Briefings

Final Briefing

April 24, 2024

When I wrote the first edition of Local People Leading, I never imagined I’d still be doing it as I came to retirement but that is indeed what’s happened. And with all that needs to be done to ensure I leave a relatively orderly ship for my successor, Elizabeth Docherty, I’ve decided to make this my last.

 

I’ve not kept count but a quick tally suggests this might be the 370th edition. And so, because it’s something of a team effort, a few thanks are due. To Jon Hollingdale who proof-reads it, often very late on a Tuesday evening, and never fails to find something out of place. To my wife, Trisha, for letting every second weekend be slightly less free of work than it should have been. To those of you who send me interesting items for inclusion. And finally to everyone for taking the time to read it and even, on occasion, commenting on its content. The plan is to pause for a while and then, once Elizabeth has settled in, for something else, perhaps a little different, to take its place. Over the years, I’ve come to enjoy the process of writing this newsletter. I’ll miss it.

Briefings

Community health and care ecosystems

April 23, 2024

The plans to establish a National Care Service, despite hitting some significant bumps along the way in the form of widespread opposition from trade unions and local government to the perceived power grab by Scottish Government Ministers, continue to gather pace. And despite all the evidence that consistently highlights 80-90% of good health outcomes arise from factors outside of our formal health and care systems, the proposals make no mention whatsoever of how community based health and care ecosystems will be part of the new Service. LGIU highlights some good examples from England, Wales and USA.   

 

Author: Sid Hayward, LGIU

Every week, we highlight inspiration and innovation from local government worldwide. In this article, we’re focusing on how local government can help create and strengthen the care ecosystems in their communities. You’ll find best practice from Wales, England, and the USA, along with plenty of practical policy and resources.

USA: Collaboration to improve the mental health of children with complex health and social needs
In 2021, four organisations based in San Diego, California, began working collaboratively to help families with children who are chronically ill or who have complex social needs. An ecosystem of care was developed to expand San Diego’s Rady Children’s Hospital’s network of social and behavioural health providers. The ecosystem saw the newly form team, which also comprised a YMCA, local non-profits and a prescription program, shift their focus from a medical perspective to a community-focused approach. The ecosystem is set to expand to support children aged under 19 who are incarcerated, with the providers having gained the tools and capacity to identify new community partners to meet their needs.
Camden Coalition

England: Non-intrusive remote monitoring pilot frees up funding and social practitioners’ time
A pilot launched in tandem between Reading Borough Council and software firm Lilli has seen new proactive and non-intrusive remote monitoring technology rolled out to give people with care needs greater independence at home. The pilot gives frontline social care practitioners new data and insights to support their decision making, in turn improving care outcomes for people across Reading. Daily behaviours such as home temperature, movement, eating habits and nighttime activity are monitored to get a better picture of an individual’s wellbeing.
AT Today

USA: Multi-generational housing keeps care front and centre
Bay State Commons Cohousing is a condominium project constructed in Malden Massachusetts, where care is incorporated into every element. The multifamily development’s design places an emphasis on child care, community engagement and neighbour support, with features including a glass door separating the community kitchen and the playroom and kitchen windows overlooking the community courtyard. Elsewhere, other accommodations are targeted at older residents, with grounds graded for accessibility and facilities for live-in carers.
Bloomberg

Wales: ‘Shared Lives’ scheme connects vulnerable adults with would-be carers
Powys County Council operates a service where vulnerable people are helped to live independent and thriving lives by people with time, support and a space in their homes to offer. The Shared Lives scheme sees local people opt to be recruited, assessed and trainers as carers for people who can no longer live independently without support. Shared Lives Carers offer long-term homes, short breaks or sessional support for people in need, working with people in need to help them develop their independence and offering a sense of community.
Powys County Council

Report: Care Ecosystem Toolkit
This report introduces the care ecosystem and provides an evidence-based framework to promote optimal dementia care outcomes by addressing patients’ social determinants of health. It provides tools and case examples, highlighting challenges and strategies for healthcare teams to implement effective dementia care tailored to patients’ unique needs across all levels of the ecosystem.

Report: What does the concept of an ecosystem offer to social care? A narrative review of the ecosystem literature
The report reviews existing literature on creating care ecosystems, proposes potential measurement approaches, and discusses the increasing role of digital technology when considering the interplay between a person and the health environment.

Report: People, Place, Health Constructing a Health and Care Ecosystem for Wales
As this report published by ARUP argues, 80-90% of good health comes from factors outside of our health and care systems, ensuring these systems cannot be distinct from our day-to-day lives. It argues that public planning and decision making must consider the wider impacts of health. It details five steps to create a more effective health and care ecosystem which supports our places, communities, environment and economy.

Webinar: Building ecosystems of care with justice-involved populations
This Camden Coalition webinar examines the health and wellbeing barriers people who have interacted with the legal system face. It covers two case studies in York, PA and Spartanburg, SC, that worked to meet the needs of justice-involved people. These two communities developed and strengthened ecosystems of care through partnerships centred on behavioural health, community voices, and organisational relationships.

