Fairer Scotland

  • Creating a Fairer Scotland, the people’s conversation

    5th August 2015 by

    Danny Boyle (Parliamentary and Policy Officer – BEMIS Scotland). Scotland is changing. The public appetite for progressive, informed and collaborative development within issues which affect our everyday lives and those of future generations has showed little sign of abating since September 18th 2014. Social Justice is both personal and at the heart of our communal...

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  • Scotland providing international leadership on reducing inequality

    20th July 2015 by

    Nicola Sturgeon (First Minister of Scotland). In September, the UN’s General Assembly in New York will provide the backdrop for national governments to agree the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These new aims are part of a global approach to tackling poverty and inequality between now and 2030 and offer a vision of the world...

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  • Good Intentions Need Courage

    17th July 2015 by

    Mike Stevenson (Director, Thinktastic). If policy and good intent were enough Scotland’s streets will soon be paved with gold, but there are impediments to progress we have to sweep aside now. While I find great richness of talent and ideas in schools, neighbourhoods and workplaces these are usually whispered – not shouted. Then, if ideas...

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  • “Policy makers must ‘stand in the other persons’ shoes”

    14th July 2015 by

    Dave Simmers (CEO of Community Food Initiatives North East and Chairperson of the North East Scotland Credit Union). Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE) improves health and well-being, increases employability, addresses environmental concerns and creates employment for and with disadvantaged and vulnerable persons and communities. CFINE has effectively done this for the past 17 years...

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  • Connecting Communities and Older People: Social Capital as Critical Resource to Community Wellbeing

    6th July 2015 by

    By Claudia Fernández [Assist Social Capital CIC]. There is no question that that Scotland’s demographics have drastically changed during the last few decades with an ‘aging’ overall population. People are living longer and healthier lives whilst fewer children are born. This trend is putting growing pressure on the current system of health provision through the...

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  • Citizens directing spending on local services- the story of participatory budgeting in Manchester

    1st July 2015 by

    Decentralisation and giving communities more powers to tackle inequalities on their own terms could be one way to create a fairer Scotland. Through participatory budgeting (PB), people can direct money to the services and projects that matter to them. This week Community Empowerment Minister Marco Biagi visited PB projects in Durham and Manchester to find out how...

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  • A view from Scotland’s Independent Poverty Advisor

    29th June 2015 by

    By Naomi Eisenstadt [First Minister’s independent adviser on poverty and inequality]. I have now been Scotland’s official Independent Advisor (er?) on Poverty and Inequality for 4 days. My first request is a clear decision on how to spell advisor, as it keeps changing. But debates on spelling are unlikely to reduce the numbers of people in...

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  • What does a Fairer Scotland mean?

    26th June 2015 by

    By Lynn Williams [SCVO]. Last week saw the launch of a public conversation about making Scotland a fairer and more equal nation. The timing is incredibly right. The prospect of more children facing real poverty; the rise of in-work hardship and mixed (and hardening) social attitudes towards many of our fellow citizens, present some very...

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  • What do you want?

    22nd June 2015 by

    By Robin McAlpine [Director, Common Weal]. “What do you want?”. It can be the jovial offer of help from a cheerful shopkeeper or the terse suggestion that you should probably go away as uttered by a harassed parent or a deep, existential question about your hopes for the future asked by a friend in the...

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  • Creating a fairer Scotland: Get involved!

    17th June 2015 by

    By Alex Neil [Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities & Pensioners’ Rights]. Scotland is a great country to live in and in recent years the quality of life for everyone has improved. But there is still more we can do to make it an even better place to live. So this morning I visited the Kirkshaws Neighbourhood...

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