The Scottish Parliament should introduce proxy voting for those unable to vote due to illness, bereavement or on parental leave.
That’s the view of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee which has published a report calling for the introduction of a proxy voting pilot scheme with a view to it being established permanently in the Parliament.
The scheme would allow MSPs unable to vote for agreed reasons to nominate a proxy MSP who would cast their vote according to their wishes.
In a report published earlier this year, on Future Parliamentary procedures and practices, the Committee made clear that a hybrid parliament should be here to stay, including a recommendation to introduce proxy voting for those unable to vote in person.
Speaking on the report’s publication, Committee Convener Martin Whitfield MSP, said: “Our Committee is unanimous in their support for the introduction of a proxy voting scheme.
“We think Scotland’s democracy and its people are best served by ensuring that MSPs can still cast their votes even if they are unable to participate in parliamentary business due to the very human reasons of bereavement, illness or parental leave.
“We believe this is a positive, progressive step for the Parliament as we look to continue to evolve and to make the Parliament as accessible and inclusive as possible.”
Deputy Convener Bob Doris MSP added: “As a Parliament it is vital that we continue to look at ways to modernise and to increase participation in democratic processes.
“The introduction of a proxy voting scheme will ensure that MSPs can represent their constituents whether on parental leave, suffering serious illness or bereavement.
“We will continue to review current working practices as we look to innovate and improve Parliamentary processes, and to shape a Parliament fit for the future.”
Key points of the proxy voting being proposed:
MSPs may request a proxy vote due to illness, bereavement or if on parental leave;
A Member can designate any other Member as their proxy and it is for the Member to decide who to nominate;
A proxy vote is actioned by informing the Presiding Officer;
The proxy vote has the same status as a vote cast by a Member in person;
The use of a proxy will be recorded in the minutes of a meeting to ensure transparency;
The pilot would remain in force until 31 December 2023.
MSPs on the Economy and Fair Work Committee have called for action to halt the long-standing decline of town centres, as it publishes a new report following an inquiry into the issue.
The Committee’s inquiry concluded that the planning system needs to be strengthened to ensure no new developments unfairly compete with town centre provision. Alongside this, a rebalancing of the cost of doing business to make town centres more competitive including how non-domestic rates currently operate, to support investment in town centres.
Every town in Scotland should have their own Town Plan, a long-term strategic vision for the future that recognises the unique nature of our towns, their histories and the community that brings them together. It should be driven locally by communities and not imposed from the top down. Transparency of ownership and powers to tackle derelict or dangerous buildings also need further action.
Claire Baker MSP, Convener of the Economy and Fair Work Committee said: “This report should signal a line in the sand for how we support, develop and prioritise investment in our town centres. We all know a town centre that has empty shops, a lack of investment and few thriving businesses.
“Throughout this inquiry we heard that although the pandemic accelerated trends towards online shopping, people really care about the future of their town centre and what is on their doorstep. The positive benefits that a thriving town centre can bring are clear – not just economically but socially and culturally as well.
“As we move into a challenging period of our retail sector, our Committee is unified in its call that vibrant, thriving town centres must be prioritised. This report recognises that the only way to do that is through changing how we support these developments through various measures from planning to non-domestic business rates.
“This report signals that change is needed. We know there is no quick fix but unless we start now, then we won’t be able to halt the accelerated decline of recent years we’ve seen already in too many communities across Scotland.”
Specific measures include:
Strengthening the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) to ensure that any proposed developments can demonstrate that town centre sites have been pursued and thoroughly evaluated and that developments will have no adverse impact on town centres and will not compete with town centre provision.
The overarching principle must be rebalancing the cost of doing business in town centres versus out-of-town sites. Approaches that could be considered include giving Councils the power to levy an out-of-town development premium or a business rates surcharge which could then be used for town centre regeneration.
The current non-domestic rates (NDR) system acts as a disincentive when trying to attract businesses back to our town centres. For businesses already located in town centres, the current NDR system acts as a disincentive to invest in already occupied property, as any investment leads to an increase in NDR. The Committee consistently heard that the current system works against investment and growth in town centre retail and that the NDR system should be rebalanced to support town centre development.
