By Stuart Callison

ACCORDING to the charity regulator, OSCR, there are 24,000 registered charities in Scotland. Thanks to the generosity of the public, they contribute in excess of £850 million per year, delivering vital support, care, services – and crucially, time – to some of the most vulnerable people. Scotland’s voluntary sector is uniquely well placed to know the challenges facing local communities. Right now, and long after the Covid emergency is over, more people than ever before will need help.

Unfortunately, there’s no escaping the fact the voluntary sector is facing its toughest challenge for many years, in terms of demand for its services, and the funding needed to survive.

From our perspective, whilst St Andrew’s First Aid (SAFA) has managed to ride out the first wave of the pandemic, like many other sectors of the economy we fear the worst is still to come. Senior colleagues report widespread concerns that the new financial year will deliver a financial "cliff edge" for charities and social enterprises. Although the signs are now more hopeful, it could still be many months before a vaccine can be rolled out and normal life restored.

In the meantime, the societal and health costs of the pandemic are significant – and rising. The Scottish Government, understandably, has been focused on the short-term implications of the virus. However, it needs to look further ahead, to prevent a "tsunami" of pent-up demand for charity services being unleashed at a time when their ability to cope has already been significantly limited by reduced income and loss of personnel. No doubt at the same time, Government budgets will be equally squeezed in order to pay for the costs of lockdown. Big bold thinking is needed now to ensure that Scotland is able to recover later.

So, what can be done to ensure that all those who rely on the services provided by charities do not suffer as a result of the financial crisis caused by Covid? Now more than ever, it is critical that all sectors of the economy work together to find innovative solutions. Whilst we all face our own obstacles, we will achieve greater impact through collaboration and teamwork.

For example, since lockdown, we have identified several ways in which we could “pivot”, to enable our volunteers and trainers to continue providing valuable services. Our mental health first aid trainers could help tackle the crisis in the university sector or support victims of the rise of domestic abuse. We are investigating how we could adapt our services to reduce pressures on the NHS by providing a "trips and falls" service for the elderly or by helping Covid patients to self-isolate through such simple measures as getting their essential shopping or picking up prescriptions. But – and this is the crucial point – we can’t do this on our own or without funding.

Of course, the same is true of a lot of brilliant and talented people and organisations, who are currently head down just trying to survive. Grant-funded charities have called for years of multi-annual funding to be allocated in order for them to have certainty of income. Will this finally be forthcoming? Could part of such funding be earmarked for innovation or recovery, to help these organisations meet the new challenges coming their way?

All of this will require some imagination and joined up thinking on the part of government agencies and departments, but there’s scope to deliver meaningful, longer-term service improvements and efficiencies as a result. I’d venture to suggest that this kind of imagination has never really been a hallmark of “Civic Scotland” in the 20 years since devolution, no doubt often to the frustration of politicians of all stripes. Without it now, however, many well-known and cherished charities may start to disappear over the next few years, and many Scots will suffer as a result.

Stuart Callison is chief executive of St Andrew’s First Aid, Scotland only dedicated first aid charity