Scotland's Voluntary Sector in Faustian pact

For some time now, Scotland has looked at what is happening in England as a result of the Westminster government and indulged in much head-shaking and smug complacency that such things [NHS reform] would not happen here.  When the stench of fraud and duplicity surrounding A4E contracts with the Department for Work & Pensions became unbearable and the A4E founder, Emma Harrison, had to resign from being part of Team Cameron, the head-shaking was such it threatened to create an epidemic of whiplash across Scotland.


It is at times like this that the rationale for the separation of Scotland from the rest of the UK becomes wobbly.


I have followed the evolution of the reforms to the NHS in England.  I have joined up, via Twitter, with a body of decent people who are still trying to ensure the heart of the NHS remains beating.  Our Cabinet Secretary has confined herself to commenting that it is a good thing health is devolved.  Yes and No.


If the Coalition at Westminster is allowed to proceed unchallenged and companies like Virgin Health [yes, the bearded boy wonder] take over the delivery of more health services, government will look to reduce funding to what we call the NHS in England.  Having achieved that cut in spending, there can be no doubt that the block grant from Westminster to Scotland will also be cut to ensure that the spending on health across the UK remains in rough alignment, allowing for all the Barnett and other factors in the calculations.


I can't subscribe to the notion that people in England will just have to accept the dismantling of the NHS while Scotland keeps what it has.  That strikes me as parochial in the extreme.  To paraphrase Clarence Darrow when he declaimed  'You can only be free if I am free', I would claim 'my free health service can only be 'free' if it is 'free' for my neighbour'.


There is another area where our integrity in 'tut tutting' and head-shaking at the antics of Westminster is more than a tad compromised.


Many of you will know that Westminster has reformed the benefit support system with the simple aim of reducing spending.  Workfare is one of many programmes which aims to help government reduce spending on benefit support by £billions over the next 3 years.  Most people in Scotland seem to think this is yet another England-only tragedy.  Not so.

The voluntary sector has been persuaded to get into a
pact with the private sector companies who lead these
programmes and become collaborators in reducing
spending and removing benefit support.

Workfare is not only aimed at reducing spending.  In the process, the private sector - including such as A4E - can expect to make £millions in delivering programmes which bump people off the dole queue, into sham training or work preparation or experience placements, and until recently for young people, sometimes without any pay.  The private sector cannot do all of this on its own.  The voluntary sector has been persuaded to get into a pact with the private sector companies who lead these programmes and become collaborators in reducing spending and removing benefit support.


Don't just take my work for it.  With these links you too can access information mined with Freedom of Information tools.  You can find out the names of all companies and organisations involved via this link.  In Scotland, one of the companies leading the Workfare programmes is Ingeus.  Their collaborators from the voluntary sector include :

Access to Industry
Apex Scotland
CEiS Ayrshire
Forth Sector
Glasgow Regenerate
Inverclyde Community Development Trust
Momentum
The Lennox Partnership
The Shirlie Project
Third Sector Hebrides
WEA Scotland
Action for Blind People
LAMH Recycle Ltd
Phoenix Futures
Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH)
Scottish Mental Health Co-operative
Scottish Wildlife Trust
The Lennox Partnership
The Wise Group


Another programme leader is Working Links.  Their collaborators in Scotland's voluntary sector include :

Aberdeen Foyer
Apex Scotland
Barnardos
Building Bridges
CASS
DAPL ( Drug and Alcohol Project Ltd )
DISIP
Express Group
FASS ( Fife Alcohol Support Service )
FEAT ( Fife Employability Access Trust )
Fife Womens Aid
GeMap
General Physics
Gingerbread
Glasgow Womens Library
Grampian Society for the Blind
North West Resource Centre
One Parent Families Scotland
Paisley and Johnstone Training
Pathways Learning Centre
Penumbra
Perth and Kinross Council – Welfare Rights
PSYBT
PUSH
RAPA Volunteers
Renfrewshire Association for Mental Health
Rosies
SAMH ( Scottish Action on Mental Health )
Send It
The Coach-house Trust
The Scottish Community Services Agency
Third Sector Hebrides/Voluntary Action Training
Volunteer Centre
Volunteer Development Scotland ( VDS )
West Fife Community Drugs Team
West Highland College UHI
Workers Educational Association
Youth Connections

The voluntary sector can of course make money in this Faustian pact.  But at what cost to its future?