Knoydart’s Past

In 1983 Philip Rhodes, a Surrey businessman, bought the estate and set up the holding company Knoydart Peninsula Ltd. He then began selling large and small packages of land around the periphery of the peninsula, reducing the size of the estate from 58,000 to 18,000 acres. This process was regarded by many as asset stripping but at least it provided opportunities for new blood and shared ownership. Several of the businesses which now exist, the range of holiday homes and the diverse nature of the community stem from Rhodes’ time.

The remaining estate was sold to failing Dundee jute company, Titaghur, for £1.7m in 1993.

Chairman Reg Brearley, a member of the General Synod of the Church of England and owner of Sheffield United, said he wanted to turn the estate into a training camp for underprivileged teenagers but was refused planning permission.

Neighbouring laird Cameron Mackintosh, the West End impresario who spent much of his childhood near Mallaig, was part of a consortium which made an £800,000 bid in 1995, but it was rejected.

In 1998, Knoydart Peninsula Ltd’s mounting debts left the estate workers without salaries. Another English businessman, Graham Avery, took control before passing it on to an associate, Stephen Hinchcliffe, a man who, in November 1998, was described by a High Court judge as “unfit to be involved with the management of a company”.

Control of Knoydart Peninsula Ltd was assumed by the receivers in October 1998.

Attempts were then made to draw up a long-term lease whereby the Foundation would rent the estate from the Mackintosh Foundation. In spite of the best efforts of all concerned the lease option failed in January 1999. It was swiftly followed by successful negotiation between the receivers, the Bank of Scotland and the Foundation partners. The estate was purchased for £750,000.

Several organisations and individuals made significant contributions towards the purchase, namely : the John Muir Trust (£250,000), the Chris Brasher Trust (£200,000), Sir Cameron Macintosh’s Foundation matched the Government’s contribution (through Highlands and Islands Enterprise) of £75,000, Scottish Natural Heritage (£50,000). An anonymous donor gave £100,000. The initial deposit and working capital were provided by the community’s public appeal.

The purchase marked the end of fifteen years of unstable and uncertain ‘mortgaged ownership’ and hopefully will help to put an end to the practice of buying Scottish estates out of vanity or to make a quick profit. What is needed is a long term commitment to the well being of the area and its people and natural heritage. This the Knoydart Foundation aims to provide.

Knoydart’s Present

The Peninsula is now divided into several ownerships. As well as the Knoydart Estate, land is owned by The John Muir Trust, The Kilchoan Estate, Camusrory Estate, Inverguserain Farm and the Rubha Ruadh Estate and numerous smaller estates. The only indigenous people in Knoydart are the fourteen children born here but the community is strong, diverse and very committed to the area. The population including children is on the increase. The community has become very resilient. Residents are determined to halt the decline and instability that has been the cause of so many people having to leave.

The management of the Knoydart Estate is now overseen by the Knoydart Foundation Board. The Board is responsible for lease or rent of all residential and commercial properties, Estate maintenance and restoration, and conservation/heritage management projects. The Board’s policies are implemented by the Development Manager and by three related organisations.

These are:

o Knoydart Trading Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Knoydart Foundation limited by shares) which has responsibility for trading activities from the letting of certain Foundation properties, including the hostel, and from stalking lets.

o Knoydart Hydro Ltd (a wholly owned subsiduary of Knoydart Foundation limited by shares) which has responsibility for the lease, management and operation of primary (hydro electric) and secondary (diesel generator) supplies and for revenue earning from electricity sales.

o Knoydart Land Management Group is a consultative group with wide representation from the Foundation members. This group aims to make recommendations to the Board about the management of the natural resources of Knoydart and to act on behalf of the Foundation as requested.

o The Knoydart Forest Trust is a separate and complementary charitable organisation. Company No: SC194055, Charity No: SCO29274. It has a formal management agreement with the Foundation to manage and develop woodland. It is wholly administered by the community and works in partnership with the Foundation and other local landowners to deliver sustainable woodland management and economic development for the benefit of all. The Trust has already begun to implement its woodland plan which brings into management the neglected Inverie woods and will expand and enhance the outlying native woodland on the peninsula.

By May 2000 the Foundation and Forest Trust had produced Business Plans for their respective areas of responsibility and the Land Management Group had produced a Natural Heritage Management Plan. (Copies of these are available for reference in the Foundation Display Office in Inverie Village).

Local residents are office bearers in all these organisations and there is close liaison with the Knoydart Community Association. In these ways decisions taken by the Board invariably reflect the majority view of residents.

Thirty years ago Youth Work aspired to a special relationship with young people. It wanted to meet young women and men on their terms. It claimed to be ‘on their side’. Three decades later Youth Work is close to abandoning this distinctive commitment. Today it accepts the State’s terms. It sides with the State’s agenda. Perhaps we exaggerate, but a profound change has taken place.