There is strong demand amongst Scotland’s smaller retailers for more and better support to build their online presence and to be able to take advantage of platforms that already exist. A broader range of opportunities must be made available to upskill, strengthen and future-proof our retail workforce.
Transparency of beneficial ownership of town centre property and land and absentee owners can still be a problem, particularly where an individual lives or is based overseas. It is the Committee’s strong view that all property and landowners should be contactable and there should be clarity on who the owner is. The Scottish Government has said its focus is on Compulsory Purchase Orders. The Committee is of the view that the Scottish Government’s actions may be insufficient and that more may need to be to address this problem.
Local authorities have a range of powers available to them to tackle derelict or dangerous buildings but they are not used as frequently or proactively as we would like. There can be a reluctance to resort to those statutory powers, in part due to a lack of resources to carry actions through. The Committee welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to reform and modernise the compulsory purchase orders.
The Committee recognises the value of, and increased demand for, online and e-commerce activities and the importance of increasing the use of technology as a driver of increased productivity. A strategically driven action plan should be developed by the Scottish Government to support the take-up of training and capacity building to support Scotland’s eCommerce activity.
An inquiry has been launched into the impact of Part 2 of the Community Empowerment Act (2015) (“the Act”) on community planning and how Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) can respond to significant events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis.
The Committee is seeking views from organisations directly involved in Community Planning Partnerships as well as communities and individuals about the impact the Partnerships have had.
Community Planning aims to improve how organisations such as local government, health boards, and the police work together with other partners to improve local outcomes in an area.
Commenting, Committee Convener Ariane Burgess MSP said: “The Community Empowerment Act recognised in 2015 how important community planning is to improving people’s lives across Scotland and our inquiry will seek to understand how successful the Act has been in bringing partners together to deliver better services that make a real difference to people’s lives.
“We want to understand how effectively Scotland’s Community Planning Partnerships have been able to respond to challenges such as the current cost crisis and unprecedented events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“By hearing directly from organisations involved in Community Planning Partnerships as well as from communities and individuals about the impact the Partnerships have had we can understand what further improvements may be required to truly empower communities, tackle inequalities and bring about real change.”
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation opens applications for £150,000 Award for Civic Arts Organisations
Cultural organisations across the United Kingdom have been invited to apply for the £150,000 Award for Civic Arts Organisations, run by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
This year’s award is themed around ‘Co-Creating the Future’. It spotlights organisations that are helping to transform communities, even in the most challenging of contexts – whether by igniting joy, hope, compassion and energy, improving wellbeing, forging new connections, or developing solutions.
The Award for Civic Arts Organisations began in 2020, as a response to the Covid19 pandemic. This year, many arts organisations still face difficulties: according to Arts Council Wales, the costs of staging cultural activities have risen by as much as 40 per cent. The Award offers prize funding of £150,000, one of the largest amounts for an award in the arts.
Louisa Hooper, Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), said: “The Award for Civic Arts Organisations is designed to support cultural projects that put community at their hearts. In difficult times, it’s more important than ever that art and culture are available to everyone.
“By prioritising co-creation, this year we’re looking to recognise organisations that create lasting change by working with and in communities to address their needs and concerns, deepen relationships, and use arts and creativity to enable positive change.”
Previous recipients of the award include The Art House in Wakefield, which created the first studio sanctuary for asylum seekers in the UK, Project Art Works, a collective of neurodivergent artists and activists based in Hastings, and Heart n Soul and the Museum of Homelessness, both based in London.
Baroness Bull, chair of the Award panel, said: “The Award for Civic Arts Organisations is vitally important in encouraging and rewarding genuine engagement and co-creation with local communities.
“In the years since the award was founded, we’ve seen hundreds of entries from organisations across the UK demonstrating a commitment to changing lives through art.”
Sydney Thornbury, CEO of The Art House in Wakefield, highlights the impact the award can have for organisations themselves: “The stability the Award provided combined with these new funding opportunities has deepened the work we were already doing and has opened up new opportunities for how we can further extend our civic impact.”
