HOLYROOD’s Cross-Party Group on International Development, chaired by Sarah Boyack MSP, is launching an inquiry into the Scottish Government’s International Development, Climate Justice, and Humanitarian funds after transparency concerns.
This comes after the CPG was made aware of concerns from the sector regarding what funds are allocated, how they are prioritised and why.
Last May, concerns were raised about the significant delays to the awarding of the Climate Justice Fund.
There has also been a lack of transparency from the Scottish Government over recent years.
The Scottish Government’s regular International Development Contribution Report has not been published since the 2019-20 edition.
The inquiry aims to establish how and why decisions have been made and seek to make recommendations for a more transparent future approach.
The CPG’s inquiry will be a mix of evidence from stakeholders, alongside desk-based research.
Commenting on the inquiry launch, Chair Sarah Boyack said: “We know the great benefits that international aid can bring to communities in need.
“However, for too long there has not been transparency on how the Scottish Government’s aid programmes have been delivered.
“This inquiry aims to take a constructive approach to bring clarity into the Scottish Government’s Aid programme.
“If Scotland is going to make a substantial impact with its international aid, it is vital that the processes for awarding this aid are suitably transparent.
“I look forward to engaging with stakeholders and others to carry out this inquiry.
“Our aim will always be to ensure Scotland is world leading in international aid, but it is critical that humanitarian support is sent to the right places for the right reasons.”
The creation of a new criminal offence of unauthorised entry to a football match and bolstering collaboration between UK and overseas police are among recommendations from MPs on how to improve safety at sporting events at both home and abroad.
Today’s report from the Culture Media and Sport Committee comes after its inquiry examining safety spectator issues following the disorder at Wembley at the Euro 2020 final and the chaotic scenes faced by Liverpool supporters caused by police failings at the Champions League final in Paris last year.
In a week when hundreds of thousands of fans will be attending football and other big sports fixtures, the Committee concludes that while sporting bodies have learned lessons from past disasters and improved stadiums and policing, sporting events are still not environments that ensure all fans are able to attend.
The disorder at Wembley in 2021 included instances of people without tickets attempting to enter the stadium using fakes, tailgating or through force. Warning that the lack of a distinct criminal penalty is allowing the practice to continue seemingly unchallenged, the Committee backs the Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill introduced by committee member Kevin Brennan MP and urges the Government to ensure the legislation is passed.
The Bill would create an offence of unauthorised entry at football matches and allow a football banning order to be imposed on conviction.
The report also calls for the expansion of safe standing trials, for police and clubs to take the use of Class A drugs at sporting events more seriously, steps to monitor and tackle anti-social behaviour and discrimination and for measures to ensure stadiums are accessible for all.
On protecting fans abroad, the Committee describes as ‘disgraceful’ the treatment of Liverpool fans by French authorities at the 2022 Champions League final, with their approach worsened by attempts to blame Reds supporters.
Evidence received by the Committee suggests that the attitude of foreign police forces to British fans heavily contributed to the chaos. The report therefore recommends that the Government works with overseas counterparts to bolster the role of British police travelling with fans and their collaboration with local forces.
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the CMS Committee, said: “Fans flocking to festive fixtures at this time of year should be able to enjoy time with family and friends in sports grounds that are secure, inclusive and welcoming environments.
“Sadly, the rise in disorder at football post-pandemic and near disasters that occurred at Wembley and in Paris have shown there is much to be done to ensure a safe time for all. The Government, police, clubs and governing bodies all have a role to play.
“Tailgating and other forms of unauthorised entry into grounds are an increasing problem at high-profile matches putting safety at risk from overcrowding. Those involved should know that they will face consequences and the Government should back legislation to ensure they can be banned.
“At big games in Europe, too often the attitude of foreign police to British fans leads to unacceptable treatment of innocent supporters. The Government needs to work with overseas counterparts to bolster the role of British police travelling with teams and collaboration with local forces.”
Main conclusions and recommendations
Protecting fans abroad
The treatment of Liverpool fans by French authorities at the 2022 Champions League final was disgraceful and worsened by attempts of the authorities and UEFA to blame the supporters. The attitude of foreign police forces to UK football fans heavily contributed to the chaos.
The Government should work to foster improved relationships with other governments on policing sporting events in order to bolster the role of British police travelling with UK teams and their collaboration with local forces.