This shift has not happened overnight. Back in the 1980’s the Thatcherite effort via the Manpower Services Commission to shift the focus of Youth Work from social education to social and life skills was resisted. In the early 90’s attempts to impose a national curriculum on the diverse elements of the Youth Service ground to a halt. However with the accession of New Labour the drive to impose an instrumental framework on Youth Work gathered increasing momentum. With Blair and Brown at the helm youth workers and managers have been coerced and cajoled into embracing the very antithesis of the Youth Work process: predictable and prescribed outcomes. Possessing no vision of a world beyond the present New Labour has been obsessed with the micro-management of problematic, often demonised youth. Yearning for a generation stamped with the State’s seal of approval the government has transformed Youth Work into an agency of behavioural modification. It wishes to confine to the scrapbook of history the idea that Youth Work is volatile and voluntary, creative and collective – an association and conversation without guarantees.

For many within the work this has been a painful period. For many there has seemed to be no alternative to making the best of a bad job. But History is an unruly character. In the space of only a few months everything has been turned upside down. Capitalism is revealed yet again as a system of crisis: ‘all that is solid melts into air’. Society is shocked into waking from ‘the deep slumber of decided opinion’. The arrogant confidence of those embracing the so-called ‘new managerialism’, which has so afflicted Youth Work, is severely dented. Against this tumultuous background alternatives across the board are being sought. We believe this is a moment to be seized.

Our contention is that we need to reaffirm our belief in an emancipatory and democratic Youth Work, whose cornerstones are:

• The sanctity of the voluntary principle; the freedom for young people to enter into and withdraw from Youth Work as they so wish.
• A commitment to conversations with young people which start from their concerns and within which both youth worker and young person are educated.
• The importance of association, of fostering supportive relationships, of encouraging the development of autonomous groups and ‘the sharing of a common life’.
• A commitment to a democratic practice, in which every effort is made to ensure that young people play the fullest part in making decisions about anything affecting them.
• The continuing necessity of recognising that young people are not an heterogeneous group and that issues of class, gender, race, sexuality and disability remain central.
• The essential significance of the youth worker themselves, whose outlook, integrity and autonomy is at the heart of fashioning a serious yet humorous, improvisatory yet rehearsed educational practice with young people.

Such a definition is at odds with much that passes for Youth Work today. But, as we have suggested, this is the time to challenge anew the new managerial attempt to make Youth Work the servant of the Market. To give some examples, we need to question:

• The shift from locally negotiated plans to centrally-defined targets and indicators.
• The growing emphasis on identifying the potentially deviant or dysfunctional young person as the centre of Youth Work’s attention.
• The increasing incorporation of youth workers into the surveillance of young people, perceived as a threat to social order.
• The insidious way in which delivering accredited outcomes, even if only on paper, has formalised and thus undermined the importance of relationships in the work.
• The distorting effect of identifying individuals as suitable and urgent cases for treatment and intervention, ‘to be worked on rather than worked with’.
• The changing role of the youth worker, from being a social educator to a social entrepreneur, submitting plan after bid after plan, selling both themselves and young people in the market-place.
• And finally, but not exhaustively, the delicate issue of to what extent professionalisation, hand in hand with bureaucratisation, has assisted the suffocating grip of rules and regulations upon the work and played a part in the exclusion of the volunteer, once the lifeblood of the old Youth Service [see Jeffs and Smith 2008: 277-283].

Of course it is easy to spout rhetoric on paper. Doing something solid with this analysis is another matter altogether. This is especially the case, given the very different settings occupied by youth workers today. Without doubt the space to duck and dive, to argue and criticise, varies enormously. Yet this very diversity lends weight to the proposal we would like to make, which is quite simply that we must come together to clarify what is going on in all its manifestations; to understand better how we can support each other in challenging the dire legacy of these neo-liberal years.

If we possess the wit and energy to do so, we will not be alone. Organised, dissident resistance is growing. Adult Education, devastated in the name of vocationalism, is reviving at the grass roots. The Social Work Action Network opposes managerialism and marketisation, the stigmatisation of service users . Closer to home the Federation of Detached Youth Work describes its members as neither social entrepreneurs nor social spies, but democratic educators. The National Coalition for Independent Action campaigns to reassert the autonomy of voluntary groups. The Youth Work unions are having to counter savage attacks, as in Coventry, upon young people’s provision and workers’ conditions. All such opposition offer the chance to ‘join up services’ under our own steam, under our control, on our and young people’s terms.

If you sympathise with and support the position set out in this Open Letter, we ask you to join with us and sign up to its intent. In doing so, you are not agreeing to some party line. There is so much to think through together. However, in doing so, you are lending your voice to what might be a radical revival of a form of Youth Work that wishes to play its part in the creation of a just, equal and democratic society.

Criticisms welcome, but if you feel able to put your signature to this Open Overture, please inform Tony Taylor mailto:tonymtaylor@gmail.com

Reference

Jeffs, A and Smith, M. [2008] ‘Valuing Youth Work’, Youth &Policy, 100:277-302.