 

Briefings

Mapping CT providers

The shift to public transport or, where none exists, to community transport is slowly gathering pace but needs to move much more quickly if car use is to be reduced in line with current targets.  And if the use of community transport schemes is to be increased, users first need to know where to find them. For the first time ever, a comprehensive map has been produced to show where all of Scotland’s community transport providers are based.  And for good measure, the map highlights where the gaps in provision are as well.  It's proving popular too. 10,000 hits and counting. Well done, CTA.

 

Author: David Kelly, CTA

Our extensive research has also enabled us to build the first-ever map of Community Transport in Scotland featuring every one of our 170+ members in urban, rural and island communities across 30 out of 32 local authorities.

We hope that our map will be a useful resource for:

  • New and existing operators to identify and collaborate with their peers and neighbours
  • Politicians, policymakers and regulators to implement policies and strategies which recognise and help our sector
  • Funders and stakeholders to understand and respond to the financial needs of our sector
  • Volunteers, passengers and the public to find services and opportunities near them

The map is interactive, searchable and available here on Google Maps. It’s already been used over 10,000 times!

We’re keeping the map under review and make updates where possible and necessary. The map is based on survey responses from CTA members or, where we did not receive input directly, our own desk-based research.

We’re improving our map!

Soon there’ll be an opportunity for non-members and operators not already on our map to join in. Watch this space!

But first, we’ve added manufacturers, retrofitters and key suppliers to the Community Transport sector in Scotland. Check out our new and improved map here. Have we missed any? Get in touch via scotland@ctauk.org.

Intro to CT

Does your community have an unmet transport need? Are you interested in learning what it takes to set up a new Community Transport scheme? We can help!

We’re rolling out our new ‘Introduction to Community Transport’ programme to guide interested individuals, groups, organisations and communities through the process of developing and delivering new Community Transport projects and services.

We can offer community engagement, community development and ongoing advice and support.

To find out more, or book in a presentation from one of Team Scotland for your team, partnership, community or organisation, send us an email to scotland@ctauk.org with the subject ‘Intro to CT’.

Join the Conversation

We’d love to hear what you think of our report, our map and our outreach.

 

Briefings

State of the Sector survey

How well placed are Scotland’s communities to benefit both collectively and individually from the opportunities emerging out of the fast expanding renewables sector? To establish some baseline data on the scale of community energy at present and to scope out the level of potential interest from communities not currently involved in the sector, a major survey is being coordinated by Community Energy Scotland. So, even if you are not currently active in the market but might like to be in the future, this survey is for you.  Deadline has been extended until 6th May.

 

Author: Community Energy Scotland

State of the Sector 2024 is now open for submissions via our new online data portal. We are asking all community energy organisations in Scotland to provide their data to help quantify and further develop our understanding of the sector.

Please find a link to the portal here: https://sots.communityenergyscotland.org.uk/

Who should take part?

The survey is aimed at community energy organisations involved in low carbon activities across the UK. This includes electricity and heat generation, energy storage, low carbon transport, energy efficiency, demand management, fuel poverty work and other low carbon initiatives.

The data from the report will feed into the ongoing work of Community Energy Scotland, supporting and aiding communities to develop their own low carbon energy projects. So that it is as impactful as possible, we need to gather data from as many organisations working in the sector as possible.

Having access to data on the sector is vital for all community energy organisations, stakeholders, and policy makers to understand and communicate about the sector, encourage investment, and bring about supportive policies.

Previous Scotland SotS data has been cited by Holyrood officials and is recognised in the wider energy sector, amplifying the voice of community energy at decision-making levels.

Login Information

  1. If you have already provided us with data in past surveys, an account has already been set up for your organisation linked to the email address used to submit the most recent survey. You just need to go to our portal here: https://sots.communityenergyscotland.org.uk/user/login and select ‘forgotten your password’ to create a new password for your account.
  2. If your organisation has not responded to State of the Sector before: The first user from a community energy organisation will need to email sots@communityenergyscotland.org.uk and we will grant appropriate access. Once you have access, users can add other people associated with their organisation by inviting them via their email address – click on your organisation, then “Members”, then “+ Invite Members”. These users can also add subsequent users.
  3. If you do not know whether your organisation has or has not provided data previously, please email sots@communityenergyscotland.org.uk and we will give appropriate next steps.

Next Steps

If you are part of a community energy organisation, please proceed to add your organisation’s data to the portal. The window for submissions for will close on 6th May.

The portal will remain open for users to view/update data and add new sites throughout the year.

If you are not part of a community energy organisation, please spread the word so everyone in the sector hears about this year’s survey and research.

What will be the research outputs be in 2024?

We are currently working with our partners at Community Energy Wales and Community Energy England to plan the 2024 research outputs.

All outputs will be released in late Q2 2024, once all the data submitted to the survey has been collated and analysed.

If you have any ideas for additional SOTS outputs that would help your community energy organisation, please get in touch with us at: sots@communityenergyscotland.org.uk

We are pleased to announce that State of the Sector 2024 is sponsored by SP Energy Networks

Briefings

What next for climate targets?

