Author: VAS

Has your group got what it takes to be an Epic Award winner?

The UK and Republic of Ireland’s premier award for amateur cultural groups is now open for nominations.

About the Epic Awards . . .

The Epic Awards recognise and reward excellence and innovation in the amateur cultural sector, and over 65,000 voluntary arts groups are eligible to enter.

A winner and runner-up is chosen from England, Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, plus a special ‘People’s Choice Award’ voted for by the public.

Groups can nominate themselves online at www.epicawards.co.uk

Closing date for nominations – 12 January 2017

What the judges are looking for . . .

Creative groups that are doing something exciting and interesting. They could have embarked on a particularly ambitious project over the past year, formed an interesting collaboration or made a difference to the lives of others in their community.

Epic stands for Engagement, Partnership, Innovation and Creativity – and projects should demonstrate one or more of these four qualities.

What the Epic Awards celebrate

From creative writing to making music, from amateur theatre to yarn-bombing, over 65,000 amateur arts groups across the UK and Republic of Ireland make a huge difference in their local areas.

There is growing recognition in the media and public policy of the importance of creative participation, and the Epic Awards shine a spotlight on the incredible achievements of groups who provide these opportunities week in, week out.

What do groups win?

A range of prizes from financial support to advice, partnership and performance opportunities. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, groups who are shortlisted for or win an Epic Award have found it led to new partnerships and collaborations, extra coverage in local and national media, and increased acknowledgement from politicians and funders.

Previous Epic Award winners in Scotland include: a Paisley drumming group that aided mental health recovery; a craft group on the Isle of Barra that reached out to international craftmakers: a multi-arts festival in Braemar that encouraged cultural participation; an art and craft trail in Kircudbright; and a drama group in Aberdeenshire that involved the whole community in a refugee-themed alternative nativity show.

Who runs the Epic Awards?

Voluntary Arts, the development agency for creative cultural participation, which works across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Robin Simpson, CEO of Voluntary Arts, said “The incredible range of diverse projects we discover each year through the Epic Awards is truly inspiring. We’ve been consistently amazed by the imaginative, adventurous and ambitious creative activity that is taking place in every community across the UK and Ireland.

“Groups of all sizes, working in all sorts of areas have been shortlisted in the past so the opportunity is there for any creative group that feels they fit the bill. We’re looking forward to seeing what projects wow our judging panels this year.”

Previous Scotland winner quotes:

“It was something we were really proud of and something that put us on the map.  We were also very honoured to be chosen from the group of projects, and it gave our committee the confidence to say yes, we can do something really good here.” Sarah MacLean Barra Bunting

“It feels like our group is taken more seriously after winning the Epic Award. The sense of pride, achievement and recognition was tangible and something that lasts to this day.” Jane Bentley, The Buddy Beat

Author: Neil McShannon

Letter published in TFN

Dear Editor,

I note that Theresa Shearer concludes an article about Enable Scotland’s inability to successfully negotiate with the 32 Local Authorities by implying that this is somehow the fault of smaller voluntary sector social care organisations.

Small local organisations are more accountable to and more inclusive off their communities, they are better able to offer person centred, asset based solutions to individuals and communities and they tend to be more flexible and innovative at finding solutions to the practical challenges they face.  

Of course we have all experienced smaller organisations that suffer from big egos, over competitiveness, incompetence and downright dishonesty. We have also all witnessed these traits in the public sector and larger vol orgs, with the difference that in a small organisation scenario the amount of damage that rogue individuals and boards can cause is mercifully limited.

Larger national third sector organisations have increasingly become accountable to standards, practices, values and centralising tendencies that reflect the needs of their public sector partners and paymasters rather than the communities and individuals they serve. A national discussion about how to care for and support the disadvantaged and vulnerable in our communities is unquestionably required, I would suggest that this conversation begins with local authorities and national organisations showing more appreciation and humility in their relationship with the local organisations that represent true community engagement and empowerment.

Yours

Niall McShannon

Clydesdale Community Initiatives

Author: Fernanda Balata

The four things that need to happen to revitalise the UK coastline and 20 priorities to revitalise our coastal communities

ONCE THE SOURCE OF PROSPERITY FOR MANY COASTAL COMMUNITIES, THE UK’S SEAS ARE NOW SOMETIMES PERCEIVED AS A BARRIER TO THEIR ECONOMIC PROGRESS. OUR COASTAL COMMUNITIES ARE OFTEN THE MOST DISADVANTAGED AND DISTANT FROM PUBLIC DECISION-MAKING, WITH MANY PEOPLE FEELING LEFT BEHIND.

