Scotland’s first Citizens’ Assembly has published its report setting out a shared vision and 60 recommendations for the country’s future.
The vision and recommendations were agreed by an overwhelming consensus of members, and cover a wide range of areas including future Citizens’ Assemblies, incomes and poverty, tax and the economy, health and wellbeing, support for young people, sustainability and further powers for the Scottish Parliament.
Doing Politics Differently: The Report of the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland can be read online at www.citizensassembly.scot
This report has been submitted to the Scottish Government and Parliament. It will be laid in Parliament for debate, with an action plan from the Scottish Government to follow.
To accompany the report, a short film on the Vision and Recommendations agreed by the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland, and featuring the voices of members is here: Our Vision and Recommendations – YouTube
All of the materials including evidence from previous weekends, an interim report and range of supporting papers covering previous work and articles and videos about the impact of COVID-19 are available on the Assembly website
The Scottish Government are holding a workshop with urban residents tomorrow (Thursday 1 October) from 4.30pm – 6.00pm, on the subject of short-term lets.
The Scottish Government are hosting the event using Webex, and still have a small number of spaces available.
They appreciate this is short notice, but if anybody in the community council network wishes to attend, they’d be grateful if you could respond to: shorttermlets@gov.scot and joining details will be sent to them.
For those unable to join, they are inviting written submissions to the consultation until 16 October.
Simon Holledge
Secretary, Edinburgh Assocation of Community Councils
The report from Weekend 5 of the Assembly has now been published, and you can see all the outputs including the livestream recordings on our Weekend 5 page.
Convener Kate Wimpress has also published a blog where she reflects on the last weekend.
We look forward to meeting again online on 3 and 4 October, and hope you can join us by watching the livestream on our homepage.
The Citizens Assembly will resume online following a break due to COVID disruption. We will reconvene on 5 September and will report to the Scottish Government and Parliament by the end of the year.
The Assembly’s remit will be unchanged.
You may recall that before the pause, members had made substantial progress in developing a shared vision for the future of Scotland, and had considered key challenges to building a sustainable country.
Members also examined Scotland’s finances and taxation, and discussed how decisions are taken for and about Scotland.
The Assembly will now complete its work across these areas, while also considering the impact of COVID-19.
The interim report, The Journey So Far, was published yesterday alongside a comprehensive set of articles and videos summarising the work.
There is no better time for the citizens of Edinburgh to pitch in and contribute to a Manifesto for the CityCreating Our Manifesto for the City ⋆ The Citizen Network
Calls for no return to unequal and unjust normalcy following Covid-19 have come from many quarters, some of them quite unexpected, and there’s no doubt that many of the persistent problems of city life will be reassessed by those who govern us, whether that be Westminster, Holyrood or Edinburgh City Chambers.
But let’s not fool ourselves, what’s promised by politicians now may never transpire. Real change will not happen without direct action by citizens; for Edinburgh, Citizen’s Manifesto is the first step.
The need for citizens to hold politicians to account is already evident from reports of ‘stakeholder’ discussions pertaining to post-pandemic Edinburgh.
Consider first what Council leader Adam McVey had to say about the city’s Summer festivals: “By working together we can make sure that when our festivals return, they do so with even more of a focus on our people, place and environment.” So far so good but one is tempted to question the ‘even more’ – there has been scant attention to people place and environment in festival planning in recent years.
In the same Scotsman article note that the city’s residents are absent when our cherished heritage is flagged up as needing not just preservation but enhancement by the festivals. Clearly, this pipe-dream does not extend to those who live in this ‘remarkable backdrop’.
But it’s the reaction of Essential Edinburgh that confirms that not all stakeholders are thinking about anything other than business as usual post Covid-19.
Roddy Smith, the Chief Executive, says “We need to reactivate the city, promote it strongly and widely and seek over the next couple of years to return to our numbers pre the virus.”
The same message can be deduced from the report from the meeting last week of the new tourism ‘oversight group’ for Edinburgh.
The group includes Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG), Edinburgh Airport, Festivals Edinburgh, Visit Scotland, Essential Edinburgh and the Chamber of Commerce – again not one resident has a seat at the table. Adam McVey reported that the group had reaffirmed the aims of Edinburgh’s new Tourism Strategy which was agreed pre-pandemic.
How can this be? Have we learned nothing these last few weeks?
So, the coronavirus will not miraculously change our world for the better. The citizens will have to insist on it, and the Manifesto for the City is an excellent starting place.
Let’s face it, change is difficult – most of us are stuck with at least one foot in the past and are in some way resigned to the way things are. To paraphrase a French philosopher, we are all ‘half accomplices’, demanding radical change while at the same time clinging to what we have become accustomed to.
But the city will change whether we like it or not, and citizens need to rise to the challenge and drive that change – now is the time to articulate our values and our aspirations; now is the time to really get beyond ourselves.
A new ‘Scotland Cares’ campaign has been launched to encourage people to volunteer during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
While the most important ask for the public remains to stay at home and follow the essential public health guidance, people who are healthy and not at risk can volunteer to provide practical or emotional help to those most in need.
A similar campaign launched in England last week has seen more than 750,000 volunteers sign up.
Those wanting to volunteer to support their communities have three options which are signposted from the Ready Scotland website:
• returning NHS workers will be directed to existing voluntary arrangements in NHS Scotland
• people wishing to offer their support to our public services, including the NHS and local authorities, will be directed to a site co-ordinated by the British Red Cross
• those looking for opportunities with other charities or community groups in their area will be directed to Volunteer Scotland for information
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “We know there are a huge number of people who are already volunteering and many more with a desire to help their communities, public services and voluntary organisations. And for that we are incredibly grateful.
“This site means that those who are able to can contribute in a way which makes a real difference. It helps people to help each other, as we all get through this together.”
Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The Scottish Government is working closely with local government and a range of partners to co-ordinate the volunteering effort across Scotland.
“By providing this national portal we will be able to connect people to where their contribution is most needed in their local community, ensuring everyone can play their part in helping Scotland come through this pandemic.
“For some, that may involve roles responding to specific needs in health and social care. For others, it may be that we draw on their skills, enthusiasm and energy in the weeks and months to come.
“It is important to remember that the most helpful thing many of us can continue to do to help the NHS is to stay at home and follow all COVID-19 guidance.”
Volunteers who want to support their communities should visit www.ReadyScotland.org to find out how they can help.
The website is being constantly updated and provides advice on volunteering safely and the organisations to register an interest with such as Volunteer Scotland and the Red Cross.
In line with Scotland’s current stay at home rules the public can only volunteer to carry out tasks which involve leaving their home, once a day, if you are not required to be isolating and are not in any risk categories.
A similar campaign launched in England last week has seen more than 750,000 volunteers sign up.
CAPITAL CARERS – Formally North West Carers Centre – are holding their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday 18th March at 3.30pm in The Prentice Centre, 1 Granton Mains Avenue.