The independent panel of judges are Darren Ferguson, CEO/Founder, Beyond Skin; Ica Headlam, Founder, We Are Here Scotland; Philipp Dietachmair, Head of Programmes, European Cultural Foundation; Rachel Noel, Head of Programmes and Partnerships, Tate; Rhiannon White, Co-Artistic Director, Common Wealth Theatre; Saad Eddine Said, CEO/Artistic Director, New Art Exchange; and Sydney Thornbury, CEO/Artistic Director, The Art House (main recipient of 2022 Award).
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch, founded in 1956, was one of the earliest champions of community engagement in the arts.
In 1959, it published the seminal report Help For The Arts, which pioneered ideas including artists and writers in residence in non-artistic institutions, and arguing for more focused and sustained funding for arts organisations outside London and the major cities.
‘Perfect storm’ of financial pressure facing Scotland’s cultural sector
In a report published this week, Holyrood’s Committee looks ahead to the Scottish Government’s 2023-24 budget and the impact of budgetary decisions on Scotland’s culture sector. It calls on increased urgency to address budget pressures through innovative approaches to funding.
The report underlines recommendations made by the Committee during previous budget scrutiny. It calls for these innovate approaches to be accelerated in order to address the difficulties being faced.
During its consideration, the Committee heard the challenges facing that sector have become more acute as it struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and further compounded by the cost of living crisis following on from longer term budget pressures. The Committee has recommended taking an innovative approach to budgeting including greater use of public and private investment as well as multiyear funding.
The Committee also repeats its call from last year for the mainstreaming of the culture budget. It also asks the Scottish Government for updates on embedding culture more broadly as part its plans for a wellbeing economy. This would take into account the contribution which preventative spend in areas like the arts and other cultural activities makes towards health and wellbeing.
Speaking as the report launched, the Committee Convener Clare Adamson MSP said:“Scotland’s cultural sector plays a vital role in Scottish life. But we heard blunt warnings from those within the sector that stark choices lie ahead.
“Increased operating costs come at a time when most cultural venues are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, and without truly innovative approaches to funding, there is a real danger that Scotland’s skilled cultural workforce will be lost along with some of our best loved cultural icons.
“There are no doubt considerable pressures across all areas of the Scottish Government budget, and there are no easy choices. But the current situation provides an opportunity to accelerate these innovative solutions. The Scottish Government must take action to protect this fundamental part of our society.”
The Scottish Parliament’s COVID-19 Recovery Committee has called on the Scottish Government to clarify whether the cost crisis will affect the funding of Scotland’s Covid Recovery Strategy.
Following pre-budget scrutiny of how the Scottish Government plans to fund its Covid Recovery Strategy and the ongoing costs associated with the pandemic, the Committee have written to John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, asking for the Committee’s views to be considered when preparing the budget.
The impact of the cost crisis was highlighted during the Committee’s evidence sessions, including concerns from witnesses over how this could affect the funding and delivery of the Covid Recovery Strategy, with some saying the crisis will pose more significant challenges for organisations, service providers and individuals than even those faced during the pandemic.
The Covid Recovery Strategy was published in October 2021, before the scale of the emerging cost-of-living crisis was apparent.
The Strategy sets out the Scottish Government’s vision for recovery, focusing on efforts to tackle inequality and disadvantage arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and states that progress towards public service reform and a well-being economy is necessary to tackle these inequalities.
Commenting, Siobhian Brown MSP, Convener of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee, said:“During our pre-budget scrutiny, we heard that the Scottish Government’s budget is approximately £1.7 billion less than it was worth in December 2021 due to inflationary pressures.
“The Committee, therefore, are seeking clarity on how this will impact the Scottish Government’s priorities and ability to deliver the outcomes as set out in the Covid Recovery Strategy and whether it intends to refresh the strategy to reflect any policy changes in light of the cost-of-living crisis.
“As the budget doesn’t commit to specific spending on COVID-19 or Covid Recovery, it’s important that there is greater clarity provided on how much funding the Scottish Government intends to commit to achieving the outcomes identified in its Covid Recovery Strategy within the upcoming budget.”
The Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny also set out the evidence gathered on costs associated with the Strategic Framework.
These included future pandemic preparedness, vaccinations, testing and surveillance, personal protective equipment, monitoring Covid-19 recovery and Scottish Government progress towards developing a well-being economy.