Somewhere, Britain lost something very important: our belief in the sea as a source of prosperity. It is our task to get it back. Turning back to the sea means getting more people excited about what our coast has to offer and growing a new generation of innovative coastal and marine businesses. The Blue New Deal is a plan to put people in control so they can shape local priorities, value their greatest asset, and revitalise the UK coast.

Fishing communities continue to lose jobs and revenue, as fishing rights accumulate in the hands of a few unaccountable companies. Many coastal areas find it hard to retain young people and recruit teachers, as they lack the appropriate physical and digital connectivity. Without the necessary support, communities and businesses are struggling to make the most of the coast’s abundant potential for cleaner energy. And without the appropriate resources, local authorities are discouraged from innovating in more sustainable ways to protect homes and businesses from climate change.

“BUT PEOPLE ON THE COAST ARE EAGER TO TAKE CONTROL. THEY WANT TO BE IN THE DRIVING SEAT, LEADING A NEW APPROACH TO REGENERATING THEIR AREAS.”

And already the coast is dotted with great ideas and projects – from sustainable shellfish farming projects in Wales and the south west of England, to a world-leading hub for marine renewable energy in Orkney.

Our challenge now is to build on those ideas and help them grow to become opportunities for fundamental, wide-scale change.

A Blue New Deal for coastal communities has to begin by asking how communities can be supported to make the most of their unique assets, now and for future generations.

In practice, that means asking:

How can we empower coastal communities to become centres for a renewable energy revolution?

How can we support coastal destinations in attracting visitors year round?

How can we ensure small fishing boats become and remain economically viable?

How can coastal communities tackle the impact of second-home ownership on the local housing market, or benefit from inward investment without leaving local people priced out of their communities?

And having asked the questions – speaking with and learning from hundreds of people up and down the country – we can now offer real answers that will help people on the coast take control of what affects their lives, today and in the future.

Some of what needs to happen would broadly apply anywhere, and benefit any community in the country – like developing new sources of finance for local businesses. Others are unique to the specific challenges and assets that coastal communities have – like adapting to coastal erosion or innovative marine leisure businesses.

A healthier coastal and marine environment plays a key role in delivering many of the things that coastal communities need and want.

There are four things that need to happen to revitalise the UK coast, and they must work together to deliver its potential.

Local people need to be in control, leading a new approach to regeneration.

Coastal communities need to work together to explore how different areas of the coastal economy – including tourism, energy, fisheries, and aquaculture – can help inspire and support each other, to turn again to the sea for jobs and economic prosperity.

More needs to be done to support coastal areas to plan for a changing coast. Proactive and innovative approaches are needed to help make the UK coast more resilient to climate change.

Government must build the capabilities of places, people, and communities; support projects, small or large; and ensure there is the digital and transport infrastructure that communities need to thrive.

There has never been a more urgent need for communities to come together and lead the change themselves. The Brexit vote was a wake-up call: communities left behind by our economy and ignored by our politics are demanding to be heard. In the face of growing inequality, political and financial instability, and increasingly urgent threats to the natural environment we depend on, we all want to see a new economy that benefits areas of the country whose potential is not being fulfilled.

“THE ACTION PLAN THAT FOLLOWS IS JUST THE BEGINNING. MAKING IT ALL HAPPEN WILL REQUIRE WORKING AT DIFFERENT LEVELS: COMMUNITIES, NATIONAL AND DEVOLVED GOVERNMENTS, AND BUSINESS AND INVESTORS.”

For investors, there is huge potential for supporting the new businesses and innovative projects that are needed.

For governments, the Blue New Deal offers the building blocks for a coastal industrial strategy, which could play a key role in helping to rebalance our economy and begin to close the gaps between the UK’s marginalised and well-off regions and communities.

The New Economics Foundation will continue to work with coastal communities from all regions of the UK, to help them reinvent and take control of their local economies, and to speak with a louder voice in government and parliament.

Author: Kirsteen Paterson

FEELING part of a group is more important than individual relationships in protecting a person’s quality of life, researchers claim.

Psychologists from Dundee University found the more social groups a person identifies with, the “healthier” their life is.

A study of 2,000 Scots aged 18-95 found the results crossed age and gender barriers.

The results suggest group memberships are a more reliable indicator of healthy behaviours than education, age and other demographic variables.

