Lucy McTernan: Third sector has vital link with those the state wants to help

CHARITIES, social enterprises and voluntary organisations are more trusted than local authorities and the police. That's the message that ministers from across the UK and Ireland heard at yesterday's British-Irish Council meeting, held in Edinburgh.

The very fact that we at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations were invited to talk to ministers about the "third sector" shows that our sector isn't just trusted by the public, but by politicians too. Increasingly, we're relied upon by government to deliver high quality, efficient and effective public services and it's encouraging to see a growing recognition of our potential.

The statistics on how much we're trusted as a sector come from an Ipsos Mori poll that shows that the sector is more trusted than the police, local authorities, and perhaps not surprisingly banks. This backs up research from the Scottish Charity Regulator last year that put the voluntary sector second only to doctors in levels of public trust.

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So what is it that makes the third sector so highly trusted?

I think it's the connection we have with real people. From housing associations to social care providers and grant making trusts, through to international NGOs and social enterprises, right down to the grassroots residents' associations, the third sector is building the networks and relationships that create strong, resilient communities, based on mutuality and trust.

Whether it's giving young people the chance to find meaningful work, bringing isolated elderly people together, or supporting them to stay at home longer and out of soulless institutions, the third sector is making Scotland a better place to live.

There are about 45,000 voluntary organisations across Scotland, about half of which are registered charities.

The sector employs about 130,000 paid staff and involves roughly 1.3 million volunteers. Together, these organisations manage an income of 4.1 billion a year. That's more than the Scottish financial services industry at its peak and makes us bigger than agriculture, fishing and forestry put together.

And now government is beginning to realise just how much potential there is for the third sector to help tackle social problems.

We are going to have to work together to harness the ability of the third sector to reach real people, and crucially to involve those real people in the decisions and services that affect them. By their very essence voluntary organisations work with people, take a personalised approach, and seek to support people, not simply to deliver services unto them.

And working with people, we also provide a means of advocacy for them. The campaigning role of the sector is as critical as its role in support and services. We are the barometer of social need – Citizens Advice Bureaux across the country know well before government at any level what the impact of economics and policy is for individuals, families and communities. We know we have a responsibility to voice these experiences and call for change.

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Indeed there is a growing appetite for change among citizens across the country. A desire to get involved, to take control of their lives and make a meaningful contribution to their communities. With trust in politicians at a low ebb and a deep scepticism of the banks, it's time for us in the third sector to come into our own.

There's so much more we can do, from delivering high quality, efficient public services and involving the people who use them to campaigning for a fairer society.

What we need now is support from government – local and national – to realise our potential.

• Lucy McTernan is deputy chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations