Author: Simon Bain, The Herald

The Social Stock Exchange, offering investment with a social impact, is to cross the Border and open in Glasgow.

Launched as part of the Big Society Capital initiative three years ago, the SSE now has 35 member companies worth over £2billion, who raised some £400m last year on the exchange.

Mike McCudden, who has joined SSE from Interactive Investor to open the first Scottish office, said he hopes to recruit up to 30 company members over the next year or so.

Companies have to pass stringent checks on the social and environment impact of their business, and investors can buy and sell their shares as on any exchange. It is part of the ISDX platform, accessible from the most popular share brokers and trading platforms.

McCudden said: “There used to be regional stock exchanges throughout the UK, in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen. The Glasgow stock exchange closed in the late seventies, and we are bringing it back.”

But this time around only local companies making a distinct and measurable contribution to regional well-being – in areas such as social housing, clean energy and charitable projects funded by bonds – will be listed.

“Since the financial crisis there has been a realisation that capital markets aren’t working the way they should for local investors,” McCudden said. “Local businesses can’t go to a local exchange any more and find local investors to support them, that is something that has disappeared.”

The SSE’s first regional branch opened recently for Liverpool & The Wirral, and Scotland is close behind.

McCudden said: “It is not crowdfunding. We offer an actual exchange and an underlying price. It is a secondary market so if you are an investor you can sell your shares at a live price, unlike crowdfunding where you have to find a buyer.”

McCudden said it is a movement for the young. “Right now your typical retail investor in these stocks is slightly older and slightly more savvy and sophisticated. But the market is changing. Statistics show that millennials for instance want to know where their money is being invested and are taking more care about the impact of their investments. There will be a broader demographic in future.”

He went on: “Glasgow is where we want to be based. There’s a lack of quality housing stock, one in five children in poverty, a life expectancy of 57 in the Gallowgate. Scotland also has aggressive carbon reduction targets and is always trying to be ahead of the curve, leading the world in renewables. We want to bring some positive impact not only to Glasgow but to Scotland.”

McCudden has been sounding out potential partners such as Social Enterprise Scotland, umbrella group for Scotland’s social enterprises, the Scottish Community Re:Investment Trust, which pools the collective resources of the Scottish third sector, and Community Shares Scotland, which says almost 100,000 people have invested over £100m to support 350 community businesses in the UK in the past seven years.

“The feedback has been fantastic, “ McCudden said. “They really welcome somebody who brings a different flavour to the investment side and raises the profile of what we are all trying to do.”

The main exchange has seen fundraisings of anything from £30m to £300m. Glasgow’s is likely to attract small firms who want to raise their profile and gain endorsement for their model, along with charities or local authorities seeking support for social bond issues – debt could make up around a quarter of capital raising, McCudden said.

He also hopes to get the message out to the chambers of commerce and other business groups. “In the current economic climate it’s difficult for companies to go out there and do capital-raising. By bringing this to the market we can help them case their net wider and attract a bigger audience who care about their mission and their business.”

Gavin Francis, founder of Worthstone the UK’s leading social impact investing consultants, commented: “Intelligent capital is already being drawn to social investment opportunities. The early adopters have been purposeful, entrepreneurial and community-minded individuals and Scotland has demonstrated a pioneering spirit in much of this progressive development.

“We welcome this launch as a further step towards building a thriving market where social capital can be deployed effectively and meet the compelling objective of the majority of investors to generate a defined and measurable social impact as well as a positive economic return.”

At government level, the UK is currently seeking EU approval for the raising of social investment tax relief from £250,000 to £15m, in a move that Francis has said could channel investment into “a myriad of potential enterprises tackling some of the most hard-to-reach problems in the country”.

Author: Planning Democracy

Last week community campaigners from across Scotland gathered in Edinburgh, urging MSPs to challenge the Government’s approach to planning reform. Many community groups say their views have been ignored in a recent high-level review of the Scottish planning system. The community network spearheaded byPlanning Democracy is now urging the Scottish Government to involve community groups in deliberations as well as rethink its position on Equal Rights of Appeal.

Planning campaigners backing the calls are meeting and represent the interests of communities from across Scotland including Ayrshire, Aberdeenshire and the Highlands and Islands. The campaigners have all challenged planning issues in their areas, relating to fracking, an incinerator proposal and developments on greenfield sites. They are urging the Scottish Government to engage them directly in newly-established working groups and consider more deeply the case for Equal Rights of Appeal.

A Government-appointed review panel recently dismissed the calls to reform the planning appeals process, but analysis by Planning Democracy reveals that the majority of the respondents who expressed a view on Equal Rights of Appeal, supported the reform measure. Despite this, the review panel reporting to the Scottish Government sought to close the door on it, by giving disproportionate weight to developer concerns, who are fearful of the policy’s implications.

The campaigners argue that an Equal Right of Appeal is an approach widely adopted in other countries to check corporate influence and help ensure that communities are not side-lined during the planning process. An equal right of appeal would give communities the option to challenge bad planning decisions, but as the law stands, only developers who make an application have a right to challenge the substance of a planning decision. Communities can only challenge local authorities on a technicality in a costly process known as Judicial Review.

Community network coordinator Daya Feldwick said: “There is still a groundswell of discontent about the planning system and commitments to more ‘community engagement’ – as welcome as they are – are not enough. A good way to start this would be for the Scottish Government to invite community representatives onto the working groups to learn first-hand how Scotland’s planning system can be improved.”

Planning Democracy convenor Clare Symonds said: “The history of Scotland is littered with examples of planning injustice: Trump’s development at Menie estate, Craighouse – many of which have only been exposed and challenged by the efforts of local communities. Sadly Scotland’s villages, town centres and cities are now saddled with bad planning decisions, which go against the wishes of local people who have to live with the consequences, often for generations to come. Equal Rights of Appeal would help to address this.  We urge the relevant Committees in the Scottish Parliament to consider commissioning a comprehensive cost benefit analysis on the introduction of an Equal Right of Appeal in Scotland.”

Author: David Ross, The Herald

PLANS for what would be the largest community buyout yet in Scotland, are at an early stage. But if 120,000 acres can be secured by local people of Lochaber and Laggan it would write a highly significant page in the Highland story, possibly Scotland’s.

The land is owned by multi-national Rio Tinto and is around its aluminium smelter in the shadow of Ben Nevis. It has two large hydroelectric schemes (one at Kinochleven) which power the smelter.

The company is reviewing its Scottish assets and the fight is on to keep the smelter working.

The founding of the East Lochaber and Laggan Community Trust (ELLCT) is crucial. It has a good chairman. John Hutchison, when Lochaber area manager of Highland Council, made Olympian efforts help the community buyout of Knoydart and before that the island of Eigg.

The thinking is that the trust could act along with others who have the expertise operate the smelter and hydropower assets, allowing the community to derive the benefit and income from owning the land. The hydros in particular could attract commercial interest.

The trust, a not for profit company, was formed to benefit the community council areas of Laggan; Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry; Inverlochy and Torlundy; Caol; Kilmallie; Fort William; Nether Lochaber, Glencoe and Glen Etive and Kinlochleven.

The biggest buyout to date was the 93,000 acres the people of South Uist acquired in December 2006 at a cost of £4.5 million.

With around 600,000 acres already secured, the 120,000 acres would put the Scottish Government well on its way to its target of one million acres of community-owned land by 2020.

It would also herald the greatest number of potential stakeholders as it includes Fort William, the second largest settlement in the Highlands behind Inverness. In the 2011 census it had 10,459 residents.

Anyone aged 16 or over, in the defined community area and on the electoral register can become an ordinary member of the trust.Those living outwith that area can become associate members. Those aged from 12 to 15 can become junior members. That’s a lot of community involvement.

One of the trust’s aims is to urban and rural regeneration. So Scotland’s urban communities within our cities, could learn a lesson about taking control of their local assets.

This is important as this year is the first time community organisations in urban areas are eligible to apply to the Scottish Land Fund for backing. This aligns the fund with the Community Empowerment Act which extends the Community Right to Buy to the whole of Scotland.

The Scottish Government has committed £10 million to the fund for 2016-17, more than trebling previous annual funding. But just how much would be needed to buy Rio Tinto’s assets is unclear.

Some creative government thinking may be required to keep the 150 smelter jobs, which support similar figure indirectly. But that should be a priority anyway. Meanwhile, helping the locals get the land could prove a transformational catalyst for community ownership across Scotland, and worth supporting.

Author: Kirsty MacColl

What matters most to the islands?

The Scottish Islands Federation (SIF) is pulling together a report on the challenges and opportunities that matter most to Scotland’s island communities and needs as many groups as possible to take part in its survey ‘Meeting the Challenges – Scotland’s Island Communities’.

There are 95 inhabited islands in Scotland and while they share a number of intrinsic challenges many are becoming pioneers in sustainable development.  SIF is a network of island community organisations, working on behalf of the islands, highlighting the challenges and sharing and promoting the innovations.  A recent contribution from the Scottish Government has given SIF’s capacity a welcome boost and comes at an important and exciting time for island development as the Islands Bill progresses.

SIF’s Chair, Camille Dressler, who is based on Eigg said ‘there are lots of issues that hinder island communities but we also have many unique strengths to harness if the support and capacity is there.  With the survey we really want to capture the current thinking from island communities themselves about the main issues and how they have responded or could respond to them.  There is such opportunity to work together across the islands and what we gather will help us highlight the things that matter and will form the foundation of the network moving forward’.

The survey will only take a few minutes and you can find the link on the SIF website Facebook

The bountiful sea – the story of Wester Ross Marine Protected Area

To view this short film – click here

Author: David Russel, Spice

It’s not only banks or governments that have the power to create money. The rise of currencies such as the Brixton and Bristol Pounds, or Bitcoin, show us this. The aim is always to connect different kinds of supply – products or services – with unmet needs.

Our currency, called Spice Time Credits, is based on time. For every hour a person gives to a service or organisation they earn one printed time credit. They can then spend that on an equivalent hour’s activity in that organisation or at participating voluntary sector partners, private businesses or leisure centres. We count local theatres and large venues such as Blackpool Tower and the Millennium Centre in Cardiff among our spend network of over 700 venues.

We have printed almost half a million time credits across our 33 projects in England and Wales. Spice Time Credits have been used by over 25,000 people and over 1,500 organisations – and the currency is growing fast.

Our research has shown how this alternative currency, used by councils, the NHS and the voluntary sector, is having a significant impact on improving the quality of people’s lives, increasing social connections and helping to tackle inequality. It’s also helping organisations build capacity and be more efficient and sustainable.

In our latest piece of research, called Positive Change in Challenging Times: How Spice Time Credits are creating system change, we show how time credits are changing the face of public services and communities, putting communities in control and re-orientating how services are planned and delivered.

Working with independent evaluators Apteligen, surveying over 1,000 volunteers and organisations, we’ve learned that:

•           77% said that time credits have had a positive impact on their lives

•           66% said they know more about local support and services available to them

•           60% feel healthier since earning time credits

•           30% report needing to see the doctor less

•           58% have said their level of social contact has increased as a result of time credits

•           43% are new to regularly giving time

Time credits help us to value everyone’s contribution and rekindle people’s confidence in their agency and power. This is at the heart of our approach. We seek to tackle inequality, promote empowered communities and renewed citizenship based on public services and people working hand in hand.

In our report Geoff Mulgan, chief executive of Nesta, talks about how many of society’s social ills have their roots in a ‘kind of unnecessary uselessness, because people come to internalise the idea that the system’s implicit message is that they have nothing valuable to offer’.

Geoff’s words also echo those of Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, in its Five Year Forward View, which talks about harnessing the ‘renewable energy’ of patients and communities. We cannot continue to treat people as passive, but rather need to work alongside people and explore their assets and potential, not only to support themselves but also to become confident enablers within their wider networks and communities.

Every hour earned and spent with time credits becomes an expression of people’s desire to improve their community and make a better life for themselves and those they care about. The model gives individuals agency and in our experience they grab it with gusto.

As one lady in Cambridgeshire told us: ‘It’s for my self-belief. And it’s a role model for my kids. I don’t want my kids to think that “oh mommy just sits at home all day”. I don’t feel that’s a good role model for them.’

This is true renewable energy.

Author: Scottish Government

Communities Channel Scotland is pleased to host the Social Impact Pledge, a Scottish Government initiative aimed at increasing the social impact of public sector organisations across Scotland.

The Social Impact Pledge asks public sector organisations across Scotland to commit to increasing their social impact by making a public commitment to changing three aspects of their current operations or policies. This should be three things that they are not doing currently and haven’t done before. A range of public sector organisations have already made pledges, including Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Social Services Council and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The Communities Channel website contains more info on the Social Impact Pledge. The site shows all the pledges made so far in full and also contains a map displaying the locations in Scotland that should directly benefit from these pledges.

The Scottish Government and Communities Channel Scotland hope to see a growing number of communities benefiting from Social Impact Pledges and would be interested to hear people’s experiences of, and thoughts about, the initiative. For instance, maybe there’s a public sector organisation that you would like to see make a pledge, or maybe you’d just like to find out more about exisiting pledges. The Social Life section has some ideas and tells you who to contact.

Find out more here

Author: Our Land

The countdown has begun. Our Land Festival 2016 will be the next great staging point in Scotland’s land reform movement and will reinforce the campaign’s call for bolder and braver legislation than that passed in Holyrood earlier this year. The festival will kick off as before on the “Glorious Twelfth of August” – intentionally clashing with the start of the grouse shooting season. The special preview event will be in Birnam Arts Centre on 7th August

Events initiated and carried out by grassroots organisers across Scotland (detailed in the programme below) will highlight both urban and rural land issues in a huge variety of ways. All events will be free or donation based to help cover costs and everyone is welcome to attend.

Author: SRP

Click here to register to attend

Anyone who lives or works in rural Scotland, or who makes decisions which affect rural Scotland, can attend the Rural Parliament.

“I learned new things, was exposed to new ideas about eliciting information and commitment from people and I enjoyed the buzz that was created at the event and being part of it.”

The event starts with visits to local projects on the Thursday morning, and ends on Friday evening with all of those present agreeing a Manifesto for rural Scotland – a statement of our collective ambitions and needs – followed by a great dinner and entertainment that evening.

The Saturday is open to participants in the Rural Parliament as well as members of the public. There will be a fantastic range of exhibitors, fringe events – which anyone can host, more visits to local projects and an interesting discussion panel. Anyone can book onto one or more of the Saturday events.

“The Rural Parliament has the feel of something with enormous potential. It could become a brilliant opportunity to translate community empowerment into action.”

We do have limited places for the Rural Parliament and so we are asking people to register their interest in attending. We will ensure a good mix of people from the different regions of Scotland and a wide variety of interests and backgrounds are represented. We will confirm places at the event from those who have registered their interest in attending on an ongoing basis and ask you to book visits, workshops and meals etc in due course.

Author: Cairngorm National Park

Cairngorm National Park have got 9 Big Issues to ask you about.

Click here to see them and respond