Professor Fabio Sani said: “We believe our results show group identification will generally enhance one’s sense of meaning in life, thereby leading one to take more care of oneself.”

The team listed three types of social group, including family, community and a group of the participant’s choice, such as sport or hobby, and assessed whether they identified with each.

Those who felt part of the most groups were least likely to smoke and drink heavily and more likely to exercise and eat healthily. Participants with a weaker sense of belonging were more likely to regard themselves as depressed.

Sani said: “Too often health psychologists emphasise interpersonal interactions but ignore that these interactions tend to take place within groups, and that it is the feelings one has toward the group that determine the quality of interactions.

“No matter people’s level of education, their age or gender, it is your subjective sense of connectedness with fellow in-group members that matters most.”

The findings are published in two papers in the British Journal of Health Psychology and the academic periodical Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

Prof Sani said: “Group identification increases one’s sense of responsibility toward other in-group members, enhancing one’s motivation to be healthy in order to fulfil those responsibilities.

“We found that people who did not identify with any social group were almost 30 times more likely to be above the cut-off point for clinical depression than people who strongly identified with three groups.

“Group identification is not equivalent to mere interaction with other group members, and our argument is that it is group identification, rather than interaction per se, that impacts upon health behaviour. What matters is the extent to which you identify with group members, the degree to which you invest psychologically in the group.”

Author: Scottish Government

ESF Tackling Poverty and Social Inclusion – click here

Author: Hamish Macdonell , The Times

SNP ministers are planning a major assault on Scotland’s town halls, forcing councils to relinquish power over crucial areas of public life.

Under the confidential proposals, which are being discussed at the highest levels of government, neighbouring local authorities would have to merge some services. Councils would also have to devolve other functions down to local areas and hand over other roles to central government.

Bin collections could be handled by individual towns and responsibility for all roads could be handed to Transport Scotland.

The plans are being kept under wraps until after next year’s local authority elections, after which ministers hope there will be more SNP-run councils around the country, a political shift that could make the changes easier to implement.

The Times understands that ministers will legislate if necessary to force local authorities to accept the changes, aware that they are likely to face resistance from councils already reeling from a series of bruising battles with the government.

This fresh attack on local government represents the third front in what has become an all-out war between the Sturgeon administration and Scotland’s local authorities.

The SNP government has already announced plans to take power from local education authorities and hand it directly to schools and to head teachers.

Nicola Sturgeon announced in her main party conference speech this year that she would strip councils of the power to allocate childcare provision and instead give parents the right to decide when and where their children were looked after.

This third tranche of reforms could lead to a cull of some of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, but insiders stressed that this was not the aim of the reform package. A senior government source said: “Ever since devolution in 1999, the issue of local government has not been dealt with. We created an extra tier of government but we didn’t reform the existing layer of government which was already there.”

He added: “This is about power, not about boundaries. It is about where power lies and where it is best exercised, not about lines on a map.”

Under the Scottish government’s plans councils would be compelled to find ways of merging services and functions with other local authorities.

If savings can be made by merging the human resources departments of two neighbouring authorities, they will be expected to do that. The same will be expected in education, tourism and a number of other areas where good practice can be shared and money saved.

At the same time, councils will be expected to devolve power down to the lowest level possible. If bin collections can be handled at a town rather than a regional level, then councils will be required to make arrangements for that to happen.

Ministers are also understood to be looking at all the services that councils provide and might strip local authorities of responsibility for certain sectors such as roads if they feel these areas could be handled better centrally by a Scotland-wide body such as Transport Scotland.

The Scottish government wants to wait until the reforms to education and health have progressed sufficiently before ministers open up this new assault on local government. This would also leave time for the council elections next year to take place.

The source said: “There is no point embarking on this until we know the make-up of Scotland’s councils. We can’t plan our tactics on this until we know that.”

The council elections are due to take place in May next year and, with the SNP predicted to win more seats and more councils at Labour’s expense, this could pave the way for the council reform package that Ms Sturgeon wants to see.

A spokesman for the Scottish government confirmed that plans were being drawn up. “In this parliament we will introduce a bill that will refresh local democracy by giving more power to local communities,” he said. “We will review the roles and responsibilities of local authorities with an aim to transform our democratic landscape, protect and renew public services and refresh the relationship between citizens, communities and councils.”

David O’Neill, president of Cosla, the local government umbrella body, described the Scottish government plans as disappointing.