A full copy of the Scottish Community Empowerment Action Plan can be downloaded from

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/03/20155113/0

Author: New Economics Foundation

New coalition launches Post Bank campaign

As the Government struggles to get to grips with the financial crisis, a comprehensive proposal for a new ‘Post Bank’ to run as part of the Post Office Network is launched today (Tuesday 17 March) by a new coalition of trade unions, a business organisation, pensioner and pressure groups and charities.

The proposal for the Post Bank will be formally launched at a Parliamentary reception hosted by Jon Cruddas MP this afternoon, with cross-party speakers including Pat McFadden, Minister for Employment and Post Offices, Vince Cable, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

The model for a Post Bank proposed by the coalition would:

* provide more financial services to people and businesses currently not served by high street lenders.

* strengthen the role of post offices and the Post Office Network making it more viable, creating new job opportunities, and securing its role for the future,

* ensure a stable source of finance in the heart of communities, particularly for the three million people still not using banks and the many small businesses looking for alternative sources of finance,

* link the productive economy with finance through a return to the form of relationship banking abandoned by our biggest banks

The Post Office and its network of 11,500 branches (almost twice the number of the major high street banks combined) is a unique national resource which communities, businesses and individuals around the UK depend on. The Post Bank coalition believes there is a unique opportunity to answer both concerns around secure and equitable finance and the future of the post office network by setting up a Post Bank.

Evidence from the coalition members demonstrates the clear need for a local banking infrastructure through a Post Bank:

* Around three million people are still denied access to basic finance in the UK, including the most disadvantaged, pensioners and those in very remote rural areas.

* The dynamic small businesses that pound for pound create more jobs than big business, are experiencing an increase in the cost of new credit through the high street banks and many are looking for alternative sources of finance to help them through the recession

* 38 per cent of small firms would consider banking with a Post Bank built on the Post Office Network.

The Post Bank which would be established with Government funding, supported for example by the issue of local bonds, would offer a variety of finance services through post office branches and online would address these key concerns. Instead of using Government money to service existing bad debt, the Post Bank would provide stable finance where it is needed most, in the heart of our local economies.

The Government must now seize this opportunity and build on the foundations of the Post Office network to create a Post Bank that works for the people and businesses of the UK.

Quotations:

Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: The Post Bank is the right proposal at the right time politically and industrially. It answers the needs of the financially excluded and will appeal to many in this time of economic uncertainty. The Post bank will be a true People¡¦s Bank meeting the needs of society and business alike and will bring crucial security to the post office network. The government must move swiftly to endorse this timely proposal.¡¨

John Wright, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses said:Small businesses are completely reliant on the Post Office network with 80 per cent passing their letters and parcels through the Post Office and 47 per cent visiting a post office a couple of times each week. Most Sub Post Offices are run like small businesses, and keeping the network alive by establishing Post Bank would not only retain jobs but could also, we estimate, create 11,000 new jobs.

Lindsay Mackie, campaign co-ordinator at nef (the new economics foundation) said: The Post Bank Coalition proves that the idea of a trusted, fair and accessible bank based on the valued Post Office network has wide support across British society. We think that our proposal is an example of the radical re-thinking of our financial institutions that the Government should be working on urgently. In fact, the failure to do so would leave local communities, local economies and the thousands of small businesses that are the lifeblood of UK plc, very vulnerable¡¨

Paul Reuter, Unite national officer, said: “Unite welcomes the valuable work of the Post Bank Coalition. There is clearly an appetite for a banking network that would reverse the trend of exclusion of local communities and improve services to small businesses, whilst at the same time supporting and maintaining the Post Office network. The experience of other established Post Banks in Europe are successful examples. The Post Bank – at the People’s Post Office offers an opportunity for social inclusion, security and innovation in the banking sector which Government must endorse.”

Frank Cooper, President, National Pensioners Convention, said: “The Post Office network provides an everyday lifeline to millions of older people, many of whom rely on the services it offers and its valued place in local communities. Recently pensioners have lost faith in the financial sector and the launch of a new People’s Bank at the Post Office will offer some much needed security to those who feel their money is currently under threat.”

Tim Helweg-Larson, Director, Public Interest Research Centre said: The Post Office has long provided the public with a face-to-face means of investing their money securely, in Government-backed pension funds and bonds. It also offers the perfect means of leveraging investment for a new, renewable and sustainable energy infrastructure at this critical time. PIRC fully supports the goals of the Post Bank Coalition, which will be essential in providing local communities and small businesses with the financial security they so urgently require.”