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Scottish Government’s belated admission last week that its much lauded climate targets had been ripped up was that anyone was surprised. All the low hanging fruit has long since been picked and those big, hard decisions that needed to be taken have been consistently ducked. So what should a Climate Plan look like now? It’s surely not the time to batten down the hatches, rearrange some deck chairs and kick those big decisions even further down the road. In his own inimitable fashion, Robin McAlpine suggests it’s time to change tack.  

 

Author: Robin McAlpine, Common Weal

If you believe in the urgency of serious climate action, today’s news is grim. Reality has finally caught up with the Scottish Government and it has dropped its climate change targets. There must be a sharp response to this, but if the response doesn’t drag us towards a real solution, things will stay grim. Let me try and work my way through to a possible solution.

Because there is such a deep cynicism in setting targets you have no credible plan to deliver that abandoning the targets (rather than coming up with a credible plan) can do nothing but deepen the cynicism further. Blaming others won’t help; everyone knew the position when the targets were set. The government has been warned again and again.

There is talk about accelerating the work actually being done just now to compensate, but this manages to be potentially worse than not accelerating it. A combination of poor legislating, poor communication and poor implementation means that accelerating this agenda (failed deposit return schemes, publicly-subsidised corporate forests dying, banning the use of log burners in rural areas – and the world of things it isn’t doing like considering district heating) could be worse than rethinking.

The whole agenda is basically collapsing, where it is being implemented it is too often failing, and in as far as the Scottish Government is communicating any of this it is managing to alienate the public. If you’re not meeting your targets but are managing to lose public support, you should worry.

There is a problem at the heart of this – there is a deep, unspoken ideological slant to the Scottish Government’s approach. It is a fundamentally free market approach. The Scottish Government claims that its limited powers require this. We’d contest that, but the result is still to privatise the response, incentivise the wealthy through subsidy, avoid challenging vested interests, reject collective action and force costs onto households.

Circular economy groups have been told that the circular economy is a purely a private sector matter; local authorities trying to take a municipal approach to house heating have been told they need to privatise the scheme instead; rewilding is being achieved through lavish subsidies to the very richest; households are being compelled to invest money they don’t have to offload the problem onto the consumer; the EV charging network has been privatised on purely ideological grounds…

There are alternatives to this, and those alternatives are contained in some of the good work of stakeholder groups like the Just Transition Commission, but it is hard to see that these have had any influence on what is actually being done. They seem to have been cynically cosmetic. Most of egregious of all was setting up a Citizens Assembly to propose solutions, and then basically ignoring the entirety of what they produced.

At the heart of all of this is a lack of vision in the Scottish Government (or worse, an unwillingness to even consider visions produced by others) and its almost complete failure to develop a national consensus on what we need to do. We have had an elite consensus forced on us, written by the corporate accountancy consultants, and it is failing badly.

As you may sense, I’m pretty angry about all of this, an anger I wouldn’t need to justify if this was being done by Tories. We have utterly wasted a decade on what has amounted to little more than an elaborate PR stunt. But anger achieves nothing without a solution.

What is clear is that arriving at any coherent solution needs a Scotland-wide approach. This current approach of ‘government by KPMG’ isn’t taking us anywhere near a solution, and (as with the ferries debacle) anyone who steps outside the government’s consensus or suggests it should do something else is shut out. That is 100 per cent true of Common Weal’s climate work.

So we need to start again. In fact, I’d go further; this is so important yet has become such a mess that we need to ‘stop the line’. For those not familiar with this concept, it was developed by Toyota. What they had been doing on their production lines was that, if something went wrong with one part of the line, they would keep the rest of it going while they fixed the problem.

But then they took a step back and realised that the real problem for productivity was what happened after they fixed the original smaller problem. Running the line with one component part down was causing snarl-ups at almost every stage in the line, and these were slowing production down more than the original problem. The solution was simple and effective; if there is a problem anywhere, stop the whole process until it is fixed and don’t start the process again until it is.

It is so effective this is now widely used – and it is an approach I think we need to apply here. We need to stop, step back and think this through as if the priority wasn’t to keep pushing harder on big snarl-up of failing initiatives to get them out the door, regardless of the impact that pushing on this snarl-up is having on the big picture.

How would I go about ‘stopping the line’? First, since nothing is working properly, I’d just stop doing it for now. Maintain initiatives like grant schemes where they are supporting households that want to install heat pumps, but otherwise just pause.

Then the Scottish Government should set out what it thinks the big challenges are, and then it should invite proposals for serious, practical, costed, achievable solutions. It doesn’t matter how many come in – what we need are ideas back on the table. These may need some sifting to ensure only implementable ideas with have a proper business plan and are legislatively competent remain.

And then I’d set up a Citizens’ Assembly in each subject area. Let the people with the ideas present them. Challenge those people on why their idea is better than others. Have a proper debate. Let people who know about these things explain why they don’t want Passivhaus standard in Scotland (which involves wrapping a house in a plastic bag, which is not a good idea) and why a ‘naturally passive’ standard would be better.

Let others who disagree make their case. Really thrash out what is possible, what it means, what it would look like. And let the public decide through the Citizens’ Assemblies. There would need to be a firm commitment from the Scottish Government that, this time, the Assemblies would be listened to and their plans implemented.

