Funding of the Voluntary Sector

That the Parliament acknowledges the outstanding contribution made across Scotland by the third sector; recognises the importance of multi-year funding to the sector in order to allow it to maximise its contribution; notes the Joint Statement on the Relationship at Local Level between Government and the Third Sector, which states that "as a general rule funders will aim to take a three-year approach to both grant and contract funding"; is concerned by reports that this three-year approach does not happen as widely as it could; calls on local authorities, NHS boards and the wider public sector to take a three-year approach as a general rule, and further calls on the Scottish Government to encourage the application of the joint statement on the ground and to review how widely the three-year approach currently happens in practice.