When is a power not a power – personal reflections on the Smith Commission, devolution, and more…When is a power not a power? When what the left hand giveth, the right hand taketh away. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, it would be presumptuous of me to expect you to read my mind. Allow me, rather, to concentrate on the evidence. After an exhausting campaign (that was for me, and I […]

What do you say about a ‘Chatham House’ rules meeting?DO you go to meetings where the chair will say, as part of the welcome, ‘Chatham House rules, by the way’? I’ve been to meetings where people will preface almost every contribution they make with ‘Chatham House rules, by the way’. Let me put my cards on the table – I think we have very […]

Integration of Health & Social Care Services ConsultationIn April 2014 the Public Bodies (Scotland) Bill was enacted. Essentially building on Community Health Partnerships, the Act legislates for local authorities and health boards to combine some of their health and social care functions. The intentions, in short, are to create efficiencies, synchronise operational and strategic arrangements and produce better outcomes for people using […]

Scrap conditionality…… have faith that a basic income would strengthen people’s resources to be resourceful! #conditionalityscrap #basicincome Just before Christmas a colleague passed me an article – ‘Informing investment to reduce health inequalities (III) in Scotland: a commentary’ – which set me thinking. It examines the effects of different forms of interventions to tackle health and […]

Governance Four: The (Social) Justice LeagueThe people behind Edinburgh’s Third Sector are heroes; but you already knew that. This (Social) Justice League accounts for nearly 2000 of all registered charities in Scotland. OSCR (The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulators) is an independent regulator and registrar of Scottish charities, and is the main body for managing charities, charity law, and the […]

2015 : Where we’re going, we don’t need roads…2015, as any stalwart Back to the Future fan will tell you, should be the year of hoverboards, double ties and self-tying shoes. Unfortunately, Marty McFly & co missed a few vital staples of the future; such as the explosion of the digital platform (if it was up to them, we’d still be using fax machines […]