02/07/2012 Newsnight Scotland


02/07/2012

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can I have done things differently? What can we have done differently?

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On Newsnight Scotland, as the parliamentary inquiry into the

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latest banking inquiry -- scandal is announced, does it go far

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enough? And the changing role of charities,

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how the voluntary sector says it will pick up the slack left by

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public sector cuts. Politicians agree there should be

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an inquiry into the banking system, it is just what form that inquiry

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should take up their Robert Quick seeing eye to eye on. Today the

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finance secretary John Swinney added his calls for a full

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independent investigation as to who knew what and when in the rate

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rigging scandal. In a moment we will be speaking to Mr Swinney.

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Since the crisis in front -- 2008, public trust has been shattered in

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the banks. The bail-out of the Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and

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Lloyds TSB cost the taxpayer �36 billion. In exchange, the banks

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were supposed to clean up act. But there are still revelations coming

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thick and fast of a culture that has grown up. Barclays is that make

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-- latest bank been drawn into the scandal, with the manipulation of

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interest rates. We propose that. propose that Parliament do at --

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form an inquiry into banking industries. It will have a joint

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committee drawn from the Commons and the Lord, chaired by the chair

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of the Treasury Select Committee. He and his committee have been

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quicker off the mark in investigating the issue, and we

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want their hearings to proceed. Labour says politicians

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investigating bankers will not win the public background. The Treasury

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Select Committee tried this in 2009. Labour says only an independent

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inquiry overseen by a judge, like Lord Leveson is doing into the

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media, will do. We will vote for an independent and open public inquiry,

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not an inadequate and weak plant cobble together over the course of

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this morning. The independent inquiry is what our constituents

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want, and it is the only way to achieve a lasting consensus on

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reforms for the future. Speaking to Children's BBC, the Deputy Prime

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Minister said. Banks used to be the jewel in the crown of a country,

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and now they are a source of embarrassment and shame and people

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need to take responsibility for the things that went wrong because they

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went horribly wrong. As for the interest rate affair, the bankers

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may not get out of jail free at all. Barclays may have been fined �290

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million so far, lost their chairman and chief executive will appear

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before the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday, but a

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statement on the serious Fraud Office says the issues are complex

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and added it is considering whether it is both appropriate and possible

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to bring criminal prosecutions. For Scotland, the financial sector is

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hugely important. Today the finance secretary called for a full and

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immediate independent inquiry into a banking malpractice, and its

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impact on consumers and businesses. Unless the industry can regain

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public trust, who knows where all this will aimed?

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John Swinney, the finance secretary, is live in Dundee. To start with

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the inquiry, is that as for an independent as you would like?

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is a welcome step, but it is not nearly as much as is required in

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the current circumstances. I think what we have seen in the Leveson

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style inquiry is an ability without fear of favour to get to the nub of

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issues that have been concerning members of the public about their

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his relationships around the media and the collection with politics. -

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- connection with politics. What we need is the level of public concern,

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it has been very strong around the banking sector but it has reached a

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new height of the course of the last few days with the Barclay's

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issues and the interest-rate fixing. We must have a very full and

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independent public inquiry that can scrutinise all of the issues

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involved here. Politicians need to be in front of an independent

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enquiry answering for the failure that they exercised over the

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regulation of the banks in 2008 and other stages, and principal amongst

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those must be the former Chancellor Alistair Darling. That was a time

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when you and your colleagues in the SNP were calling for a light touch

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regulation, and criticising the UK government for gold plating. What

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we were calling for was appropriate regulation which guaranteed the

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solidity and security of the financial sector. What was not been

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delivered by the regulatory regime that has been presided over by

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Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown was precisely that. Which you make

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no criticism of prior to the banking crisis. What we find now is

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people have got to be held to account for the issues they were

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presiding over when they were in office, when they had access to

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information and briefings. As an opposition politician at the time,

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would you put your hands up and accept you got it wrong as well?

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Lots of people have lots to learn about the approach and relation to

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the much as services, but what is an important starting point is

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holding to an account people like Alastair Darling and Gordon Brown

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who presided over this fiasco of regulation in the financial

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services sector and did not deliver the protection that members of the

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public would expect. That is why an independent inquiry is essential to

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provide the necessary weight and scrutiny to get the bottom of bad

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vamp -- failure. Will the SNP MPs at Westminster join Labour in

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voting to block the parliamentary inquiry that is being proposed?

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approach taken by my colleagues in the House of Commons will be set

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out in the cause of the parliamentary scrutiny of these

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issues. You do not know whether they support the inquiry or not?

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What we have said clearly is we believe there should be at fault,

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public independent inquiry into the process. To begin the process of

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rebuilding public confidence... Would you like there to be

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prosecutions? There should be prosecutions if a criminal, if

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there is a basis for those prosecutions to take their course.

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We have made it quite clear in Scotland if there are any issues

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that the crown of is invested, that is what should be done. The same

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applies to the Serious Fraud Office, and any scrutiny that is required

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to establish if criminal acts have taken place, and there should be

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criminal prosecution, is an essential foundation of building

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public, since -- confidence in the regulatory system and rebuild

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confidence in the banking sector which has taken a shattering blow

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as a consequence of the last few days. The Serious Fraud Office is

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considering its position. Two you know if the economic crime office

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in the Crown Office for Fine Scottish police are looking at

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launching an inquiry? The Crown Office will explore any issues that

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have to be assessed, they will act independently of ministers,

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responsible to the lord advocate. It is appropriate that

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investigations are taken forward on that basis by the Crown Office.

