs themselves through a call for input at the start of the session, or through clerks throughout the parliamentary session. This is one reason contacting your MSPs and building relationships is important for organisations.

One way you can do this it to invite the MSPs for your area to your events, write to them about the way policy is affecting your service – and not only your area MSPs, but MSPS who sit on relevant committees.

Keep an eye on what is on the committees’ agenda through the website and/or its twitter account and submit evidence on topics that relate to your area of work when a call goes out. If you do submit evidence, make contact with the committee clerk for advice and support to make sure it hits the mark. If you’re then invited to give evidence to the committee in person, it’s worth swotting up on the members and the committee dynamics as much as you can. Find out who else is coming to give evidence from the committee clerk and speak to them if possible (and appropriate – probably not if they’re offering an opposing view!). Keep in touch with clerks who can give you a steer on all of these things as well as offering advice on preparing the evidence you will present and the kinds of questions you might be asked.

Even if there isn’t an issue currently on the agenda, it is worth making contact with the clerks of any relevant committees to let them know what your organisation’s area of work and expertise is, and that you are happy to be contacted when they’re doing research or asking for evidence. No organisation is too small or specialised to have a valuable contribution. If, for example, you run a mental health service for women in Pilton, you will have unique insights into things such as; the particular challenges that women face when dealing with mental ill health and accessing services,  and how this is affected by national policy and the way that health inequalities affect service users. https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/committees.aspx

Cross-Party Groups are made up of MSPs, organisations, and members of the public. Participating in any that are relevant to your area of work is another good way of building relationships with MSPs, getting your issues on their radar, and potentially getting them onto committee agendas. https://www.parliament.scot/msps/cross-party-groups.aspx

Remember that in engaging with the parliament, via any method, you’re playing the long game. This is not a route to creating change overnight – affecting policy change can take years.

The main takeaway for me from these sessions was that the MSPs don’t want to keep hearing continuously from ‘the usual suspects’ – often larger organisations, many of whom have a parliamentary liaison officer. You don’t have to be a parliamentary expert to engage in any of the above, the clerks have the expertise about parliament and you have the knowledge about your specific area of work.  They want to hear from the smaller, local organisations and their service users and have established the Outreach Team to achieve this. Keep up-to-date on the work of the team and get in touch with them if you have an issue you want to address, and would like their advice or support in pursuing it: https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/attend-an-event/

And how does EVOC fit in to all of this? Attending our forums is a great start to identifying areas of wider concern, sharing knowledge, and discussing how the forum members can address it. Being part of a larger collaboration of services can help to increase everyone’s capacity- several of the forums have different people representing them at various meetings and feeding back at forum meetings, and this can include Cross-Party Groups. The forum might decide as a group to create a petition or to submit evidence that everyone can contribute to, instead of each member having to do it individually. If the forum or EVOC members have other suggestions for ways EVOC can offer support for parliamentary engagement, then we want to hear about it.

See our forum page for more information on how to join or contribute to a forum.

 

EVOC is working with People’s Health Trust to promote their Active Communities fund to Edinburgh organisations and help them with the first stage of the application process. At first glance, organisations may think that the remaining time to apply is too short or that the criteria doesn’t fit their project, so read on if you’re interested in the funding but have these concerns!

Let’s look at the application first of all. This stage of the application process is an opportunity for both the organisation and People’s Health Trust to make sure that what you want to do fits in with the priorities for this fund. For this reason, it’s pretty brief – it’s simply a filtering process at this stage rather than asking people to spend a lot of time of time completing a long, detailed application when this funding might not even be right for them. There are a few questions about your organisation, how the funding that you’re applying for will be used, and who the participants in the project will be.

And now the criteria: there are several points that are quite easy to check such as your organisation’s income, your reserves, and your structure. But there are a few equally critical but slightly less concrete criteria that you’ll need to understand. First of all, the focus of this fund is that it should be used for people who experience economic and social disadvantage. One way to ensure this is the case for your participants is that they can come from one of the areas marked as ‘fundable’ on this map. It’s not essential that your project should be based within the fundable areas as long as the people who will participate in the project are.

What if the people that will be involved in the project come from several different fundable areas or come from all over the city and not necessarily fundable areas?

If this is the case, you can still apply but you would fall under the category of Communities of Interest. All the same criteria apply, but you would use a different application form and if people are coming from non-fundable areas, you will need to be able demonstrate that they fit the criteria of being people who experience economic and social disadvantage – are they in receipt of benefits, or in temporary accommodation for example?

Secondly, the project that you want to use the funding for should be developed and shaped by the participants themselves. It should be something that you know that the people who you plan to involve want. Maybe you have run a pilot project that was really successful and people loved participating in, but you don’t have the funds to carry it on. Maybe the people who use your services have asked for support for a project that they want but you haven’t had the capacity to do it. Or, perhaps you’re a constituted community group and have an idea for some project or activity that will benefit your community – whether that community is a neighbourhood or a community of interest, it is a group of people sharing a common identity.