Policing
The unauthorised entry of ticketless individuals at football matches creates a risk to their safety and the safety of legitimate, paying fans. While such acts are likely already illegal, the lack of a distinct criminal penalty that includes the use of the proven deterrent of Football Banning Orders, is allowing this practice to continue seemingly unchallenged.
The Committee welcomes the introduction of the Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill and calls on the Government to ensure its passage into law during this session of Parliament.
Sporting bodies should increase their financial contribution to the safety of fans outside of the stadium.
The Government should work with police and sporting bodies to introduce a centralised system to report and record discrimination and antisocial behaviour at sporting events.
Alcohol and drug use at sporting events
The evidence available on the impact of alcohol on disorder at football matches does not provide a compelling case either for the status quo or for a significant relaxation of the current legislation.
The Government’s review of the Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc) Act 1985, alongside a responsible alcohol sale pilot scheme, provides an opportunity for comprehensive evidence gathering.
The Government should consult with other sporting bodies and also ensure that the alcohol sale pilots are undertaken alongside the Committee’s recommended improved reporting of hate crime and antisocial behaviour to ensure the impacts are fully understood before any further decisions are taken.
The increasing use of Class A drugs at sporting events is something that police and clubs should both be taking more seriously. It is unclear whether the use of Football Banning Orders for Class A drugs provides an adequate deterrent.
Further work is needed by the police to understand the prevalence of drug supply and possession.
Stewarding
Stewards should not be seen merely as volunteers or fans who get to see the game for free. They are crucial to the safety of all sporting events and their responsibilities have grown over the years. The resources available to all major UK sports should allow for the better treatment of stewards, including an appropriate wage.
Stewards, employers and fans would all benefit from clarity on the roles, responsibilities and standards for stewards. The Committee recommend that the Sports Ground Safety Authority should develop and publish minimum expectations for stewarding standards in consultation with all those involved in major sporting events.
The Government and SGSA should work with sporting bodies to establish a central training fund, with contributions from sporting leagues being tied to their revenue.
Stadium management
Local authorities should include a wider variety of perspectives in Safety Advisory Groups with efforts to reach demographic groups that have been previously disregarded.
As long as football clubs can prove that they have a comprehensive stewarding plan for safe standing and follow the licenced standing criteria from the SGSA Further safe standing pilots should be encouraged.
Poor stadium design raises fundamental issues around equality, diversity and inclusion that are not being fulfilled to an acceptable level by the design of spaces intended for use by fans. Being unable to accommodate women and disabled fans in an appropriate way sends the message that they are not welcome and undermines their safety, security and dignity when attending matches.
The SGSA should update its Green Guide with a requirement for new and redeveloped stadia to better accommodate all fans, including women and disabled people.
The services that schools and local authorities provide to children and young people with additional support needs will be scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee.
More than a third of children and young people in Scotland’s public and grant-maintained schools have an identified additional support need. Working under the direction of the Scottish Government’s policies, local authorities are responsible for identifying, providing and reviewing the additional support needs of children and young people.
The Committee is launching its inquiry with a call for people to share their experiences of how services are provided to people with additional support needs. The Committee is keen to hear from parents, teachers, support staff, carers, pupils themselves and support organisations.
The inquiry will consider how Scottish legislation that aimed to support children and young people, including 2004’s Additional Support for Learning Act, has been implemented and is working in practice.
The Committee is particularly interested in hearing views about the presumption that children and young people should receive a ‘mainstream education’, which aims to ensure they could be included alongside their peers; the impact of COVID-19 on the availability of additional support; and what happens when people are in dispute with their local authority over the services provided to a child or young person.
Sue Webber MSP, Convener of the Education, Children and Young People Committee, said: “Earlier this year, the Additional Support for Learning Project Board told us about its role in improving the support that is available for children with additional support needs, but it acknowledged that there is not a quick fix to the recommendations laid out by the Morgan Review.
“We would like to hear what people with additional support needs, parents and carers, teachers and support organisations make of the current system and the services that local authorities and schools provide.
“If you have experience of accessing additional support for learning in mainstream education or a specialist unit, views on the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of additional support for learning, or have been involved in discussions about the support a child or young person receives, please get in touch.”
The Committee’s call for views, which is now open, will close on 31 December 2023. Variations of the call for views are available in an Easy Read format and British Sign Language.
The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the Have A Heart Foundation
The regulator of charities has launched an inquiry into the Have A Heart Foundation over serious concerns about its financial management.
The charity was set up in 2013 to raise awareness of and support patients with heart disease. It is based in Cheshire.
Despite engagement and guidance from the Commission, the trustees have failed to file any of the charity’s accounts since 2019.