He agreed that reform was needed but said: “It is vitally important that this is done across the whole of the public sector and not simply one strand of it. We are all too aware that a proposed reorganisation of solely local government would not address the issues we are facing and would be costly and distracting.”

Local authority numbers

1,222 councillors in Scotland.

£16,893 is the part-time salary paid to each councillor in Scotland.

32 councils in Scotland.

600,000 people are resident in the council area of the City of Glasgow, the largest authority by population in Scotland.

20,000 people live in Orkney, the smallest council by population.

503,233 first preference were votes received by the SNP at the 2012 Scottish council elections.

There are four lord provosts in Scotland. Most councils have a provost or convener but Scotland’s biggest cities, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, all have a lord provost.

Changing the system

From 1890 to 1975 Scotland had county councils, with various parish and town councils below them.

Parish councils lost their powers in 1929, leading to the creation of district councils.

After 1975, Scotland was divided into a few large, regional authorities and smaller, district authorities.

The two-tier system was abolished in 1996 and Scotland got unitary authorities instead.

The creation of the Scottish parliament in 1999 brought calls to reform the system once again.

In 2007 the single transferable vote was introduced for council elections, but no administration has reduced the number of councils or restricted the functions of Scotland’s local authorities.

Author: RSA/JRF

2016 has been a year of seismic shift. In a year already punctuated by global economic crisis, conflict and human loss, political uncertainty, austerity and Brexit, the golden confetti dust is begin to settle on the US Presidential election, and the world is now adjusting to the reality of President-elect Trump.

The results of both the US election and the UK ‘Brexit’ referendum earlier this year have prompted extensive public debate, and have raised searching questions around representation, electoral mechanisms and democratic processes. Both results have been driven by, and also met with, frustration and disillusionment with the limitations of established systems and structures, from which vast numbers of people are currently disengaged and excluded. As we scrutinise those limitations and seek change, as the first wave of ‘Metro Mayor’ candidates set out their visions for city-regions ahead of election in May 2017, and as post-referendum Brexit deliberations give rise to speculation around a snap general election, there is a collective recognition of the pressing need for openness, inclusion and participation in whatever comes next.

This is the real-time and potent context for the launch of ‘Citizens and Inclusive Growth’, a new programme from the RSA Action and Research Centre, in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

 ‘Citizens and Inclusive Growth’ will interrogate what citizenship means and how it is manifest. It will examine international and UK citizen engagement methods, mechanisms and systemic infrastructure to identify and evidence what works, and to draw out and understand the reasons at the core of what doesn’t.

People are the starting point for ‘Citizens and Inclusive Growth’. The nature of ‘top down’ policy-making and governance structures means that people can often be a secondary consideration; passive players in strategies and decision-making processes orchestrated at impervious height and distance. It is when ill thought through consultations attempt to “engage” people that “Have your say!” tokenism abounds. This project seeks to go beyond the existing layers of exclusion, consultation and engagement to explore a fourth model of civic participation: Citizenship 4.0.

But before we judge, we must also accept that research can be guilty of following a similar path, engaging people only as subjects to be analysed. The implications of this growing disconnect have been keenly felt in the general failure of pollsters to predict recent voting patterns with any degree of accuracy in the US and UK elections and in the EU Referendum, and furthermore in the limitations of established analytical methods and metrics to offer any further insight or meaningful understanding after the fact.

‘Citizens and Inclusive Growth’ is a ‘live’ and dynamic piece of participatory research. It is designed to grow iteratively and deliberatively. Its dynamism relies on your participation.

We ask that you — as a citizen — contribute your thoughts on the key research questions (set out at the end of this blog post), respond to those questions as they develop during the course of the research, share your experiences of citizenship and citizen engagement, help to identify places, projects and approaches for further investigation, put forward your ideas, submit material of interest, get involved with the ‘Citizens and Inclusive Growth’ discussions on social media, join the debate on key issues, contribute in person to our city-based workshops, interact with our team, assist us in the evaluation and analysis of new evidence as it emerges, and help us to understand your cities, and your experiences.

The thinking behind ‘Citizens and Inclusive Growth’ builds on the ‘inclusive growth’ agenda, which has gained particular momentum in recent months, bolstered by a growing global focus on cities and, in the UK, by devolution. As urbanisation casts major cities as the engines of economic growth, the gap between rich and poor continues to widen. The emphasis on agglomeration, and the focus in the UK on city-centres and in the US on the ‘downtown core’ has arguably contributed to increased inequality and exclusion beyond those focal points. Inclusive growth is predicated on addressing that paradox by integrating social and economic policy to achieve shared goals, and creating much broader, ‘people-shaped’ parameters for growth and economic development.

