Policy Briefing: Prevention, Health, and the Third Sector

Today we published a policy briefing exploring the vital role of the third sector in preventative health. This briefing reflects the insights and experiences shared by VHS members, and builds […]
VHS Responses: Pre-Budget Scrutiny

On Friday 14th August, we responded to the pre-budget scrutiny consultations for both the Finance and Public Administration Committee and the Public Service Reform Committee of the Scottish Parliament. These […]
VHS (IN)VISIBLE Report: Health, Sex and Gender Inequalities in Scotland

Our (IN)VISIBLE Report exploring the impact of sex and gender on health experiences and outcomes in Scotland has been published! This 48-page report pulls together evidence and insight from 50+ […]
Movement for Health Creation Open Letter to MSPs

Today Voluntary Health Scotland (VHS) sent an open letter, signed by 79 VHS members, to all new and returning MSPs elected last week. The letter calls on MSPs to prioritise […]
Blog: ‘Sticking Plasters’ vs Systemic Change: What are Scotland’s Party Manifestos saying about health creation?

It is less than three weeks until Scotland heads to the polls and all the main political parties have now published their manifestos. VHS Policy and Public Affairs Lead, Sarah […]
Key Messages: Prevention and Power Joint Hustings

VHS hosted a joint hustings event with The Health and Social Care Alliance (The ALLIANCE) on the 31st of March called 'Prevention and Power: Holyrood, Health and the Third Sector'. […]
VHS Response: Scottish Budget 2026-27 and Spending Review

There is a lot to be celebrated in the Scottish Government’s spending commitments detailed yesterday regarding prevention and health creation. However, the lack of explicit reference to the third sector […]
Joint Statement on Prevention: Putting the ‘hard-to-do’ parts of preventative policy into practice

Ahead of the Scottish Budget next week, VHS, The ALLIANCE, Scottish Community Development Centre and Edinburgh Community Health Forum have prepared a follow-up to last year’s joint statement on prevention […]
Sarah’s Blog: Will a shift to prevention heal Scotland’s third sector?

Our wonderful third sector is not in the best of health and, ahead of this year’s election, improving our sector’s life expectancy is a key priority. Fair Funding and formal […]
VHS Reflections on Audit Scotland ‘NHS in Scotland 2025’ Report

The Auditor General’s annual report looking at the finance and performance of Scotland’s NHS, published on the 4th December 2025, provides welcome insights into the current state of our health […]