Chairs and Chief Executives of Councils for Voluntary Service
Chairs and Chief Executives of Volunteers Centres
Chairs of Local Social Economy Partnerships
Chairs and Managers of Community Planning Partnerships

cc. CoSLA
SOLACE
SCVO
VDS
BIG Lottery Fund
OSCR
Evaluation Support Scotland

2 February 2009

Dear Colleague

THE NEW THIRD SECTOR INTERFACES

1. I wrote on 21 October to the Chairs and Chief Executives of Volunteer Centres (VCs) and Council of Voluntary Services (CVSs) and chairs of Local Social Economy Partnerships (LSEPs) setting out what we saw as the main components for the infrastructure that we would support in future. (letter headed: The Funding of the Volunteer Centres and Councils for Voluntary Service 2008-2011).

2. This letter contains information about further developments:

Progress
Timetable
Direct Funding
Research
Monitoring and Evaluation
Technical Issues
Social enterprise partnerships

Progress

3. Much of the last few months has been spent discussing the overall proposition for third sector interfaces which we now judge has broad acceptance across Scotland. We now enter a phase where we start to examine the practical issues which need to be considered.

4. There is considerable interest across Scotland, especially from those planning interfaces, in how matters are being progressed. Some of the interest is in looking at the models now emerging; some is in building relationships with other parties and some is in understanding how your stakeholders might engage with the process. We would like to suggest that you produce a short report on the state of play in your area. Such a report should have the support of both the third sector partners in the proposed interface and of the CPP. We would make these reports available on the Scottish Government website so that they are accessible by a wide audience. May we ask that you prepare short, simple reports and return them to me by 18 February?

Timetable

5. Although we have made clear that funding of the existing networks will end in March 2011, most people recognise that there is considerable benefit to third sector interests and the development of the single outcome agreements by community planning partnerships if the changes in prospect are made at the earliest opportunity. We suggest that it would be helpful to adopt the following milestones:

End March 2009: set out, as far as possible, the basic model of the interface to be set up in your area. Clearly, in many areas little detail can be given as discussions will have some way to go but stakeholders would find it helpful to have some idea of how you hope to progress the work. This may be the report referred to above although you may not yet be at a stage where the CPP has been involved.

March 2010: put in place the new arrangements to operate, at the very least, in pilot form for the year 2010-11.

April 2011: new funding arrangements come into operation. In advance of the next Spending Review, we have no information whatsoever on the likely level of that funding.

This timetable is not a formal requirement by the Scottish Government, merely a suggestion that these stages would be part of a reasonable process of transition.

Functions

6. In considering the form of your new interface, you should be clear that it is for the CPP and the interface to agree the arrangements together. The Scottish Government will not be the arbiter on responsibilities nor distribution of funds; these will be matters for partnership agreement with the CPP. However, while the interface is to be developed very much locally, to meet local needs and arrangements, our funding will require that the interfaces meet a minimum set of functions, likely to be:

• Support to voluntary organisations operating in the area, both local and those national organisations that deliver services at the local level
• Support to and promotion of volunteering
• Support and development of social enterprise
• Connection between the CPP and the third sector

In practice, this should be no different to the existing range of functions delivered under the “Thrive and Connect” plan for CsVS, and the current work of VCs and LSEPs, but with a stronger focus on the single outcome agreement as the key document for the CPP area.

Direct Funding

7. A number of areas already have third sector arrangements which are fully endorsed by their community planning partnerships as fully meeting the best ambitions for the third sector. In most cases (but not exclusively) these are areas where the third sector intermediary functions are delivered by a single body. As little or no change is in prospect in these areas, we would be willing to consider applications for direct funding by the Third Sector Division here (rather than via SCVO or VDS) and this funding would run from April this year. This would be in the nature of a pilot project, enabling partners to identify what might need to be considered elsewhere.

8. To do this, new grant letters would have to be issued to the interface body and a parallel reduction be made in the funds passed to SCVO and VDS for distribution. No reduction would be made in the grants awarded to SCVO and VDS for managing the relevant networks and providing associated services. SCVO and VDS will continue to offer their full range of services to interfaces that move to direct funding.

9. The main criterion for awarding direct funding would be evidence that the CPP recognised the interface as the primary conduit to and from the third sector. This could be an exchange of letters, a memorandum of agreement or similar to establish an equally-balanced agreement between partners. The grant awarded would be identical to the total sum already made available to the area via SCVO and VDS. Funding post-March 2011 would, of course, be dependent on the Spending Review and decisions of Ministers; of course, no guarantee can be given on future funding.

10. Please contact me if you would like to discuss the timing of moves to direct funding.

Research

11. The process of change got underway in West Lothian well before even our original announcement as the VC and CVS jointly reviewed, with the CPP, how best to serve their communities. West Lothian Council and the Scottish Government have jointly funded a small research project to help the third sector in that area identify options. In the Scottish Government, we were interested to watch the process and to be able to use the work to assist others, identifying issues to be considered and the process of securing agreement. I should emphasise that the Scottish Government does not formally endorse the work done in West Lothian nor the very clear conclusions reached – not because we have any doubts but because this should be a matter for local decision. The final report on this work is attached and further copies may be downloaded from:
http://www.avanteconsulting.co.uk/gallery/

Reporting

12. Formally, the interface would be accountable only to its board or other accountable structure. This means that the existing monitoring arrangements managed by SCVO and VDS would come to an end with the move to direct funding. While we could institute something similar, given that government funds are being used, we would be grateful for comment on two proposals:

Peer Review: we think that interfaces would find it helpful if their business were reviewed by their peers, perhaps one or two interfaces might review the performance against the business plan.