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there any at the moment? I am certain that the Crown Office will

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be exploring any issues that are relevant to be explored in relation

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to the possibility that criminal conduct has been undertaken in this

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respect. That is an essential part of rebuilding public confidence in

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the banking sector which has been to a devastated by the events of

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the last few days. Do you agree with Nick Clegg that our banks,

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including Scottish based banks, that -- are a source of

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embarrassment and shame? We have got to be careful with the language

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that he has used. There have been significant mistakes made in the

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banking sector over the last number of years, many of those issues have

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been confronted in the course of the events, as 2008, particularly

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in relation to RBS and HBOS. The particular examples that have taken

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place in relation to Barclays and the interest rates Council of of a

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different order. -- the interest rate scandal are of a different

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order. These are not just mistakes that had been made, these are

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malicious and calculated act to try and deceive the market and deceive

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the public. With consequences for the public. If you are so concerned

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about... In those circumstances, those different -- issues are or a

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different order and must be treated differently. If you are so worried

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about these issues and the inability of the current system to

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properly regulate our banks, why are you and your colleagues in the

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SNP proposing to keep a UK-wide system of regulation if Scots vote

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for independence? We are not voting or ordering for the current state

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of play. What we are arguing for is an appropriate regulatory

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environment for the interests of Scotland, that is why we have

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established the Fiscal Commission which is led by some eminent

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economists and advisers to provide exactly the appropriate

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circumstances and regime of the regulation of the financial-

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services sector in Scotland. What we will do is take time in the cold

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light of day to explore what the best result for Scotland is. So it

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might be different from the rest of the UK? What the events of the lot

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today tell us quite clearly is we have got to get those regulatory

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regimes correct, in the interest of the people of Scotland, and that is

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what the Fiscal Commission in Scotstoun will do.

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Charities say they are facing growing pressure to fill the gap

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left by cuts in the public sector. Around three-quarters are reporting

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a rise in demand for the services while at the same time reporting a

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tougher struggle to -- get funding. We have been talking to one family

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and one fundraiser. You are cheeky! Two year-old Harry

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suffers from a severe form of epilepsy. The seizures can come at

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any time of the day or night. But Harry's parents can now sleep more

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easily thanks to a special sensor in Harry's bed. This is the centre,

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there are two of them which were placed under the mattress. If there

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is a certain amount of movement, an alarm alerts his parents.

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benefit because we are able to get a good night's sleep, and it is

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also beneficial to Harry because it detect a seizure, and the alarm

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goes off, we are able to get to him. If we did not have that, there are

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seizures that we do not catch which could be fatal. These sensors have

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given Harry's mum and dad peace of mind but they have not been paid

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for by the health-service, but by a charity. A charity which has raised

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millions. This is a photograph of Muir. Founder Ann Maxwell's Sun

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Muir has the same condition as Harry. We have some way towards �8

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million we have raced, I do not keep a running total amount every

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event adds more. We have funds from a variety of sources. Many

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charities are facing a twin challenge. It is getting harder to

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raise money while the demands for their services are rising. More

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than three-quarters of Third Sector organisations expect the demands

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placed on them to increase in the next 12 months, but nearly one 5th

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expects staff among them -- numbers to fall. The state of the economy

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has made fund-raising even more difficult. 62% of smaller charities

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saw their income drop between 2009 and 10, while 40% spend more than

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they received. Even Ann Maxwell has found fund-raising harder.

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probably work two or three times as hard to achieve the same as vote.

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The answer is to keep your head down, keep working hard, and keep

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your eye on the course. In Scotland we do not hear much about the Big

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Society but there is an ongoing debate about just what role

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charities and volunteers should play, complementing services funded

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by the taxpayer. For there has been an indication in writing from the

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Government that the NHS would like to step in and help us provide a

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lot, but the funding realistically is not available in the short-term.

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It would be my dream come true that we become redundant on this one.

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Ann Maxwell's story may be described as inspirational by some,

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and her work has helped many children like Harry. But the

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charity -- the problems facing many charities are intense.

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Her Martin Sime is the chief executive of the Scottish Council

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for Voluntary Organisations, the National body for Scotland

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charities. Is part of the problem that charities have become too

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large to an extent and delivery arm of the state? There is all kinds of

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different wishes between charities and government and local government

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and the health staff -- service. All sorts of relationships.

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Charities add value in a number of different ways, sometimes they get

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100% funded for that and sometimes they get no funding whatsoever.

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There are many points in between. As your film showed, there are many

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brilliant project and great ideas that charities are doing and most

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charities are struggling at the moment. Is at least some of that

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work, can it be considered as the icing of the cake, the sort of

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service that we can afford in good times, or is it all essential?

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depends who you are and the issues that motivate you. The great thing

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about today's voluntary sector is it is done so many different things

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in different ways. It is motivated by people who want to make a

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difference to the society, there chimp -- their community, and to

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individuals so there are people doing fantastic work. Some of it

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receives support from the state and some of it receives support from

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the public. We need as much support as we can get right now because

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more people are turning to charities for help. Across the

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sector, how hard is it getting? is getting really hard. Just this

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year we have got to 60% increase in people seeking funding advice from

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us, but there is very little new money around. It is getting very

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competitive. Charities are struggling because there are more

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people needing help from charities, more unemployment and homelessness,

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more debt, our society is in trouble here because the economy is

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