We’ve got lots of ideas for them – please read the Common Home Plan if you haven’t (buy the book or download). The Scottish Government can’t borrow much and it can’t own energy generation – but local authorities can. We believe there is a solid business case for decarbonised heating through a municipal district heating approach, but it would need national support (which, as I pointed out above, is not forthcoming). 

We believe a ‘National’ Energy Company could be set up as a consortia of municipal energy firms. We believe that you can rewild on the back of UK carbon credits by setting up a mutual fund to support investment by ordinary people rather than giving it to the already rich – but that would also need some land reform. We think you can make rapid strides on the circular economy with what would really be a pretty modest investment in tool libraries in every community.

Others also have ideas. I want to hear and discuss them. I want to utterly prevent civil servants and pliant ministers from handing all of this to the corporate sector without a second thought. I happen to know that there is strong public support for the approach Common Weal proposes, because I saw the previous Climate Assembly back almost all our ideas. (I suspect this is why it was ignored.)

Then we’d have a plan, but that’s not enough. The aloof, hectoring, lecturing from the Scottish Government on why anyone with doubts is a reactionary climate change denier is doing great damage. Respectable, knowledgeable people with great sympathy for this agenda are deeply concerned about much of this. Manufacturing Green culture wars to distract from government failure is beyond unhelpful.

We need the public to want action on climate change. Tolerating that action isn’t enough. We need to persuade them that this will be better for them, that it will improve their lives. If we do it properly, it will. Let’s let them see that.

Frankly I’d commit now to running a sort of ‘Climate World’s Fair‘. You know, like an expo from a more optimistic era. Make it fun. Make it interesting. Make it real. I can think of one or two ‘retail villages’ which are sitting empty and could be converted into mock-up communities. People could visit the expo and see what district heating is like, touch and use bioplastic, visit an aerobic digestions system and watch green LPG being produced.

Let them try out a zero-carbon transport system. Let them wander round a first-rate tool library and let them realise how useful it would be. Be respectful and let them see, sense, feel, understand this whole agenda. Fund every school to do a school visit. Invite every club, society or group in the country to make a trip. Put on a show. Stop lecturing, start to persuade.

The Scottish Government proposes the opposite. It proposes a ‘climate assembly’ to explain to the public why they’re totally wrong not to support the Scottish Government’s privatisation agenda. They seem to have learned nothing. They seem still to think they are the solution rather than the problem

I’m not angry that the targets have been dropped – doing so was a crucial step towards ending denial and waking up to the urgency of our collective need for a plan. No, I’m angry at the setting of targets in the first place which now seem designed to trick us into not paying attention to the dearth of meaningful action really taking place. This has been an absolute disgrace and there should be resignations (though most of those responsible have now gone anyway).

There won’t be, but what there must be is a concerted civic society challenge to the government to atone for all of this by showing some humility, stopping the blame game, admitting fault and asking for help.

 

Briefings

What makes for a good civil servant?

Civil servants are an easy target for those who sit outside of government but are often directly impacted by the actions (or inactions) of those same civil servants. There was a time, long since forgotten, when a system of work shadowing was encouraged to promote better understanding across the sectors. Now we are reduced to second guessing why things happen as they do. From a distance, it seems that parts of the civil service are highly stressed and functioning much less well than they used to. If that’s true, then this is offered in the spirit of wanting to help.

 

Author: Sandra Naranjo Bautista

  • The problem: Public servants are always juggling many things at the same time. It’s common to feel out of balance.
  • Why it matters: One of the main motivators to join the public sector is to serve, but you won’t be able to be your best self if you are always reacting to things.
  • The solution: Incorporating daily habits into your routine can help you stay grounded, motivated, and more productive. Here are five that can help.

Are you struggling to find a balance between work and your personal life? Have you felt you can give more but you are always dealing with urgent matters that leave the important stuff aside? Even worse, are you thinking about joining the quiet-quitting club? In this blog, you’ll find 5 simple, powerful and effective daily habits that you can build into your routine to become the public servant you’ve always wanted to be.

In the public sector, it’s common to deal with many urgencies at the same time, and being able to take initiative might be harder than it sounds.

Be proactive

When I was a little, my dad told us the kids’ version of ‘A Message to Garcia’, a widely distributed essay by Elbert Hubbard. This story exemplifies for me an ideal civil servant, what we all should aspire to be.

The story is about President McKinley, who in the middle of the war between the US and Spain needed to communicate with the leader of the insurgents. Garcia was somewhere in Cuba. Someone told him about a soldier called Rowan, who would find Garcia if anybody could. Rowan took the letter, asked no questions, and delivered the message. Hubbard ends the story like this:

“My heart goes out to the man who does his work when his boss is away as well as when he is at home. The man when given a letter to Garcia, quietly takes the missive, without asking any idiotic questions and with no lurking intention of chucking it into the nearest suer or of doing odd else but deliver it. Civilisation is just one long anxious search for such individuals. Anything such a man asks will be granted, his kind is so rare, that no employer can afford to let him go. He is wanted in every city, town and village. In every office, shop, store and factory. The world cries out for such. He is needed and needed badly, the man who can carry a message to Garcia.” Elbert Hubbard

‘A Message to Garcia’ is about being the kind of person that makes things happen. The one that makes the right questions, to the right people and gets the job done.