Turning the Tables: the contribution made by the interface to the delivery of the SOA might be suitable for using the Turning the Tables approach proposed by New Philanthropy Capital and discussed at the 2007 Funders Forum Conference
(see: http://www.philanthropycapital.org/download/default.aspx?id=868)

We have asked Evaluation Support Scotland to prepare a briefing paper on these ideas, and we might mount a small Chatham House seminar in the spring to guide its development.

Technical Issues

13. The discussions to date have identified some points of particular concern in some areas.

Pensions: Some concern has been expressed that if an organisation whose staff are in pensions run by the Pensions Trust were to change its structure, objectives or transfer its functions to another body then the Trust would seek some substantial payments – in a process called crystallization. Early discussions with the Pensions Trust suggest that it would be wise to discuss any change proposals with the Trust before taking any formal step, but the Trust confirms that in virtually all cases it should be possible for changes to be made without triggering financial penalties. The Pensions Trust can be contacted on: 0131 200 6160.

Property: We understand that some organisations own properties bought with grant aid where they believe that the grant conditions debar them from changing the form of their organisation. If you are in that position, we would like to hear about it as this will be an unintended consequence of the grant and we may be able to assist in discussions with the funder.

OSCR: Some people seem to feel that the rules around charities might be an obstacle to change. We will shortly be meeting OSCR, although we understand that it is unlikely that OSCR will see any significant difficulties. If you have any doubts in relation to your organisation’s circumstances, it would be as well to contact OSCR early.

If you come across any other matters which might impede the creation of your interface, we would very much like to know of them in case they impact more widely.

Social economy partnerships

14. The goal of local social economy partnerships (LSEPs) has been to support the growth of an enterprising third sector by improving co-ordination and networking, strengthening locally available support and unlocking market opportunities. At present LSEPs often work separately from CVSs and VCs. Their funding has been awarded through to a bidding process. However, the ethos of localism demands that we do not make decisions about such matters at the national level and we propose to move the future funding from a bidding system to one built into the rational distribution to the new interfaces. There is some difficulty as some areas have used the current funding to employ staff and there may be some feeling that a commitment exists to fund these posts for some further time. That limits the funds which can be distributed. We will make further proposals on this shortly but in the meantime would welcome views.

Supporting the change

15. The team here supporting this change process has changed in recent weeks as new tasks have to be addressed and people move on to other posts. However, we are keen to continue to provide you with good support. If you feel that would like to discuss matters further, members of the team are happy to meet you:

Dominique Petitqueux
0131 244 7977 Scottish Borders, East Lothian, Midlothian; West Lothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Perth and Kinross
Ruth Hutton
0141 305 4139 Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Stirling, Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde
Mark Meiklejohn
0131 244 4048 Aberdeenshire; Aberdeen City, Angus, Dundee; Western Isles; Orkney, Shetland
Polly Chapman:
01463 663 918 Highland, Moray
Geoff Pearson
0131 244 5133 Dumfries and Galloway, Argyll and Bute; North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, North Ayrshire

Yours sincerely

GEOFF PEARSON

What is Time Banking?

A time bank is a new and exciting way for people to come together to help others and help themselves at the same time. Participants ‘deposit’ their time in the bank by giving practical help and support to others and are able to ‘withdraw’ their time when they need something done themselves.

Giving and Receiving Time

Time banks measure and value all the different kinds of help and skills we can offer each other. In a time bank, everyone becomes both a giver and a receiver.

Everyone’s time is valued equally : One hour = 1 time credit

Participants can spend their time credits on the skills and support of other participants when they need a helping hand.

People help each other out with everything from making phone calls to sharing meals and giving lifts to the shops – anything that brings them together:

help when you need it ~ DIY ~ help with the kids ~ trips out ~ exercise ~ making friends ~ shopping ~ new grandparents ~ talking on the phone ~ having a break ~ gaining new skills ~ crafts ~ going to the park ~ cooking ~ getting to know your neighbours

Why have a time bank?

“Market economics values what is scarce – not the real work of society which is caring, loving, being a citizen, a neighbour and a human being.’”
Dr Edgar Cahn, founder of international time banking movement

There is a market economy in which money drives transactions. Then there is a non-market economy that it not considered as an economic system at all: our network of support in the form of family, friends, neighbours and community. A time bank is a way to strengthen a non market economy.

The market economy depends on the healthy functioning of the non-market economy – we all need support from family and friends. We take it for granted that the non-market economy will always be there. As such, we can undervalue what it provides.