The Commission is also concerned about the trustees’ financial record-keeping more widely, and the level of charitable expenditure.
It therefore escalated its engagement with the charity to an inquiry on 17 April 2023.
The inquiry will examine:
the trustees’ failure to comply with their statutory reporting duties including the timely submission of the charity’s accounts and annual returns to the Commission
the extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect of their administration, governance and management of the charity, including compliance with the charity’s governing document and whether the charity is operating in line with its objects
whether potential conflicts of interest and connected party transactions have been properly managed
whether there has been any unauthorised trustee benefit
The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.
It is the Commission’s normal policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing the issues examined, any action taken, and the inquiry’s outcomes.
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee has launched a new inquiry into the relationship between ministers and officials and whether Government’s engine room still functions as intended.
Several high-profile dismissals of senior civil servants by ministers as well as criticisms of Civil Service impartiality and competence during the Brexit process and Covid-19 pandemic indicate a fundamental tension in relations between the Government and the Civil Service.
MPs are seeking evidence on whether civil servants feel confident in giving honest advice to ministers, the role of ministers and Civil Service leadership in creating an environment where officials can “speak truth to power” and if not, the consequences this has on good policymaking.
In a recent evidence session, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case highlighted how officials face a challenge managing the “juxtaposition” in the Civil Service Code between the “duty to support the Government of the day to the best of your ability and upholding the values” of an independent and impartial Civil Service.
MPs will examine whether the role of Cabinet Secretary is sufficiently empowered to effectively lead the Civil Service, where accountability lies in policymaking, and whether Ministers’ role in the hiring, firing, and promotion of Civil Service leaders is appropriate and conducive to effective government.
William Wragg MP, Chair of PACAC, said: “It is a fundamental principle that the Civil Service serves the government of the day, yet growing tensions between ministers and their officials and public criticisms of Civil Service impartiality and competence have called into question the efficacy of the Westminster model.
“Events such as the Covid-19 pandemic response and Brexit, as well as high-profile dismissals of Civil Service leaders, have raised questions about where accountability lies in Government, but also the integrity of our public administration machine.
“Our inquiry aims to understand how the Civil Service leadership operates today, how the Government’s interaction with officials may have deviated from established practice, and, ultimately, whether our public administration still serves its intended purpose or whether it is in need of reform.”
Terms of reference
The Committee welcomes submissions by 5pm on Friday 16 June addressing any or all of the following questions on:
The status and constitutional position of the Civil Service, including:
The extent to which the established values of the Civil Service, enshrined in the Civil Service Code, continue to determine the conduct of Officials and are respected by the governments they serve.
Whether the Civil Service feels sufficiently confident or empowered to give honest advice to Ministers and ‘speak truth to power’, and if not, what the consequences are for policy making and governance. To what extent does the Civil Service leadership have responsibility for ensuring that an environment exists where officials do feel empowered to give candid advice?
What responsibility does the Civil Service have for ensuring constitutional propriety in the conduct of government?
Civil Service Leadership
What constitutes good leadership in the Civil Service?
As the Head of the Civil Service, is the Cabinet Secretary sufficiently empowered to lead the Civil Service and how far is the Civil Service Board equipped to provide effective leadership?
The extent to which the Civil Service has an obligation to enhance its capability and, if so, whether that can be exercised unless such an obligation also applies to governments. Should any such stewardship obligation be formalised?
Whether Ministers’ current role in the hiring, firing, and promotion of Civil Service leaders is appropriate and conducive to effective government.
Policymaking
Is the respective accountability of Ministers and Officials for policy formulation and delivery sufficiently clear and, if not, how might it be made more so?
Is the current system of Ministerial Directions effective and sufficient?
In all of these areas, are there lessons from other countries that the UK can useful adopt?
A new parliamentary inquiry into the Scottish Government’s public service reform programme has been announced.
Holyrood’s Finance and Public Administration Committee wants to examine the detail of the reform programme, which is focused on digitalisation, innovation, estates, public body landscape and procurement.
As part of this work, the committee will examine how public bodies are working to achieve the government’s plans to make efficiencies, while ensuring effective delivery of public services, in 2023-24 and beyond.
It will also consider the government’s ambitions to:
keep the public service pay bill costs at 2022-23 levels and
return the public sector workforce “broadly to pre-Covid-19 levels”.
“Further information on the government’s plans for reform and workforce levels were expected in the Scottish Budget 2023-24 but did not materialise due to ongoing economic turbulence.