In the public sector, it’s common to deal with many urgencies at the same time, and being able to take initiative might be harder than it sounds. One way to break this cycle is to anticipate needs and act on them. In other words, trying to stay ahead of the game. How to do it? Being up to date with the news will give you a sense of the political agenda. Notice the events, speeches, and interviews where the authorities of your organisation intervene. It will give you a sense of their priorities. Identify repeated problems in your department, try to find the root cause of the problem, and work on possible solutions.

My dad used to tell us, my sisters and I, always find a solution for every problem, not a problem for every solution. It has been a mantra in my life, so I share his teachings in case it helps you too.

Set daily goals

This is a game changer! If you have an endless to-do list, it’s time to prioritise. Otherwise, you risk doing a lot, but not necessarily the things that are more strategic or important for you.

I like to set my three priorities for the week first. Then I break those into manageable daily tasks and prioritise three per day. I commit to finishing them before attempting to start something new. Those three tasks anchor my day. The rest of the activities or tasks when done are a plus, but I start with my priorities first.

What I’ve learned is that if I don’t do this, I’m very quickly answering everyone’s priorities but mine.

Put your health first

I know it sometimes feels like there is no time for personal care, but if you don’t prioritise your health no one else will!

You know your health priorities better than anyone. Try to put those clearly and then start with a few, simple actions, that you can easily incorporate into your routine. The trick here is to start simple. If you don’t, you might not start at all. For example, you end up doing no workout, because you’re waiting to have an hour to do it properly. And, well… between work, kids, the house, etc. that hour never came.

A few ideas of simple steps. Drink plenty of water, eat healthier, prioritise sleep – try going to bed 10 minutes earlier – perhaps use the stairs instead of the elevator or take a five-minute break to walk, enjoy looking at the trees, or just listening to your favourite song without doing anything else.

You need time to recharge yourself. Writer Anne Lamott said it best: “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

Talk with your colleagues

Being successful in the public sector requires collaboration. Within your department and with other areas. It’s impossible to move things forward in isolation. Make time to talk with your colleagues, it doesn’t have to be about work all the time. Build relationships, learn about what others are doing, and ask genuine questions. Not only will you learn a lot, but you’ll also build relationships that will make you a better person and professional. It’s easier to work with someone you like and trust.

Fuel your brain in the right way

Devote time to read and learn about the areas you work on and are interested in. If you’re rolling your eyes because you don’t have time (I get that), why not try making the time?

You can read a short blog, like this one, perhaps listen to a podcast during your commute, or read a good article. Starting small is sometimes the best way to start.

Something that has worked for me is to have a minimum progress rule. On those days that it seems you can hardly have time to breathe, I read at least one page (or its equivalent). It is not always the progress I would like to make, but even small progress is better than none.

A work in progress

Being a highly effective civil servant is always a work in progress. We fail, we try again. Every day is an opportunity to be the best versions of ourselves. Five ways that might help you in that journey are taking the initiative, being clear on your daily priorities, prioritising your health, making time to talk with your colleagues, and fuelling your brain in the right way.

 

Briefings

Coming home to roost

Many factors lie behind the Scottish Government’s reluctance to take the tough decisions that would have kept its climate targets on track. One must have been an internal assessment of whether any proposals for radical action had sufficient grass root support to outweigh the inevitable push back from powerful vested interests. And the view must have been that no such supprt existed. Joyce McMillan, writing in the Scotsman, argues that too many policy initiatives, irrespective of their merit, are perceived as being top down and therefore, almost inevitably, to be resisted. She suggests that chickens have come home to roost.  

 

Author: Joyce MacMillan, The Scotsman

Last summer, the UK’s Poet Laureate Simon Armitage made what he has called a “life-changing” visit to the Arctic. He witnessed once-mighty glaciers shrinking and disappearing, saw hungry and bedraggled polar bears, experienced balmy summer days in what was once the frozen north, and wrote a mighty poem called Cryosphere, inspired by a voyage to the crumbling mouth of a giant glacier, in which he described “an ancient Empire of snow being tipped over the edge, its pages thrown from the cliffs, the forces of heat shunting temples, pavilions and winter palaces into the flood” while “the spitting and hissing of melting ice was a forest fire to the ears”.

None of the quiet, methodical scientists Armitage interviewed for the BBC Radio 4 series based on his visit were in any doubt about the scale of the cataclysmic change they were witnessing, or about its gathering pace; even tooth-and-claw capitalism knows, now, that the Arctic is not what it was, and is fit – in what may prove a final irony – for yet more exploitation, including gas and oil exploration.

Yet back home in the sub-polar world, the idea that “business as usual” is the only sensible option not only persists, but seems to be gaining strength; and green politics often seems to have hit a new wall, not of complete denial, but of absolute resistance to all and any specific climate policies, which are often dismissed as counter-productive, oppressive, or even unpatriotic.