A newly established Citizens’ Panel will meet for the first time this weekend (28th – 30th October) in the Scottish Parliament to help shape how Parliament engages with the people of Scotland.
The Citizens’ Panel, comprised of 22 people broadly reflecting the demographic make-up of Scotland, will come together to deliberate how the Scottish Parliament can best work with communities to ensure their needs are reflected in its work.
The Citizens’ Panel will meet for two full weekends at the Scottish Parliament and three shorter evening sessions online.
Earlier this year, the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee launched an inquiry into Public Participation, looking at how people’s voices are heard in the work of the Parliament.
The Citizens’ Panel will assist the inquiry by making recommendations on improving how Holyrood’s work involves, reflects, and meets the needs of the full range of communities it represents, focusing on improving engagement for those currently under-represented.
Throughout the sittings, the Citizen’s Panel will have the opportunity to hear from MSPs and leading academics about democracy and public participation to help facilitate discussion and inform their findings.
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Convener Jackson Carlaw, MSP, said:“Our inquiry into Public Participation is important because we know that the Parliament doesn’t hear enough from some groups and communities.
“We want to make sure that the views and opinions of everyone in Scotland are included in the work of the Parliament, and the Citizens’ Panel will be crucial to helping us understand how we can improve this.
“Ensuring the Scottish Parliament is accessible to a diverse range of people, particularly when developing new laws or policies that affect them, is essential and the Committee will eagerly anticipate the Citizens’ Panel recommendations.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to nearly one third of Ukrainians being displaced from their homes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than 7.6 million Ukrainians had been displaced across Europe.
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has taken a closer look at Scotland’s Homes for Ukraine Scheme, six months after it was introduced.
How is devolution changing post Brexit? This is the key question being asked in a major new inquiry announced yesterday.
Following its recent report on the impact of Brexit on devolution, Holyrood’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee has begun work to engage businesses, civic society and the wider public on this fundamental constitutional issue.
In that report, the Committee concluded that there are fundamental concerns which need to be addressed in relation to how devolution works outside the EU.
The Committee’s view is that there is a need for a much wider public debate about where power lies within the devolution settlement following the UK’s departure from the EU. This needs to address the extent of regulatory autonomy within the UK internal market.
The Committee highlighted substantive differences between the views of the UK Government and the Scottish and Welsh Governments regarding future alignment with EU law. Differences which raise vital constitutional questions including the extent the UK can accommodate four different regulatory environments within a cohesive internal market.
Now the Committee has launched a call for views asking four key questions and they want to hear from you.
Questions include:
How devolution is now working following the UK’s departure from the EU including your experience of the policy-making and legislative processes;
How should devolution evolve post EU exit, to meet the challenges and opportunities of the new constitutional landscape;
How much scope there is for regulatory divergence in areas such as environmental standards, food standards and animal welfare between each of the four parts of the UK;
Are there sufficient safeguards to allow regulatory divergence across the four parts of the UK in areas where there are disagreements between governments?
Are there sufficient safeguards to ensure an open and transparent policy-making and legislative process in determining the post-EU exit regulatory environment?
Is there sufficient clarity regarding the post-EU exit regulatory environment within Scotland and how it relates to the rest of the UK?
Speaking as the inquiry launched, Committee Convener Clare Adamson MSP said:“The devolution landscape has undoubtedly changed as a result of Brexit.
“There are now significant differences between the views of the UK Government and the views of the Scottish and Welsh Governments about alignment with EU law and these differences raise fundamental questions about the way devolution works outside of the EU.
“But these questions are far from theoretical. They will have significant impacts on business, communities and lives of people throughout Scotland. This is why we have today launched an inquiry to engage with a wide range of people to try and find answers to these most difficult of questions.”
The Committee’s call for views is open until 30 November 2022.
Deputy Convener Donald Cameron MSP said:“In our recent report we made clear our concern about how devolution is to evolve to address the serious issues identified. Our inquiry launched today is about trying to find answers to these questions.
“We want to hear from all sectors in Scotland to try and address the issues which are facing us all.”