We notice when things go wrong with the non-market economy. Social isolation, run-down estates, crime, poor health, no feeling of community: these are just a few of the symptoms of an area in malaise, with poor social connections and few support networks.

You can look at an area in decline like a body with a weakened immune system. The protection holding that body together – family, friends, neighbours, community – are falling apart. It is losing its connections. The body needs to be fit and healthy to function and to grow.

What we need to do is to strengthen the area’s immune system, by drawing people together and by developing mutual friendships and support.

A time bank is a way to achieve that, to strengthen communities.

A time bank can help to:

• Bring people together in a spirit of equality

• Value and record contributions to community life

• Build an individual’s confidence and skills

• Build organisational capacity

• Build community networks and knowledge

• Get things done that wouldn’t get done otherwise (by funding in time credits)

• Encourage community participation

Who gets involved in a time bank?

Anyone and everyone!

A time bank is open to people of all ages, abilities, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In fact, a time bank benefits from great diversity in its participants so that there is a wide variety of skills exchanged.

For a list of TimeBanks in Scotland see http://www.timebanking.org/find_a_timebank_list.asp?region=10

Doing time – Banking time

The time banking model has now been adapted and effectively used in prisons. The first project of this kind was launched between Castlemilk Time Bank and HMP Shotts and brings together a group of prisoners who are trained by the Samaritans and work on a voluntary basis by providing a listeners’ scheme for fellow inmates. This is a scheme which is available in many of Scotland’s prisons and offers a peer counselling service for prisoners who need support.

The introduction of time banking has enabled prisoners to earn time credits for every hour they volunteer within the prison. The time credits are then donated by the prisoner to the time bank and these can then be spent by members of the time bank in the outside world, who need help but cannot earn a lot of time credits themselves due to personal circumstances.

In Castlemilk Time Bank members have used the time credits donated by the prisoners to receive help with activities which include ironing, DIY and errand-running. Although entirely optional, some members have also visited the prison to meet the prisoners who had donated time credits.

The scheme’s success speaks for itself, as three further prisons have now started to develop similar initiatives and are being connected with Time Banks in Angus and Argyll and Bute Volunteer Centres. Prisoner volunteering activities include assisting others with CVs, literacy help or working on a prison magazine.

One of the more progressive opportunities from this initiative has been the ability of prisoners’ family members to access a service from their local Time Bank paid for by time credits that their relative has earned from volunteering within the prison.

For example, the wife of a prisoner could have her hedge trimmed or a prisoner’s elderly mother could have her weekly shopping done. This can help to establish and maintain the family links which we know are associated with reducing the risk of reoffending – such as a prisoner having a stable home and family relationships to return to after leaving prison.

This is particularly important given that 45% of offenders lose contact with relatives while in prison and 22% of married prisoners divorce or separate as a result of their imprisonment, according to the UK Government’s Social Exclusion Unit.

For the prisons involved the scheme provides a useful way to recognise the time which prisoners spend volunteering. This in turn can be used as a platform on which prisoners can begin to think of themselves as capable of making a valuable contribution to society.

Evidence suggests that if a prisoner’s positive contributions are highlighted to them it can help to improve their own self image. This is supported by research which shows that convicted criminals who are recognised and valued for their positive attributes and behaviours have a greater chance of being diverted from crime when they are released from custody.

Criminologists have discussed making use of this within a prison setting by holding redemption rituals in which prisoners are able to overcome negative labels they have of themselves and develop new positive ones. Time banking is an ideal tool to formalise this practice, by measuring and rewarding the prisoners’ volunteering through the use of the time credit currency.

Prisons are a community in their own right, and if someone who lives in that community – in this case a convicted criminal – is giving up their time to help that system work then we should recognise and encourage this in the hope that this pattern will continue when they are released back into our communities. Time banking facilitates this in a unique way.

As time banking flourishes and expands across Scotland, our aim over the next few years is to give every prisoner in Scotland the chance to make a contribution to a community.

Cumnock in Ayrshire is a good example of an area where public transport doesn’t work well and so is one of the main barriers towards young people being able to take up employment or training opportunities. The opportunities may be just a few miles down the road but because people don’t have access to a car or have good local bus or train service they just can’t get to the places of work or training.

Coalfield Community Transport is helping to crack the problem with a simple yet innovative solution. To young people caught in this situation they lend scooters at a peppercorn rent for a number of months allowing them to save some of their earnings in order to buy their own means of transport and continue with their training or employment.

The organisation exists to provide accessible, affordable and appropriate transport solutions to groups and individuals who are economically and socially disadvantaged in the coalfield area of Ayrshire. Within its fleet of vehicles it owns 20 scooters which it lends for 6-9 months at a rent of £2.50 per week. Training and protective clothing are also provided. This gives the young person seeking training or employment a flexible mode of transport. For example, it allows people to get to places of work at awkward shift times.