So it was something of a relief, last weekend, to set off for the Scottish Greens conference at Napier University in Edinburgh; if only because the Greens’ strong internal consensus that these are real problems makes it refreshingly possible for them to hold serious discussions about what should be done, rather than online shouting matches about whether we should do anything at all. Nor are the Greens, as a party, anything like the current hostile image of a bunch of urban elitists plotting the destruction of rural Scotland from some Edinburgh wine bar; many of them live in rural areas, and have detailed and knowledgeable points to make about the environmental issues those communities face.

Those truths are not much help, though, when it comes to facing down the perfect storm of failure and opposition aroused by most of the Scottish Government’s current green policies, whether put forward by the two Scottish Green ministers currently in government – Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater – or by SNP ministers. Of course, most of those rows have been sedulously stoked up by those who want to discredit the Scottish Government at any cost, or who are intent on undermining all attempts to transition to a low-carbon economy; it is true that most of the Scottish Government’s supposedly controversial actions enjoyed strong cross-party support at the point of legislation, while many mirror planned or existing legislation at UK level.

Yet none of that fully excuses the Scottish Government’s failure to build the kind of profound grassroots consensus in favour of green policy that is the only real political answer to the manipulation of public opinion by powerful vested interests. On the Scottish Greens conference panel I chaired, every speaker – including Lorna Slater herself – agreed that any serious action to achieve targets on climate change and the natural environment is absolutely dependent on the strong support and ownership of local communities everywhere; communities empowered to agree their own priorities, and to work together with government to protect the landscapes they love, and the natural resources we all depend on. And it is the absolute political failure to enable that kind of involvement and consent – and to create the kinds of highly devolved structures of local government that would support it – that has now left the SNP-Green government so vulnerable, both to the opposition it now faces from its sworn enemies, and to the growing disaffection of those who were once supporters. The Scottish Government has tough questions to ask itself, for example, about exactly how a highly protected marine areas measure agreed in principle by all the governments of Europe, and designed to protect and revive the waters on which Scotland’s coastal communities depend for their very life, ended up being perceived as so oppressive to those communities that a group of island musicians won UK-wide and even international acclaim for their song about how the Scottish Government was causing a new wave of Highland clearances.

In its current embattled state, the Scottish Government doubtless finds it much easier simply to blame their enemies for these ills, than to examine how they may have let down or excluded so many potential friends; they may also feel that the urgency of the climate crisis demands rapid top-down action, come what may.

Yet a glance across Europe shows that the countries making most practical progress in reducing carbon emissions – developing public transport and active travel, leading the way in new technologies from green hydrogen to high-powered battery storage – are those with the most robust systems of local empowerment and democracy, which enable communities to take ownership of the process of change. That Scotland critically lacks such structures has been obvious for decades; the failure of successive governments to address that absence has been one of the biggest failures of devolution.

And now, this lack of serious, deep-rooted support for government policies is exacting a painfully high price. A price, alas, that will be paid both by Scotland’s beloved and vital natural environment, which desperately needs a robust consensus among people and politicians on its protection and repair, and, it seems, by our continuing capacity to shape a better future, as those who care little for Scotland or for democracy use these failures to cast doubt on the very idea of Scotland as a country fit to govern itself, or to map out its own path to survival, through a world in mounting crisis.

 

Briefings

Restating the case

April 8, 2024

Back in 2007, the jury was still very much out as to whether communities should be encouraged to take on responsibility for assets that were publicly owned. The landmark Quirk Review came down firmly in favour, citing several reasons why it was in the public interest for the transfer of public assets to be encouraged widely and at scale. One of the most compelling reasons cited back then was that when communities own land or buildings their financial resilience is markedly improved. Just to serve as a reminder, lest anyone needs one,  a comprehensive piece of research restates the argument.  

 

Author: Alannah Keogh , Christopher Davy - Social Investment Business

Now is the moment for Local Authorities to invest in a mass divestment of their assets into community ownership. In deprived areas, local community groups provide crucial services. Our research shows that those groups depend on owning or leasing buildings. Without them, they find it much harder to survive. A concerted effort to transfer large numbers of buildings could secure community organisations for years to come.  

Up and down the country councils are under pressure to sell off their assets to make ends meet. Community asset transfers and council leases are central to local community organisations, and quick sales aren’t likely to favour the sector. As we contemplate a worrying fire sale of local buildings, we took a closer look to see how important assets are to charities.  

The Social Investment Business data team dug into the Charity Commission data of over 146,000 charities held in the open-access dataset and compared this with the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) deciles. The data shows whether a charity owns or leases any land or buildings, and the IMD deciles rank areas by deprivation from 1 (most deprived) to 10 (least deprived). Taken together, the data shows just how much buildings matter. And the poorer the place, the more they matter.

Our research found a clear picture. In more deprived areas of the country a higher proportion of charities own land. The important additional piece of context here is that the proportion of ownership is higher, but the number of charities formed in each decile is roughly the same. That means the same number of charities are founded, but the survivors in poorer areas are much more likely to own a building or land. That is, we found that owning land is correlated strongly with charity survival, and this holds particularly true when deprivation levels increase.  

