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The Volunteering Support Fund (VSF) provides £1.1 million per annum to support delivery of the following outcomes, which were agreed with the third sector:

Third sector organisations create new volunteering projects, increasing the diversity of volunteers, especially those from disadvantaged groups.

Third sector organisations provide improved opportunities for skills and personal development through volunteering.

Third sector organisations improve their capacity to deploy and support volunteers;

By involving volunteers; third sector organisations enhance the services they deliver to better meet the needs of the communities they operate within.

Following a consultation of a wide range of stakeholders the Scottish Government set out the broad criteria for support from the VSF in the tender document as part of the standard Scottish Government procurement arrangements. The detailed eligibility criteria were set out by Voluntary Action Fund (VAF) in their tender submission to the Scottish Government.

The VSF has been in operation for four years and the operation of the fund is discussed in regular engagement between Scottish Government and VAF. Regular reports are submitted to the Scottish Government in compliance with the terms and conditions of the contract and recommendations have consistently been of a minor technical nature. The Scottish Government has received no representations seeking a review of the eligibility criteria.

The current Volunteer Support Fund will cease on 31 March 2017 and the level of support provided for the fund in subsequent years will be carefully considered as part of the forthcoming spending review process. We will look at how the fund has operated, the impact it has had, what would contribute to improvement and consider what changes, if any, ought to be considered to support volunteering in the period ahead. In this context we would expect to consider the focus, eligibility criteria and outcomes of any future funding.

<>Under the terms of the Volunteering Support Fund (VSF) contract between the Scottish Government and Voluntary Action Fund (VAF), the VSF is promoted by VAF on their website; in social media and by emails. The VAF promotional material also provides details of how potential applicants can contact VAF staff for help with the application process.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00449 on 16 June 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

 

 

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00449 on 16 June 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00448 on 16 June 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government has allocated £1.1 million per annum to the Volunteering Support Fund in each of the last four years. Details of the value of awards under each category and number of applications are as follows:

	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17
Grants to individual organisations	£731,657	£956,969	£1,003,538	££1,102,994
Grants to clusters of organisations	£293,150	£236,430	£149,580	£0
Number of applicants	143	194	228	296

Information is not held for the break down by (a) Scottish parliamentary constituency, (b) UK parliamentary constituency; (c) Scottish parliamentary region and (d) local authority area.

In last week’s debate on 9 June 2016, we stated that disability benefits should be uprated in line with inflation. We are committed to ensuring our policies are designed to best meet the needs of disabled people, and we therefore intend to consider how to do this, taking consumer price index as a starting point, in the round with other aspects of our social security policy as part of the forthcoming consultation.

Estimates of the number of applicants expected for the Maternity and Early Years Allowance will depend on decisions yet to be taken about the rollout of this benefit and the eligibility criteria that will be used.

For the purposes of policy development, we have estimated that, if current Sure Start Maternity Grant take-up rates and eligibility criteria were maintained, around 40,000 awards would be made each year. If full take-up were achieved and all eligible families received a grant we estimate that somewhere in the region of 85,000 awards would be made each year.

These figures are estimates of the total numbers of awards that would be made in a year and so combine payments on birth, upon a child starting nursery and upon a child starting primary school.

Source: Scottish Government analysis based on Department for Work and Pensions figures.

Information on the number of applications and the annual cost of these payments is held by the Department for Work and Pensions.

We are still considering our plans for the operation of the new Maternity and Early Years Allowance, including questions such as eligibility criteria and timescales for introduction. We want to implement the new benefit, which will replace the Sure Start Maternity Grant, as soon as practically possible. We have been consulting stakeholders including users, potential users and interested groups and will continue to do so over the summer to gather views to inform decisions and the required legislation. We will also be taking forward the next steps in the delivery process, which will involve financial, legal and practical considerations.

Our intention is to create a Maternity and Early Years Allowance. For those eligible, a maternity payment will be made for the first child of £600. Maternity payments for second and subsequent children will be £300. Payments of £250 will be introduced for all children when they start nursery and again when they start school.