Policy blog

Feel you don’t have a say in important decisions? Do you despair at Trump, or flinch at the oncoming car-crash of Brexit, but don’t know what to do? Well why not join a local meet-up group and get involved in Open Government? If you haven't heard of it, Open Government is a... Read more

When a cross-party group of MEPs warned Home Secretary Amber Rudd that the UK Government's plans to force EU nationals to add their names to a register in the transition period immediately after Brexit would be illegal, you do continue to wonder at the UK Government's appalling... Read more

I recently attended the Corra Foundation’s conference on funding (Corra being the relaunched Lloyds TSB Foundation and a large funder here in Scotland). The day – entitled ‘Change convention: a space to explore how to create positive change in uncertain times’ – kicked off with... Read more

Yesterday saw the start of Challenge Poverty Week, an annual campaign designed to raise awareness of anti-poverty work in Scotland. Bringing together a whole host of campaigners, community activists and people with lived experience, Challenge Poverty Week 2017 is not to be missed... Read more

On September 25th 2015, Scotland, along with 192 other countries, adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Upon looking at the set of goals, two that struck me the most were the goals... Read more

On this day in 2015, 193 UN member states gathered in New York to sign up to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It’s the closest the world has come to a global strategy for tackling poverty, inequalities and climate change, and the SDGs have quickly become one of the world... Read more

I think it’s fair to say that this is one of the most interesting times I have lived through in terms of an ever changing political landscape. It feels to me that, since the independence referendum, we haven’t known from one week to the next how policy might suddenly shift and... Read more

Do the First Minister’s announcements mark a truly radical change in approach and will actions match the warm rhetoric? With MSPs back from the summer recess, the First Minister outlined her Programme for Government for the year ahead. The programme was trailed as the Scottish... Read more

Like many colleagues across the sector, last week I finalised SCVO’s response to the Social Security Committee on the Social Security (Scotland) Bill (hurray!). In our response, as is echoed across the third sector, SCVO welcomed the Scottish Government’s aspirations to foster a... Read more

With Brexit negotiations between the UK Government and Europe leaders now underway, Scotland’s charities and voluntary organisations now face the daunting task of ensuring Brexit has the least negative impact possible on Scotland’s communities. Our sector has expressed grave... Read more

My role consists of promoting not just one but two multilateral agendas here in Scotland – the Sustainable Development Goals and the Open Government Partnership. It’s some test, but one of the most exciting challenges I’ve faced. In being a member of the Open Government... Read more

Report out today calls for changes to non-domestic rates. Earlier today, the Barclay Review of Business Rates released the report of their findings and recommendations. This concludes the long process of evidence sessions, written submissions and Parliamentary scrutiny as the... Read more

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” – Winston Churchill After 14 months of wearying speculation and intrigue, Brexit is about to get very real. Soon, the phony war will end and we will begin to see a... Read more

Whilst our MSPs have been enjoying their recess, it’s been a typically busy Summer for our sector. Top of the agenda for many will have been the draft Scottish Social Security Bill – and so it should be. This bill covers a wide range of benefits and, with the proposed new agency... Read more

With UK Government or Tory party policy – take your pick, depending on your perspective – disarray on Brexit negotiations on display once again last week, it's almost easy to look upon it as a great political spectator sport. If it only wasn't so serious. Liam Fox, the... Read more

We’re all busy. Busy working on projects, policies and campaigns in the hope that they’ll make a big impact to our organisations. I’m no different, busy promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to third sector organisations across Scotland. The question you’re probably... Read more

Reducing inequality, ending poverty and providing good quality education - no one argued that these weren’t the correct goals to aim for, but translating the Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) into a Scottish context with clear actions and outcomes which are inclusive and... Read more

A day of solidarity and unity with refugees around the world The charity sector loves awareness days. We attach so much significance to them it’s easy to lose perspective and imagine everyone outside our bubble is as enthusiastic about our work as we are. So I asked some friends... Read more

It’s Carers Week time again, and there have been plenty of events and activities taking place all across Scotland raising awareness of what carers do and how they can be supported. The theme of Carers Week is 'carer-friendly communities' - highlighting that it’s everyone’s... Read more

Like many working in public affairs, I’m guilty of trotting out lots of statistics to support my organisation’s policy objectives and calls to action. There are 759,000 unpaid carers in Scotland, and on top of that there are the hidden carers that we can’t measure through the... Read more

How to solve a problem like social care? You will no doubt have noticed that the ‘social care crisis’ in England and Wales is playing out across our print and TV media. This coverage focuses primarily on declining finances and staff shortages. However, we must remember that it is... Read more

Given the significant rise of working households experiencing poverty, the performance of the labour market can no longer be adequately represented merely by counting the number of people in work. Working with the UWS-Oxfam Partnership and Warwick Institute for Employment... Read more

Social justice. It’s a phrase that has been around since the Scottish Parliament was founded back in 1999. Numerous initiatives, reports and task forces have surfaced over the years to tackle problem. Yet still we find it riding high on the political agenda. When Nicola Sturgeon... Read more

Context Scotland’s First Minister has outlined her ambition for a socially just Scotland. This is to be founded on three key priorities – participation, prosperity and fairness. In practice we understand this to mean ending poverty, tackling inequalities, repositioning our... Read more

I’m sure I’m not alone in looking back and thinking that the skills I’ve learned since leaving school have been as important if not even more so than what I learned before. I have to admit to one exception: learning to touch type has saved me countless hours of pecking at the... Read more