Our findings: 
* 41% of charities in IMD 1 (the most deprived areas of England) own land, compared to 28% in IMD 10 (The least deprived areas of the England). As deprivation falls, the percentage of charities owning land also falls. indicating the importance of asset ownership in marginalised communities. 
* The number of charities formed in each IMD band is roughly equal across England, regardless of the IMD rating. 
* Only 8,000 charities exist in the most deprived parts of England, but an average of 16,000 exist in the least deprived areas. The wealthier the area, the easier it is for charities to persist without assets on their balance sheet.  

There is a strong correlation between land ownership, and charity survival rates. From our data charities that have registered have done so in equal numbers and with equal likelihood of owning land regardless of deprivation. However, as charities age, those that survive are more likely to have assets or operate in more affluent areas. This means that owning an asset is much more important for survival in more deprived areas.

Our findings mirror research that we completed on Futurebuilders England, that demonstrated that asset ownership improves the resilience of charitable organisations.  

The factors underpinning this are complex and require additional research. It’s likely that owning land leads to greater financial stability for charities through revenue generation in the form of rent and room hire, partnership opportunities with local businesses and the Local Authority, and greater capacity for public sector contracting. In addition, they can secure loans against their assets, providing additional flexibility and scope for investment and forward planning. Owning assets also cuts costs, saving on rent, which can increase stability. 

Asset ownership might not be right for every charity but for many it is the foundation of long-term stability. The best thing that struggling Local Authorities could do with their land, would be to divest it into community hands. This would safeguard important local services in the communities that need them most and would provide a longer term saving to the state through crucial youth work, childcare, healthcare, mental health support, employability support and civic power.  

You can find more information about our research in the dashboard below, including a step-by-step guide of how we found this data.

 

Briefings

Seven calls for action on renewables

The scale and pace at which the transition to renewable energy is happening is such that it’s hard to keep tabs on. Whether it's onshore with new or expanded developments or offshore with its vast projected generation of 24GW (Scotland consumes 5GW) one thing is certain - Scotland is going to be a big net exporter of energy. And within this very dynamic market, some significant opportunities are opening up for communities. A coalition of community interests are intent on making sure that these are exploited to the full. Starting with seven calls for action to the Scottish Government.  

 

Author: CES, CLS, DTAS, SCA, Democratic Finance

A Fair Energy Deal for Scottish Communities Executive Summary

The drive to net zero by 2045 and expansion of renewable energy in Scotland provides a huge opportunity
to secure meaningful community benefits, support community-owned renewables and ensure that wealth
being generated from Scotland’s natural resources is shared fairly across Scotland. Community
understanding and participation in the energy sector is also essential to ensuring local buy-in and
appreciation of the need for the large-scale transformation of the UK electricity network required to ensure
our collective low carbon future.

We need strong government leadership and holistic thinking to support and expand existing community
renewables whilst making sure that renewable development by corporate developers and electricity
network operators builds community wealth within Scotland and delivers for the whole country. This Call
to Action proposes how we do that.

Community energy groups are already delivering across the Scottish Government’s national priorities.
Through local action they add value for money in areas including affordable housing, fuel poverty,
economic development, and health and wellbeing, often in locations that are hardest and most expensive
for local and national government to deliver in. If enabled, the community sector already has the solutions
that can ensure any investment will in turn strengthen people, place and wider climate change
commitments.

Current ambition for new and repowered onshore wind generation, offshore wind, and associated
requirements for widespread electricity network upgrades and investment in transmission infrastructure
together present unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Government and industry have the
opportunity to think strategically about socialising benefit and leveraging investment to create
sustainable and thriving communities. Ultimately, without community buy-in and support, a timely
transition to net zero cannot be guaranteed.

Our Seven Calls to Action

 We call on the Scottish Government to take forward these seven actions:

 

  1. Accelerating growth in the community energy sector: the Scottish Government must acknowledge and encourage the distinct and significantly greater local impacts and benefits of community owned energy. A working group should be established to create a roadmap of support to accelerate progress in the sector. This should include a review of government ambition and how this ambition is delivered.

 

  1. Setting a wholly owned community energy target – 1GW by 2030: the Scottish Government should review the Community and Locally Owned Energy target and what is included in this within the redrafted Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan. Setting a wholly owned community energy target of 1GW by 2030 will demonstrate a clear ambition, provide certainty for local investors and should be reinforced with an extended target for 2045. A specific target for credible community shared ownership should also be created.

 

  1. Addressing opportunities and challenges arising from repowering: mass repowering of existing onshore wind generation will be a significant challenge in Scotland over the next 10 to 20 years, but also creates opportunities for communities. We call, therefore, for a short-life working group to be created with representation from Scottish Government, local authorities, private developers and community representatives to undertake a comprehensive review of the repowering process and ensure that these challenges and opportunities are identified and acted on. 

 

  1. Increasing uptake of shared ownership opportunities: the Scottish Government should review how shared ownership opportunities can be made more attractive and accessible to communities, including mandating the private sector to engage with communities at the earliest stage of any development, and introducing support programmes to enable communities to engage in shared ownership opportunities. The new shared ownership support framework proposed in the Onshore Wind Deal must be produced in consultation with the community sector. 