The scheme is called Wheels to Work and is the only project of its kind in Scotland. Across the UK there are 50 such schemes. To find out more click here
http://www.wheels2work.co.uk/nationalschemes.html

Extracts from Glasgow City Council response to Glasgow Housing Association’s
Business Plan 2009/10 – ‘Above and Beyond: Shaping a New Vision for GHA’
In relation to GHA’s new approach outlined in the draft business plan…..

“Previous GHA Business Plans have been firmly rooted within the strategic housing framework for the city underpinned by the obligations set out within the Stock Transfer Agreement. The consultative draft Business Plan ‘Above and beyond’ appears to be losing this focus. ‘Above and Beyond’ proposes to deliver a new approach by:-

• Becoming a ‘permanent large scale organisation, effectively ruling out Second Stage Transfers beyond 2011 and
• Developing its property, land and business services to maximise income in the longer term, and extending this role beyond Glasgow by securing West of Scotland Lead Development status for affordable housing development. This appears to be for the benefit of GHA and its tenants rather than for the city as a whole.”

In relation to GHA’s proposed purpose and direction……..

“GHA’s intention to develop its land and property, including for sale, and to deliver services beyond Glasgow as lead developer for the West of Scotland, is premature when so many of the original commitments are still outstanding and the organisation has yet to develop a track record in new build development.”

In relation to GHA’s commitment to Empowerment and Engagement….

“The consultative draft Business Plan effectively discounts any more SST’s except for those in the pipeline with the programme ending by 2011 after one third of the stock has transferred. The GHA should the restate the commitment to achieving SST (second stage transfer) as a core purpose.”

“The consultative draft Business Plan also proposes that regional committees of LHO tenant chairs should take over decision-making on services. This proposal appears to represent a dilution of LHO’s responsibilities and authority and if so may run contrary to the Stock Transfer Agreement. It would certainly mean a greatly reduced degree of local tenant influence and participation.”

“Local community ownership is a comer stone of regeneration.”

Summary of Glasgow City Council’s concerns that GHA needs to address in its Business Plan

“GHA’s proposed removal of the commitment to SST beyond the present round of transfers would be a unilateral decision that the Council would not accept.”

“GHA is a young organisation that still has to deliver the core promises for which it was established. A substantial change in direction beyond its original purpose is premature given these outstanding objectives and GHA’s lack of development track record. It would also require detailed consideration by the Council. Changes in direction must fit the agreed local framework and demonstrably lead to better outcomes for tenants, stakeholders and the wider Glasgow community.”

Author: Simon Birch, The Guardian

Meltdown? The ill wind is bringing ethical banks nothing but good

The UK’s ethical banking sector is not only surviving the meltdown, it is experiencing new levels of consumer confidence and investment. At Bristol-based Triodos Bank, profits are up more than 50%, inflows into its cash Isa are up 25%, and the amount of money deposited by savers is up by 15% – nearly four times the mainstream bank saving rate of 4%.

So why are Triodos, and other ethical institutions, bucking the trend? “We operate a transparent and easy-to-understand business model,” explains UK managing director, Charles Middleton.

“We raise money from individual savers to fund projects that benefit people and the environment. We don’t invest in any of the complicated bundled investments, such as derivatives, that aren’t connected to the real economy, and we show exactly what we are investing in.”

But people nervous about banks with overseas parent companies following the collapse of Icesave, should be aware that Triodos is a subsidiary of a Dutch banking group. If it were to go bust, savers would have to apply to the Dutch deposit guarantee scheme. However, this recently raised its maximum payout threshold to ?100,000 (£77,700) – significantly more than the £50,000 offered to UK savers.

The Ecology Building Society, which only provides mortgages for properties that have a positive environmental benefit, has seen the amount deposited this year already exceed amount for the whole of 2007.

“We are witnessing a flight to safety, with people increasingly recognising that the mutual model is less affected by the current volatile market,” says Paul Ellis, its chief executive.

The Co-operative Bank has also been able to weather the storm, thanks to “a historically prudent approach to lending and a strong reputation for trust”. It says: “Our lending capital is generated from customers’ investments and savings, leaving us a good deal less exposed to the markets … we actually increased mortgage business during the first half of 2008.”

The Co-op Bank says people’s money will never be used to support regimes that abuse human rights, and that on the positive side, “it will always be invested according to sound environmental principles”.

It has also seen significant increases in savings balances during the first six months of the year; retail savings have grown by more than 11%.

But there is a price to be paid for this prudence, and for knowing your money is not supporting unethical practices such as the arms trade or tobacco, and this often takes the form of lower rates. With a rate of 3.85%, Triodos’s online cash Isa isn’t the best return you can get. At the Ecology, you will get 5.1% if you take out its Earthwise cash Isa; this rate includes a 1% annual interest bonus payable if no more than one withdrawal is made during the tax year. The Co-op Bank, meanwhile, has some good deals, including a one-year fixed-rate savings bond paying 6.5% gross, and two- and three-year bonds paying 6.59% (the minimum deposit is £2,000).

