Tag: recommendations

Scottish Government to support sharing libraries and repair cafes

Funding to deliver key recommendation of Scotland’s Climate Assembly

The Scottish Government is to help fund a new national network of community sharing libraries and repair cafes as part of a drive to reduce consumption and cut waste.

Under the £310,000 reuse and repair scheme, funded jointly with Zero Waste Scotland, more resource libraries will be established across Scotland – a key recommendation of Scotland’s Climate Assembly.

The facilities allow people to borrow items such as high quality tools, equipment, clothes and toys rather than buying them.

The scheme – overseen by the Circular Communities Scotland charity in collaboration with Edinburgh Tool Library and Edinburgh Remakery – will also see more repair cafes set up to teach people the skills to repair items.

A report by Social Investment Scotland on behalf of Zero Waste Scotland in 2020 identified 24 repair cafes and sharing library projects in Scotland and the intention is to increase this to 100 in the next three years.

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero Michael Matheson said: “Scotland’s Climate Assembly called for action and I’m very pleased that we will support a network of resource libraries and repair cafes.

“Sharing libraries provide a direct reduction in consumption, waste and emissions because they allow people to switch from purchasing and owning items to borrowing them instead. Repair cafes give people the skills to re-use their own items.

“This network also supports our drive to tackle poverty by giving lower income groups access to tools or equipment not otherwise available and the skills to use them.”

Chief Executive Officer of Zero Waste Scotland Iain Gulland, said: “Scotland – and the world – urgently needs to address its consumption problem. The current demand on the planet’s finite, precious materials is unsustainable.

“The circular economy is one of the best tools we have in our arsenal. We can reduce our consumption by keeping existing materials in circulation and only buying new when absolutely necessary.

“Sharing libraries and repair cafes are not only great ways of implementing a more circular way of living, but an opportunity to get to know people and businesses doing amazing work in your community. We hope to see as many of these local initiatives come to fruition as soon as possible.”

Michael Cook, CEO, Circular Communities Scotland said: “For Scotland to combat climate change, we each need to change our own consumption behaviours. Sharing libraries and repair cafés provide simple and effective solutions to do this whilst reducing our carbon footprint.

“Rather than throwing an old item away we can repair it at a repair cafe, or even better, be taught the repair skills to fix it ourselves. Similarly, rather than buy a new product we can borrow one from a local sharing library. We are delighted to receive this funding to form the new network and significantly grow the number of these projects in Scotland.”

UK Coronavirus response: “some big achievements with some big mistakes”

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. 

coronavirus-lessons-learned-to-date-reportDownload

New report calls for ‘revolution’ in Scottish land use

– Findings based on expert analysis and public consultation events.

– Launch of new body to monitor progress on “urgent and combined actions.”

The Scottish Government, councils and landowners need to take “urgent and combined actions” to tackle the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, according to a new report.

The report, published by the Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA), sets out eight recommendations to tackle the challenges facing biodiversity, food production, renewable energy, health and well-being.

The co-ordinated approach calls for the rapid development of new strategies and plans alongside reforms to existing regulations and continued investment in innovative businesses, public services and infrastructure.

If implemented, new Healthy Food, Agroecology and Sustainable Place strategies would be combined with strengthened requirements under the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement as well as Climate Impact Certificates detailing land use impacts.

The New Vision for Land Use in Scotland report also calls for continued investment in transport, renewable energy and communications infrastructure across Scotland along with seed funding for innovative new businesses.

The integrated approach would be underpinned by support for secondary and tertiary education in creating a climate conscious, motivated and skilled workforce.

In developing the recommendations, SEDA hosted events with nearly 50 of the best-informed speakers on all aspects of rural land use. The experts participated in 6 Conversations with designers, architects, businesses, campaigners and the general public. In all, over 1,250 people took part in the Conversations.

Experts believe that little additional government expenditure is required to deliver such a framework, which would encourage and allow the private and third sectors to invest.

However, delivering the recommendations requires significant and rapid changes in processes and greater integration of existing and new policies and procedures.

Gail Halvorsen, Event Organiser for the SEDA 6 Conversations, said: “I felt there was a need for a broad-ranging event on the future of Scotland’s land use in view of the climate emergency and COP26.

“The recommendations that have come from this well-attended series of conversations will cause the greatest change in Scottish land use since the agrarian revolution.

“Crucially, each part of the recommended eight-point programme is dependent on the others to deliver a sustained improvement in climate change mitigation, biodiversity enhancement, health & wellbeing, and economic activity across Scotland.”

An immediate result of the report’s findings will be the launch of SEDA Land, a new forum for SEDA members and experts in land use to continue the discussion, seek to influence land use change and monitor progress made by the Scottish Government, local authorities, land owners and businesses in implementing the changes needed.

SEDA Land will be launched formally alongside a discussion about the report at an event on 6 September.

Catherine Cosgrove, Chair of SEDA, commented: “Our Land Conversations series provided a platform for ideas and experiences to be discussed. This report provides a flavour of the rich debate sparked during these events and eight recommendations we believe the Scottish Government needs to implement rapidly.

“We hope this will be the start of a wider public debate that could revitalise our relationship with the land.”

Deborah Roberts, Deputy Chief Executive at the James Hutton Institute, added: “The need for land use reform has captured people’s imaginations and we particularly welcome the interdisciplinary and science-led approach in this report’s findings.

“As this report makes clear, a sustainable future for Scotland’s land can only be built on a cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary basis, and through the use of principles which take into account people’s needs, sense of community, place and tradition – all of which vary from one region to the next.”