“Our committee therefore wants to look at how public bodies are working to put in place the government’s ambitions for reform.“We also want to establish from where in the public sector reductions in headcount to pre-pandemic levels will be made, and to what timescales.
“Clarity and transparency around these issues are crucial, during what is an uncertain time for the public sector.”
A call for views from public sector bodies, academics, think tanks and other interested parties has been launched today, with a closing date of 1 May 2023.
To inform this inquiry, the committee is seeking written views from Scottish public bodies on their plans for public service reform in their sectors, and others with a view on how the reform programme is working in practice and how it is delivering effective and efficient services.
The committee is particularly keen to hear from:
all types and sizes of public sector bodies from across the public sector
others affected by the Scottish Government’s public service reform programme, and
think-tanks, academics and commentators on progress with, and outcomes from, the reform programme.
The inquiry will see the Committee look at the Scottish Government’s Cultural Strategy, which focuses on what it calls a ‘place-based’ approach. The Committee will look at what this means for communities up and down the country and what barriers are in the way to developing local cultural activities.
Now the Committee want to hear from those who participate, attend or organise cultural activities in their local areas. It wants to find out what more needs to be done to support these activities and what difference they make to people’s lives.
Speaking as the inquiry launched, Committee Convener Clare Adamson MSP said: “Scotland has a rich cultural heritage and the very heart of that lies within our local communities. From community choirs to book clubs, local galas to theatre groups, there is a huge range of activities taking place each and every day.
“But these activities are not always easy to access or indeed organise, so we want to find out what support is needed to make these events happen. And importantly, where this support should come from.
“Culture enriches us all and this is especially true for our communities. Which is why we want to hear directly from those at the very heart of Scotland’s local communities.”
Questions the Committee is asking include:
What are the key factors that support you to attend or participate in cultural activities?
What support has there been in place to develop and grow cultural activities or events in your local area?
What needs to be in place to enable or to support a variety of cultural activities or events being organised and delivered in your local area?
MSPs have today (Wednesday 26th January) launched a call for evidence on the impact of poverty-related stigma, after being told by experts that negative and discriminatory attitudes towards people living in poverty are continuing to blight the lives of people across Scotland.
The Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Poverty, which brings together MSPs from all parties with organisations working to tackle poverty in Scotland, have issued the call as part of their new inquiry into the causes, impacts of and solutions to poverty-related stigma in Scotland.
At an evidence session held yesterday (Tuesday 25th January) as part of the inquiry, MSPs heard evidence from Professor Imogen Tyler (Lancaster University), Professor Tracy Shildrick (Newcastle University) and Dr Greig Inglis (University of the West of Scotland).
The three academics, all of whom specialise in the links between stigma and poverty, told the inquiry that:
Stigma is created by a combination of factors, including media depictions of poverty and the creation of media and political narratives that portrays people on low incomes as ‘undeserving’ of support
Negative experiences of public services, for example experiences of judgemental attitudes from staff, can entrench feelings of stigma and shame
Stigma is directly linked to poorer mental health and lower levels of wellbeing
Key to tackling stigma is to involve people with experience of poverty in the design of services, particularly the social security system.
Now, MSPs have issued a call for written evidence to be submitted to the inquiry. They’re asking for people and organisations from across the country to feed in their experiences and perspectives of poverty-related stigma, to help inform and shape their final report, which is due to be published in May.
As well as the call for written evidence, the group will also be holding further evidence sessions with people working in the media, as well as with people who have experience of poverty.
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “Too many people living on low incomes across Scotland face challenges and barriers because of the stigma associated with poverty.
“This can impact on the kind of support people are able to access, the treatment by public services, the media and the wider public, and most importantly on individual mental health and wellbeing.
“The Cross-Party Group on Poverty’s new inquiry offers the opportunity to explore some of the drivers of poverty-related stigma as well as, importantly, what the solutions are.
“Critical to the success of the inquiry will be the involvement of people with experience of poverty, who will help shape the inquiry’s findings and key recommendations.”
Pam Duncan Glancy MSP, Deputy Convenor of the CPG on Poverty, said: “Stigma is not only unfair and causes real pain for people, it stops people accessing the essential support they need. That traps people in poverty.
“People in Scotland living in poverty need support and action, not blame and suspicion. They have seen far too little support for far too long.
“If we’re to reduce poverty in Scotland, we have to end the stigma of it, and take down all barriers to getting support.
