Members' Business — S6M-11864 Kate Forbes: The Economic Contribution of the Third Sector in Scotland

That the Parliament celebrates the third sector in Scotland, which includes charities, community and voluntary groups and other non-profit distributing organisations, including those in the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency; understands that the third sector primarily provides services that are important in reducing inequality and disadvantage, and in improving health, wellbeing and community cohesion; believes that there is an important relationship between the third sector, the private sector and the public sector; welcomes the publication of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) advice paper on 13 December 2023, titled The economic contribution of the third sector in Scotland, which identifies that the sector is "often overlooked as a source of wealth generation and seldom included in national or local growth strategies", leading to missed opportunities to enhance regional and national economies; considers that the RSE’s report highlights the substantive economic contribution of the sector, whilst identifying the barriers to a wider recognition of the third sector’s economic contribution; notes the belief that overcoming such barriers to the third sector's recognition in the Scottish Government's economic strategy is of increasing importance in the context of the financial and funding challenges currently facing the sector, and notes the RSE's call to stimulate debate on how these blocks might be overcome.