Professor Davy McCracken, Head of Integrated Land Management at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and one of the authors of the report, said: “It is clear that a ‘single policy, single outcome’ approach does not address the needs of rural areas. What is needed urgently is cross-sector policies which are integrated and can deliver across a broad set of issues.

“The Deputy First Minister’s additional role as Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery – and especially the responsibility for the coordination of delivery and outcomes across portfolios – will be fundamental to achieving this.”

For more information, visit https://www.seda.uk.net/resources

University of Edinburgh has ‘effective arrangements’, say independent quality experts

The University of Edinburgh has ‘effective arrangements for managing academic standards and the student learning experience’, according to a review conducted by QAA, the UK’s independent higher education quality body.

The review commended the University’s achievements in several areas including student partnership and the support provided by its Institute for Academic Development in support of teaching, learning and researcher development. 

The review was undertaken by a team of six independent reviewers, who were appointed by QAA. The review took place through a Planning Visit in February 2021, followed by a Review Visit in March 2021.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the review was postponed from Autumn 2020. Its commendations included the following areas: 

  • The University’s commitment to working in close partnership with the student body is exemplified by student involvement across all decision-making structures and university initiatives. 
  • The University’s Institute for Academic Development (IAD) provides responsive, reflective and proactive university-level support for teaching, learning and researcher development and is valued by staff and students. 
  • The promotion and expansion of the Student Association-led and University supported Peer Assisted Learning Schemes (PALS) have contributed to the integration of students as they join the University. 
  • The University operates a highly professionalised approach to supporting the recruitment, selection and training of students to effectively contribute to the University’s Institutional Periodic Review (IPR) process. 

The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 and is one of Scotland’s four ancient universities, occupying an estate of more than 250 buildings organised in five main campuses spread across Edinburgh. 

The University describes itself as a large and diverse research-intensive University, and has collaborative agreements leading to a joint University of Edinburgh qualification with 55 international institutions and seven UK institutions. 

Professor Tina Harrison, Assistant Principal, Academic Standards and Quality Assurance, said: ‘I’m delighted with the outcome of the ELIR, that re-confirms our effectiveness in maintaining academic standards, commends our positive partnership with our students, and highlights the outstanding work of our Institute for Academic Development. 

‘The review process provided an important opportunity for University-wide reflection and, with the expert input from the review team, we have a clear plan for further development and enhancement of the learning experience for our students.’ 

QAA’s report also makes a number of recommendations, asking the University of Edinburgh to: 

  • establish a systematic approach to enable effective institutional oversight and evaluation of the implementation of policy and practice 
  • develop an effective approach to the strategic leadership and management of change that will ensure more immediate and timely implementation of identified solutions in order to support staff and enhance the student experience 
  • prioritise the development of a holistic and strategic approach to the design and management of assessment and feedback.

Citizens Panel: Scottish Government must set out its Covid-19 strategy

A panel of the public convened by the Scottish Parliament’s Covid-19 Committee has reported its findings to MSPs.

The 19-member panel, which broadly reflects the demographic make-up of Scotland, met over four Saturdays to consider the question ‘What priorities should shape the Scottish Government’s approach to COVID-19 restrictions and strategy in 2021’, hearing from experts to help inform its findings. 

Key conclusions in its report include: 

* The panel believes the Scottish Government should focus on stopping the spread of virus, ideally by pursuing an ‘elimination’ strategy. 

* The panel believes elimination would provide the fastest way back to ‘normal’, but also recognised that this needs maximum cooperation across UK, as well as accepting travel restrictions;

* If this is not possible, the panel recommends a ‘maximum suppression’ strategy should be adopted, with a reinvigorated Test and Protect to keep case numbers low once they have dropped. The panel concluded that by tackling the direct harm of the virus head on, other harms (economic, societal, other health problems) will also reduce;

* Priority should also be given to supporting a green recovery, young people’s economic opportunities, town centres, and continuing support for businesses; 

* The Scottish Government must therefore define what it is aiming to achieve and tell us what its strategy is moving forward. Key to understanding this is what it deems to be an acceptable level of infection in the population, so that it is clear what restrictions will be effective in 2021.

The panel also considered wider issues associated with the pandemic within its deliberations. It agreed:

* Previous lockdowns happened too slowly – resulting in longer lockdowns and more deaths;

* Communication and explaining strategies is key to public acceptance and understanding. This is most effective when scientists and clinicians can take centre stage;

* Globally, no one is safe until everyone is safe.

Members of the panel will give evidence to MSPs on the Covid-19 Committee about their report today (Thursday 18 February).

In the coming weeks, the report will also inform MSPs’ consideration of the possible extension of the emergency Coronavirus legislation, which is currently due to expire at the end of March.

Covid-19 Committee Convener, Donald Cameron MSP, said: “The Committee is very grateful to the members of the public and experts who gave their time to participate in deliberations. 

“The steps taken to counter this virus are so drastic they would have been unimaginable a year ago. It is therefore vital we gauge the public mood as we enter into the next phase of managing the pandemic.

“The considered priorities of this broadly representative group, who have looked at the issue with fresh eyes, will help inform us as we begin to look at the likely extension of the emergency powers, and work to ensure the efforts of Government are focused in the right place.

 “We are looking forward to hearing more from panel members, and testing their conclusions, at our next meeting.”

The panel was announced and first met on 16 January.

The full report and further information on the panel will be online here.

‘Doing Politics Differently’: Scotland’s first Citizens’ Assembly publishes final report

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

And a second one that considers the deliberative process is here: Finding common ground through deliberation – 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

www.citizensassembly.scot 

together with recordings of plenary sessions.
 
 We will be promoting the report and other content on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

 Citizens’ Assembly Secretariat