The paradigm of ‘place’ is also resonant with this project, and has itself recently gained prominence globally, being at the heart of the United Nations’ UNHABITAT agenda, and in the UK, in line with devolution. In offering a new locally-driven model of governance, devolution brings the potential for cities to pursue distinctive ‘place-based’ strategies which respond not only to local assets, but also challenges and needs.

The stark reality remains that there are currently 13.5 million people living in poverty in the UK. The need for change; the need to seek the voice of marginalised and disadvantaged people in decision-making processes is of undeniable and acute local, national and global relevance.

________________________________________

Call for evidence

In this, the first — and open — call for evidence, we are particularly interested in contributions which respond to any or all of three key themes and their underpinning questions:

Inclusion

•             What does inclusion mean to you?

•             What are the barriers to inclusion in your city?

•             How does your city support inclusion?

•             How can we ensure that this project is inclusive? Specifically, what can we do to ensure people experiencing poverty, homelessness or social isolation can participate in this project, as citizens?

Innovation

•             What does innovation mean to you?

•             How does your city support and stimulate innovation? Is there anything ‘place-based’, distinctive or characteristic of the city in its approach?

•             Who do you think leads and/or owns innovation in your city?

•             What is innovative about your city’s approach to citizen engagement?

Impact

•             How do you engage with your city as a citizen?

•             Are citizens engaged in decision making processes in your city? In what way, and how is that measured, evaluated and reported?

•             What do you perceive as the main benefits and opportunities for citizenship and/or economic inclusion in your city?

•             And the main dis-benefits, challenges and threats?

Example projects

We are keen to find local, national and global examples of projects and good practice in supporting inclusion, innovation or impact in citizen engagement, which might include collaboration tools such as participatory budgeting, citizens’ juries or forums, and online methods such as crowdsourced polling, sentiment analysis and opinion mining.

Case studies

The project will include a pilot series of intensive place-based case studies, working with selected UK cities and city-regions. We welcome your ideas, nominations, inside knowledge, connections, pointers, introductions and contributions.

Share your thoughts in the comments section below or via citizensengage@rsa.org.uk

Author: Lucy Pasha-Robinson, The Independent Online

Scotland could trial giving each citizen a universal basic income.

Development of radical scheme, which would see welfare benefits including child and tax credits replaced with universal flat-rate payment, due to be tested in Fife

There has been a number of discussions between the Scottish Basic Income Network and Fife Council with a view to implement the trial in the region Getty

Scotland could roll out a universal basic income pilot after a trial won huge backing from anti-poverty campaigners.

Development of the scheme, due to be tested in Fife, will be discussed on Friday by councillors, civil servants and members of the Scottish Basic Income Network, and would see welfare benefits including child and tax credits replaced with a universal flat-rate payment.

Any income earned above the payment is then taxed with a single flat rate or progressively.

 “This is an exciting opportunity for Scotland to look at something quite radical and put the country at the forefront of work in a policy which is getting growing levels of support across Europe,” Jamie Cooke, head of the Royal Society of Arts Scotland, which has carried out research on the scheme, told The National.

He said there had been a number of ongoing discussions between the Scottish Basic Income Network and Fife Council with a view to implement the trial. 

A pilot is currently running in Holland, while Finland is to launch one next year, and officials involved are now said to be looking into Scotland as the next place to test the new approach. 

“We want to draw up a plan we can give to councillors about how we see the pilot going and why we want to do it in Fife,” said Paul Vaughan, head of community and corporate development at Fife Council.

“We will use Friday’s meeting as a stepping stone to discuss seeking co-operation with the UK and Scottish Governments and the various departments that would need to be involved.

“The view of the Scottish Government is that they have some of the authority, but not all of it, to push the pilot forward.”

Supporters of the universal basic income believe it could assist in creating a fairer welfare system that is easier to decipher.

Many hope it will also give people who find themselves out of work a safety net, allowing them to have an income while caring for relatives or while retraining for a new career.

They also believe the Government could make substantial savings in administration costs.

In June, the Labour party was reportedly backing the idea of a universal basic income and confirmed it would be looking at the idea closely over the next years.

However, in September, the Conservative party ruled out the possibility of bringing in any such scheme, arguing it was too expensive and ineffective.