A Holyrood Committee has called for the Scottish Government to demonstrate increased leadership and oversight in the delivery of the Community Empowerment Act (“The Act”), as a new report exposes significant unmet demand for allotments and growing spaces across Scotland.
Seven years after its introduction, the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee has undertaken an inquiry into the Act, examining whether it has improved the availability of allotments and reduced the barriers to accessing them.
The report highlights the benefits that access to land for growing can have on people’s health, the environment, food security, and on communities.
Despite positive developments since the Act came into force, the Committee found that further action is now needed if the ambitions contained in it are to be met.
Evidence revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a further surge in demand and the emerging cost-of-living crisis is also expected to drive up the need for growing spaces even further.
The inquiry heard that demand for allotment space is even more acute in Scotland’s cities, with the number of people on waiting lists in Edinburgh almost doubling since 2019, rising from 3,000 to 5,600 and Aberdeen’s waiting list increasing over six-fold, from 150 to 1,000 people in 5 years.
With demand for allotments and growing space far outstripping supply, the Committee has warned that broader Scottish Government plans for developing community growing, food growth strategies and improving access to land are all being held back.
The Committee has made several recommendations in its report for the Scottish Government, as well as proposing actions for local government.
Recommendations to the Scottish Government include:
Increasing the leadership and oversight provided by the Scottish Government to improve access to allotments and growing spaces.
The creation of a national partnership forum which could foster cross-sectoral collaboration, mutual support and enable local authorities to share expertise and good practice.
Reflecting the importance of allotments and food growing in wider strategies such as the National Planning Framework, the forthcoming Biodiversity Strategy, and the implementation of the new Good Food Nation Bill.
Tackling the complexity of existing rights under the Act for ‘community asset transfers’ which were created to enable the transfer of property and land to community groups.
The importance of land for growing food being incorporated into planning frameworks.
Improved clarity about how the requirement for local authorities to publish Food Growing Strategies intersects with the new requirement to produce Good Food Nation strategies.
Commenting on the report, Committee Convener Ariane Burgess MSP said: “The Community Empowerment Act recognised in 2015 how important allotments are to communities and individuals. Whilst there have been many positive developments since then, there is still a significant and increasing demand which is not being met, and access to land remains a challenge.
“Scotland’s appetite for improved access to allotments and growing space is flourishing, in part due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also due to the rising cost-of-living and levels of food insecurity facing people across the country.
“The benefits of allotments were made clear to the Committee by the many passionate individuals we met in our visits to sites and in the evidence we received.
“These benefits extend from improving health and well-being to tackling social isolation, intergenerational engagement, education opportunities, carbon reduction and improved biodiversity. Nurturing communities’ and individuals’ interests in getting involved should be a priority for the government.
“Our hope is that this report prepares the ground for real change and that the Scottish Government now demonstrate increased leadership and a renewed commitment to the Act to deliver on its own food growth and wellbeing ambitions.”
In a report published yesterday, the committee sets out a suite of recommendations aimed at ensuring the NPF is a “much more explicit” part of policy making.
This begins, says the committee, with the Scottish Government making clear how it will use the NPF in setting national policy, and in collaborating with local government and wider Scottish society.
The report also says Scottish Government funding decisions need to be aligned with NPF outcomes, and that greater scrutiny and accountability is required.
Finance and Public Administration Committee Convener Kenneth Gibson said:“The NPF remains an important vision of the type of place Scotland should aspire to be, but there needs to be more sustained progress towards achieving that vision.
“While there is no single solution, of key importance is positioning the NPF as the start of a ‘golden thread’ from which all other frameworks, strategies and plans flow, through to delivery on the ground.
“We recommend that the government explicitly set out how its policies will contribute to the delivery of specific NPF outcomes, their intended impact on NPF outcomes, and approaches to monitoring and evaluation.
“Similarly, government funding decisions should also be aligned with National Outcomes. From the wide range of organisations we heard from the NPF is not currently seen to drive financial decisions, nor is it a mechanism by which organisations are held to account for spending effectively.”
The report also makes recommendations for strengthening and refocussing scrutiny – including by parliamentary committees – over how organisations have regard to the NPF.
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has taken a closer look at Scotland’s Homes for Ukraine Scheme, six months after it was introduced. 