As well as being shaped by the people who will participate, it should be something that brings that community together. This fund isn’t suitable for things like counselling sessions or other types of one-to-one work, it’s for projects that encourage community and connectedness.

All of these might appear to be quite restrictive, but in fact the point of it is try to target these funds for the people who need it most and to ensure that it will be used for projects working with people to ensure a real difference is made to their lives in a way that they have chosen and fully participated in.

If you have questions, are interested in applying, or already have the application and would like someone to read your draft before you submit it, get in touch: [email protected] 

You can find further information and download the necessary forms here. 

The deadline for applications for this fund is February 8th. 

Alas, the rumours are true, & after an incredible couple of years working with EVOC I am now moving on to a new role. I am excited about taking on new challenges, and at the same time incredibly sad to be leaving such a fantastic team here at EVOC.

I thought therefore before leaving I would impart some wisdom gained in my time here. These are just my humble opinions; there are some fantastic resources in our Information section covering a wide range of issues in greater detail, which I thoroughly recommend checking out if you want to know more about the life and times of Edinburgh’s Third Sector.

1. Show your TSIs some TLC

When I first told people I was going to be working for a TSI, the general response was, ‘Fantastic! Brilliant! Amazing! What’s a TSI?’  Even on meeting people working in the wider Third Sector, there was only a general, vague, murmuring knowledge of TSIs and the work we do. 

So, in a nutshell:

• TSI stands for Third Sector Interface
• There are 32 of these across Scotland – one for every region (here’s a handy list to find the TSI closest to you)
• The main remit of the Third Sector Interface is to build empowered, resilient communities & a thriving Third Sector.
• They do the above by bringing together agents locally across different sectors and by serving as trusted leaders, effective strategic partners and models of good practice for the Sector.

In my time here, seeing the work, reach and social impact EVOC has has been completely awe inspiring (if you don’t believe me, check out our annual reports). We have provided advocacy for a huge number of charities, and a varied and in depth training programme for Edinburgh’s Third Sector (with funding available towards covering the cost, ’cause we’re quite nice like that). We have organised thinkSpaces covering the big issues such as Pensions Autoenrolment, Consultation on the Council Budget, and our upcoming Locality thinkSpaces (shameless plug, please come along!).

We have represented the Third Sector as part of the Integrated Joint Board for Health & Social Care and during the Edinburgh Budget consultations – directly contributing your feedback and concerns. Projects such as the Recovery Essentials Financial Inclusion project have provided financial advice and support for people in all stages of recovery; and the Edinburgh & Lothian Trust Fund has provided small grants for both organisations and individuals.

That’s just off the top of my head.

We cannot do this however, without the input from the wider Third Sector. So give us your views, come to our networks, our Neighbourhood Partnerships and our Voluntary Sector Forums; tell us the issues you are facing and share best practise. Talk to us.

2. Coproduction – Not just a Buzzword

On starting with EVOC, coproduction and partnership working felt a little like a gimmick, a ‘dazzle ’em with jargon’  kind of thing. That was until I saw it in practise. Smaller local groups with an in depth knowledge of their community, working together across sectors to provide truly person-centred, joined up services to address the issues local people were facing.

For me it was a bit of a lightbulb moment: it made sense. Admittedly, this is a rose coloured glasses kind of view. Of course there will be problems, of course there will be politics. The idea of coming together and working towards a common goal however should always overshadow this. Of course, it should also be common knowledge that coproduction in services should also perhaps, maybe, possibly include the people who will be using it. Engage in your community, ask for feedback, keep on improving your work. Talk to your service users.

3. Change & the way we deal with it

There is no denying the way in which the Third Sector operates has changed hugely in recent times. Funding pools have dried to puddles, as demand for services reaches an all time high.

It does lead the question, how can we do more with less?  Despite my rosy hued vision of a perfectly coproduced project in the paragraph above, it does get harder to share best practise with organisations that you may end up having to compete with for funding. 

With that in mind, it’s not all doom and gloom. The Third Sector has never been one to rest on its laurels, and in this time of turmoil I have seen organisations roll up their sleeves and deal with the issues at hand. On the positive side, this has led to some more joined up services across Edinburgh. On the more realistic side, organisations have had to make some very difficult decisions with regards to services and projects, and unfortunately this will probably continue as we work towards more sustainable development.  We could all become insular at this point very easily, but I would urge you to keep working together. Come to our networks, join us at our thinkSpaces, tell us the issues you are facing and work together towards solutions. Talk to each other.

 

Perhaps my views will change in the forthcoming years, and I will write a very different, more cynical blog. For the moment however I am very optimistic. There has never been a better time to be in the Third Sector. It’s been a real pleasure, EVOC.