“Even the most modest of universal basic income systems would necessitate higher taxes. At the same time it would cause a significant decrease in the motivation to work amongst citizens with unforeseen consequences for the national economy,” department for work and pensions minister Damian Hinds told a Westminster Hall debate on the issue.

“While at first glance a UBI might appear desirable, any practical implementation will invariably be unaffordable. Because it doesn’t take into account individual needs properly, it will markedly increase inequality.”

The Government has stood by its decision to implement the controversial universal credit system, the brainchild of former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith.

However, its rollout has been delayed again as the new Cabinet attempts to avoid “slip-ups”.

The welfare reform programme, which rolls six benefit payments into one has now been delayed until March 2022, new Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green has said.

A poll reported by The Independent in May found that two thirds of the British public look favourably on the idea of a universal basic income. Previous polling has shown a more mixed picture, however.

Castle Community Bank was formed from the merger of Castle Credit Union, North Edinburgh Credit Union and Water of Leith Credit Union.

The new bank said it will provide people within the EH postcode catchment area with savings and loan products, “similar to ‘high street’ institutions, but with the emphasis firmly on sustainable banking and a truly ethical approach which puts ‘people before profit’”.

The bank is fully owned by its members and will operate as a not-for-profit, and any surplus funds being used to fund community projects around Edinburgh.

Castle Community Bank said while financial cooperatives have traditionally provided financial support to those unable to access high street banking facilities, it is also attracting interest from young professionals and others looking to bank with an ethical financial institution.

Reverend Iain May, Minister of South Leith Parish Church in Edinburgh and former marketing manager with RBS and head of planning and strategy with Allied Irish Bank Group, helped set up the new bank.

He said: “Whilst we are different in structure to a traditional High Street bank, we adhere to the same robust regulatory requirements and independent scrutiny aimed at protecting our customer’s interests.

“Castle Community Bank has taken well over a year to launch, because of the systems we had to adopt.

“Our core principle is to ensure that the vulnerable in our communities do not have to get caught up in a debt spiral or turn to payday lenders to make ends meet.

“Equally, our market research indicated that people across the city would welcome a bank with a strong ethical policy, one that took corporate social responsibility to its heart within every facet of its operation and, importantly, ensures that 100 per cent of all profits were re-invested into the community at all times.

“On that basis, Castle Community Bank is a bank for all.”

The bank said its customer base is already in four figures and is active across savings and loans.

Castle Community Bank said its Capital Access Ratio is 17 per cent compared with the three per cent regulatory minimum and like other banks is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

The bank currently has two ‘walk in’ branches in Niddrie and Wardieburn, and also offers 24/7 online banking.

Reverend May said: “People want a community lender based in their community.

“I am absolutely certain that as we grow and the word spreads and people see the very competitive interest rates we offer, many will make the decision that some or all of their money should be in our community bank, rather than a large multinational which may be based in Frankfurt, London or Shanghai.

“It will make sense to a lot of people that investment in their own community bank gives something back to the very people they live amongst.”

Author: CoHD

Commission wants your views on local democracy in the Highlands

The Commission on Highland Democracy has today published its Call for Evidence, and wants the public’s views on local democracy in the Highlands.

The Call for Evidence states:

“The Highland Council, like every other Council in Scotland, makes daily decisions about everything from home care to bin collections and from building schools to cutting grass. But are they making these decisions in the right way for you or might you be making them instead?

“We believe that people’s lives are better when they have more control over decisions which affect them. We want your views about what happens now, and what the future of democracy in the Highlands might be. 

The job of the Commission on Highland Democracy is to find out how local people want to be involved in decisions and services that directly affect their lives and their communities. We believe we should not even start our work without asking local people what you think of this issue and how we should move forward. We hope your answers will direct our work and tell us what problems, if any, you want to get sorted.”

Members of the public are being invited to view the Call for Evidence on the Commission’s website and to complete a short survey online, or join the discussion at Highland Dialogue

Comments can also be emailed to: Commission@highland.gov.uk, or sent by post to: Commission on Highland Democracy, Policy Team, Highland Council HQ, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness IV3 5NX.

The 8 questions in the Call for Evidence are designed to help people say the things they want to say and to allow the Commission to easily spot and interpret any common themes provided in the answers received. There is scope however, in the Call for Evidence for people to say something quite different and a promise is provided that every response will be taken into account as the Commission moves forward.