However, a recent poll for Triodos found that 38% of consumers would be prepared to take a lower rate in return for a sound ethical and environmental policy.

So what lessons do these banks think their battered and bruised high street competitors need to learn from the whole experience?

Paul Ellis believes that the fundamental problem at the root of the crisis “is a lack of transparency surrounding the complex financial products that have caused so much damage”.

Charles Middleton agrees: “The credit crunch is making people think hard about what their money is doing and what their bank is using it for.”

Local food producers make their case

Highlands & Islands Local Food Network are a group of food consumers, farmers, crofters, community groups, retailers and projects from across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland who are working together to make fresh, locally grown food more available in our communities.

Why Local?

There are lots of reasons for choosing local food! Key reasons include:

• It supports the local economy. Purchasing locally keeps your money circulating within the community for a longer time. For example, for every £10 spent on an organic box scheme, £24 is generated in the local economy; by comparison; every £10 spent in a supermarket generates £12 for the local food economy.

• It supports the local community. Linking local producers with consumers creates a business link, but also has educational and social benefits, particularly in CSA arrangements. Members of CSAs often feel a commitment to the farm. This leads to understanding of issues and a growing awareness of seasonality.

• It tastes better. For the consumer this is often number one. Local food travels less far, so it can grow longer and reach the table faster – and therefore tastes fresher!

• It’s good for the environment. Reduced food miles mean reduced transport costs and fewer global warming emissions. Less intensive growing and production can lead to more biodiversity.

• It can allow choice in growing methods and pesticide use. Fresh, local organic vegetables are 40 times less likely to be contaminated with pesticide residues.

• Local food is a major way to support health and fitness. The production and transport of food affects the environment in which we live, and the food we eat is fundamental to our health and wellbeing.
Local food is not elitist! Individuals, families, schools and some other businesses want local, fresh food, but have difficulties finding it. This was highlighted in a survey carried out in 2003/2004 in various areas of the Highlands. The Highlands & Islands Local Food Network will show local people where to find local produce, and help local producers find this local market.

Good for Consumers

People who have found local food are usually enthusiastic:
‘It’s good to get proper tasting vegetables’ – a ‘regular’ at a monthly produce stall.

‘We look forward to our weekly box of vegetables, and the challenge to cooking with them.’

‘The children (and us, to be honest) are now discovering seasonality, and learning to base our meals around what is available.’

‘We always thought that fresh, organically grown vegetables meant far more expensive vegetables, but it doesn’t have to be that way.’

‘We like knowing where the meat is coming from.’

‘I’m willing to pay a bit more if I know that the money supports a local farmer, and not a supermarket shareholder.’

‘By becoming a member of my CSA farm, I’m able to have some say in the way things are grown and the range of produce.’

Despite the fact that most people surveyed would like more local food, over 80% of our food is purchased from supermarkets, and only 3% direct from producers. Yet few producers in the Highlands and Islands supply supermarkets for a number of reasons, and many find it uneconomical to do so.

As a result, consumers will need to change too. This means learning about seasonality, learning to accept vegetables in a variety of shapes and small blemishes, and learning to source some of their food outside the supermarket. Education is needed too – about the health benefits, and how to cook with what is locally available.

‘I’d like to buy local food, but it costs far more than the supermarket.’

This is often cited by people as the reason they don’t buy fresh, local food. Is it true?

The short answer is: sometimes yes, but often no.

Where there is a good supply of local produce, and when it is in season, quite often the supermarkets are more expensive. A study by the CSA Earthshare in Moray, did a comparison in September 2004 of prices, packaging and food miles between their vegetable box and a similar buy from the supermarket. Earthshare found that their vegetables worked out much cheaper – and they could supply a wider range than the local supermarket. Similar studies elsewhere in have also found fresh, local vegetables at the farm gate to be cheaper than the supermarket.

Supermarkets often keep their prices down by squeezing the local producers – and this is true throughout the world as well as here. Fair trade is an issue abroad, but it is also an issue for our own producers.

Good for Producers

Producers growing locally in the Highlands and Islands range from very small scale to large commercial busineses. Many have found it a valuable and rewarding experience:

‘The produce market is sold out by 2pm… we can’t keep up with demand, and could sell three times our existing production.’

‘We have expanded from 2 to over 30 producers and we are still nowhere near saturating the market….the market has expanded as we have expanded…people used to think there was no local supply so as a result there was no local demand.’

‘The CSA subscriptions are the most viable part of our business at present.’

‘Start small and grow slowly. Get the quality right and you will have long term members who really support what you are doing.’

‘Most of my neighbours will retire soon, and so will I…we need more young people in farming…Direct marketing what you grow offers a route to create a better income and a more interesting and fulfilling job. It’s a real job in the countryside.’

‘Most of my neighbours will retire soon, and so will I…we need more young people in farming…Direct marketing what you grow offers a route to create a better income and a more interesting and fulfilling job. It’s a real job in the countryside.’