June 2021 Audit Scotland

Public Services and Scotland’s Voluntary Sector during Covid-19

Posted on June 25, 2021June 25, 2021 by ascommsadmin

By Andrew Burns, Accounts Commission Member

Scotland’s Voluntary Sector is made up of an estimated 40,000 organisations, from grassroots community groups and village hall committees, to over 6,000 social enterprises. The sector has a combined annual turnover that reached a remarkable £6 billion in 2018.

Collectively, the Scottish Voluntary Sector employs over 100,000 paid staff. Yet nearly three quarters (72%) of Scottish voluntary organisations have no staff whatsoever and rely on volunteers. Social care and health organisations employ over half of all the paid staff in the sector.

Making climate change an audit priority

Posted on June 22, 2021 by ascommsadmin

By Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland

Tackling climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face – and public audit has a clear role to play.

Experts have warned that urgent and decisive action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonise how we live and work. We also need to minimise the harm climate change is already causing by investing in adaptations like flood prevention and coastal defenses.

Partnership working key to maximising skills investment

Posted on June 21, 2021June 21, 2021 by ascommsadmin

By Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland

A skilled workforce is vital to Scotland’s economic growth. Equipping people with relevant skills can help them to progress to more fulfilling, secure and well-paid work, which in turn has wider social benefits. Developing individuals’ skills can also help to increase their ability to carry out more advanced tasks, which has the potential to add more value to the economy and improve
national productivity. But the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on jobs creates the risk that differences between the skills people have and those employers need could widen.

The pandemic has made it more important than ever that Scotland’s skills system is operating effectively so that it works well for both employers and individuals. This includes people who have been the hardest hit economically by Covid-19, such as young people and low-paid workers. The Scottish Government recognises this and it has included skills and training in its Covid-19 economic recovery plans, which set out its ambition for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Month: June 2021