 

  1. Mandating developers to report on community benefits should be implemented by the Scottish Government to allow effective monitoring of good practice, social return on investment monitoring and public transparency of these arrangements. This should include an obligation for private developers to regularly update the Community Benefits Register. 

 

  1. Updating Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits: the Scottish Government must work urgently to review its onshore good practice guidance as well as to link this with the emerging offshore funds and Transmission Network Operator Community Benefit funds to ensure that community benefits payments are unrestricted and remain fair and proportionate. Community benefits should be indexed to the consumer price index to be in line with Contract for Difference strike prices. Where existing community benefit arrangements are in place, it is important these continue and are renewed when ownership changes or sites repower. 

 

  1. Creation of a Scottish community wealth fund: the Scottish Government and private sector partners should use a proportion of community benefits from onshore, offshore and transmission developments to create a Scottish community wealth fund to support the delivery of a just transition to Net Zero for all communities across Scotland, not just those located nearest to developments. Capacity building support for communities to access these and other funds should be included to support communities’ growth and agency in the energy system.

Briefings

Not overwhelmed by overtourism 

One of the interesting aspects of the relatively new phenomenon known as ‘overtourism’ is that those who are concerned about it don't consider themselves to be ‘anti-tourist’ - it’s just a plea for tourism to be more proportionate. particularly for those who have to live with it, the constant wave after wave of tourists can be overwhelming and disempowering - particularly when it impacts so directly on the supply and affordability of accommodation. Which is why a peaceful people-powered protest to the problem of overtourism in Malaga, Spain might be of interest to those who are most affected.

 

Author: Ashifa Kassam The Guardian

Incensed after finding out his rental home of 10 years was about to become a tourist apartment, Dani Romero took to social media. What followed swiftly snowballed into a movement, as residents in Málaga began plastering stickers – reading “A family used to live here” or “Go home” – outside tourist lets across the southern Spanish city.

“I didn’t mean to arm a revolution,” said Romero. “I’m just looking for a house to live in.”

At the core of what one Spanish broadcaster called “the sticker rebellion” is not a rejection of tourism, said Romero. Instead, as city residents grapple with a record number of tourists, it’s a cri de coeur for a more balanced approach that could allow for a better coexistence between residents and tourists.

View image in fullscreen

It’s a debate playing out across Europe, as cities from Athens to Amsterdam wrestle with how best to tackle overtourism.

In Málaga, Romero did all he could to negotiate with his landlord, offering to pony up more rent for the three-bedroom flat he lived in on the outskirts of the city centre. His landlord’s refusal, however, cast Romero into a desperate search amid the slim pickings of a real estate market where tourist lets have for years outstripped the number of residents in the city centre.

“I’ve looked at houses that don’t have windows, another that wanted a €40,000 (£34,192) deposit,” he said. “On Friday, one asked me for a €200 deposit just to visit the apartment.”

Fuelled by frustration, he took to the social media page of the bar he owns, posting his own take on the blue AT – Apartamento Turístico or Tourist Apartment – signs that advertise tourist lets in the city. “ATtack against the citizens of the city,” he said, as he invited others to come up with their own rebrand of these short-term rentals.

Answers soon rolled in, all of them cleverly playing off the AT sign. “This used to be my home,” reads the translation of one response. Others were more blunt: “Go to your fucking home.”

The campaign soon took on a life of its own, as residents began printing out the responses and sticking them on to the AT signs across the city.

“To me it seems a very peaceful way of protesting,” said Romero. “There’s no organisation or political party behind this. It’s neighbours who are fed up because this is an issue that affects absolutely all of us.”

A recent survey of residents in Málaga found that access to housing ranked as their principal concern, with 60% of those polled describing rental prices as “very expensive”.

While about 80% of those surveyed described the impact of tourism as “very positive” or “positive,” the most recent data available showed that in 2021, the number of foreign nationals moving to the city rose by 2,600 while the population of Spanish nationals dropped by nearly 1,000.

As the number of tourist apartments swelled, the supply of rentals for locals shrank, pricing out groups such as retirees, some who had been forced to move into shared accommodation, and young people, said Romero. “I’m 48 years old, have a high income, money saved up and I can’t find a house. What’s the situation like for people who are 25 years old?”

Those lucky enough to own their home were not immune either, he said, as the influx of tourists had steadily replaced fruit shops and fishmongers with souvenir stands and luggage storage. “I don’t have anything against tourism. Tourists visit my bar and I’ve been a tourist,” said Romero. “But we have to regulate tourism – me and half the city can’t live like this.”

The city of Málaga, which recently rejected legislation that would have seen the municipal rental market classified as “under pressure” allowing officials to put in place rent caps in certain cases, did not reply to a request for comment.

Graffiti in Seville, Spain, in defence of housing for citizens. Photograph: Ken Welsh/Alamy

As news spreads of Málaga’s sticker rebellion, messages poured in for Romero from across the country. From San Sebastián to Valencia and Madrid and Barcelona, residents got in touch to express interest in printing out their own stickers.

Others had weighed in with opinions. “Some people have been really supportive. Others think this is all silly,” he said. “But at the end of the day, all I’m doing – I repeat – is protesting because I don’t have a home.”