“I am pleased the Cross Party Group on Poverty have created an opportunity to dig deeper on this. This will give us a clearer idea of how to break down barriers – and empower people to speak up and reach out when they require support.”
For full details on the call for evidence, including how to submit your views, click here.
An inquiry has been launched into the health and wellbeing of children and young people by a Scottish Parliament Committee.
The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is seeking to find out the key issues around health and wellbeing for children and young people in Scotland. They will investigate what the challenges and opportunities are for improving their health and wellbeing, and how addressing poverty can lead to improved health and social care outcomes.
The inquiry will focus on 4 key areas:
• Child poverty (including the Scottish Government’s current child poverty delivery plan), inequality and adverse childhood experiences; • Issues affecting care experienced young people; • Mental health, access to Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and the importance of early intervention; • Health and wellbeing in schools
Speaking as the inquiry launched, Gillian Martin MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said: “There are a whole host of factors which impact the health and wellbeing of our children and young people, and our Committee will consider these in detail.
“The physical and mental toll of the pandemic on children and young people cannot be overstated and we know that prior to this pandemic there was already a high and increasing demand for youth mental health services in Scotland.
“As we emerge from the pandemic and with the Scottish Government’s current child poverty delivery plan due to run until 2022, our inquiry comes at a pivotal time. We are determined to find out how children and young people can best be supported to live healthy and flourishing lives.”
MPs publish Coronavirus: Lessons Learned To Date report
Covid vaccine programme “one of most effective initiatives in UK history” but delay to first lockdown a “serious error” that should have been challenged
The House of Commons and Science and Technology Committee and Health and Social Care Committee have published their Report, Coronavirus: lessons learned to date, examining the initial UK response to the covid pandemic.
The 150-page Report contains 38 recommendations to the Government and public bodies, and draws on evidence from over 50 witnesses—including Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Professor Chris Whitty, Sir Patrick Vallance, Sir Simon Stevens, Dame Kate Bingham, Baroness Harding of Winscombe and Dominic Cummings—as well as over 400 written submissions.
The Report was agreed unanimously by members of both Select Committees, which consist of 22 MPs from three political parties—Conservative, Labour and SNP.
The joint inquiry, which began in October 2020, examined six key areas of the response to covid-19: the country’s preparedness for a pandemic; the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions such as border controls, social distancing and lockdowns to control the pandemic; the use of test, trace and isolate strategies; the impact of the pandemic on social care; the impact of the pandemic on specific communities; and the procurement and roll-out of covid-19 vaccines.
The inquiry concluded that some initiatives were examples of global best practice but others represented mistakes. Both must be reflected on to ensure that lessons are applied to better inform future responses to emergencies.
In particular:
The forward-planning, agility and decisive organisation of the vaccine development and deployment effort will save millions of lives globally and should be a guide to future Government practice;
The delays in establishing an adequate test, trace and isolate system hampered efforts to understand and contain the outbreak and it failed in its stated purpose to avoid lockdowns;
The initial decision to delay a comprehensive lockdown—despite practice elsewhere in the world—reflected a fatalism about the spread of covid that should have been robustly challenged at the time;
Social care was not given sufficient priority in the early stages of the pandemic;
The experience of the covid pandemic underlines the need for an urgent and long term strategy to tackle health inequalities; and
The UK’s preparedness for a pandemic had been widely acclaimed in advance, but performed less well than many other countries in practice.
The 38 recommendations made, if implemented by the Government and by public bodies such as the NHS, would ensure that during the remaining period of the pandemic and in any new emergency, the UK could perform better by having distilled lessons—positive and negative—from the UK’s initial response to covid.
In a joint statement on the publication of the Coronavirus: lessons learned to date Report, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, and Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, said: “The UK response has combined some big achievements with some big mistakes. It is vital to learn from both to ensure that we perform as best as we possibly can during the remainder of the pandemic and in the future.
“Our vaccine programme was boldly planned and effectively executed. Our test and trace programme took too long to become effective. The Government took seriously scientific advice but there should have been more challenge from all to the early UK consensus that delayed a more comprehensive lockdown when countries like South Korea showed a different approach was possible.
“In responding to an emergency, when much is unknown, it is impossible to get everything right. We record our gratitude to all those—NHS and care workers, scientists, officials in national and local government, workers in our public services and in private businesses and millions of volunteers—who responded to the challenge with dedication, compassion and hard work to help the whole nation at one of our darkest times.”
The Report includes an Executive Summary with conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned at the end of each Chapter.
