Holyrood 2014: that was the year that was

As a momentous year for Scotland draws to a close, the Scottish Parliament marks its fifteenth year with a round-up of the numbers at Holyrood in 2014:

From the phenomenally popular Great Tapestry of Scotland (pictured above), to the introduction of a range of important new Bills, to the number of scones and shortbread enjoyed by thousands of visitors, these are the statistics that made up the Parliament over the past twelve months:

• This year saw the introduction of 14 Bills, with 19 receiving Royal Assent, including the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act (above), Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act, Disabled Persons’ Parking Badges (Scotland) Act and Historic Environment Scotland Act.

• The Great Tapestry of Scotland (above) proved a huge draw, with visitor numbers showing a 10,000 increase in the months of June, July and August, compared to 2013. In total more than 85,000 visitors flocked to see the Tapestry in the summer of 2014.
• The Great Tapestry of Scotland was also a hit at the Parliament’s shop with 2,280 Great Tapestry books and 2,940 postcards flying off the shelves.

• The Scottish Parliament hosted 18 major events, including The Queen’s Baton Relay (above), The Festival of Politics 2014 and the St Andrew’s Day Debate. The year was rounded off in traditional style with the Parliament’s annual Christmas Carol Service.

• The Parliament welcomed 449 school sessions to Holyrood, with 14,552 pupils taking part in a wide range of activities, including learning more about how the Parliament works and meeting MSPs.

• Parliament education staff travelled the length and breadth of Scotland, delivering 518 sessions in schools to 12,814 pupils.

• Parliament Days were held in February, November and December this year, with Dumbarton (above), Fort William and Levenmouth taking centre stage. Parliamentary Committees invited the public to attend held external meetings, scrutinising the work of Government and the Presiding Officer discovered more about the towns, visiting a range of inspiring local groups, people and projects.
• The Parliament’s switchboard took nearly 41,331 telephone calls, our Public Information and Publications team answered more than 5,625 enquiries and produced 136,785 leaflets requested or picked up at Holyrood.
• And finally, in the Scottish Parliament’s public café, visitors enjoyed more than 23,837 cups of coffee and 15,143 cups of tea. More than 8,500 sandwiches were sold, 3,405 bowls of soup – and of course more than 4,166 scones and 8,209 pieces of shortbread!

Apprenticeships at Scottish Parliament

Open Day Friday 21 November

An apprenticeship scheme to employ 20 young people in the Scottish Parliament over the next four years has been launched by the Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick.

Successful applicants will have the opportunity to work in a range of areas including Visitor Services, Events, Security, HR and IT.

An Open Day for young people interested in hearing more about the available opportunities will be held in the Parliament on 21 November.

Presiding Officer the Rt HonTricia Marwick MSP said: “The Scottish Parliament is an employer in its own right and we hope to lead by example. This apprenticeship scheme will provide opportunities for young people to build the skills to help them in their future careers. We will offer a range of positions to help build skills and to develop confidence.

“From today, through a dedicated website, young people aged between 16-24 can access details of these opportunities and next month we will be hosting an Open Day at which I hope to welcome young people from across Scotland.”

Clerk and Chief Executive of the Scottish Parliament Paul Grice said: “The Scottish Parliament is a vibrant and modern workplace and we want a workforce that reflects the diversity of Scotland’s population. We know the talent is out there – and we want to see it in the Parliament.

“This scheme provides a great opportunity for young people from all backgrounds to use their different abilities and to develop new skills to help build a successful career. We are always looking for people with initiative to inject different ideas and fresh thinking and, in return, we offer a great organisation where young people can begin their career.

“Young people have much to offer the Parliament and we have much to offer them – a supportive work environment and the first steps on a career path.”

The Parliament piloted a Modern Apprenticeship programme in 2012 and one of the successful applicants, Lynsey Mackay, backed the scheme. She said: “I wasn’t sure what to expect when I applied to the Parliament. But I quickly realised there were lots of different roles here and I was encouraged to experience them.

“Nearly two years on, I now have a vocational qualification and can compete for full-time posts within the Parliament – all thanks to the apprenticeship programme.”

Another apprentice, Tess Schmigylski, said: “Some people might assume that the Parliament is a very dry, boring place to work. Well I can safely say that I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time here – my colleagues have been very supportive and there is always so much going on.

“I feel far more confident now about my life and my career than when I first started and I would encourage any young person who is unsure what they want to do with their life, to find out more about the Parliament’s apprenticeship programme.”

Apprenticeship A4 Open Day poster – v4

Dearest Scotland …

Writing initiative ‘re-imagines the future of Scotland’

Take a pen and a piece of paper and write a letter to the future of Scotland? In this age of high-tech, super-fast digital communications it may seem like a very old-fashioned way to communicate, but a new writing project called Dearest Scotland has sparked a revival in letter writing.

The apolitical initiative has caught imaginations in the year of the Referendum by inviting letters and illustrations from people of all ages across the world with a connection to, or an interest in, Scotland.

Dearest Scotland is the brainchild of Glasgow-based social design agency SNOOK, who some readers may recall worked with Total Craigroyston and North Edinburgh Young People’s Forum on the ‘What’s the Matter?’ project in 2012.

Focused on crowd-sourcing from a widest possible demographic with the aim of giving a platform to citizens’ voices, Dearest Scotland’s co-founder, Sarah Drummond, recently spoke of the aspiration to receive handwritten letters that capture insights to what a future Scotland may look like.

Sarah said: “Our team at Snook work in grassroots communities and we hear great ideas everyday from ordinary people. Sadly there is no platform for these voices to be heard in the mainstream media, by governments or local authorities. Dearest Scotland aims to address that.”

The idea originated before the independence referendum was announced, and since it’s March launch Dearest Scotland has received a cross-section of letters keen to articulate visions that reach beyond the political debate of the 18 September vote.

And while the project proves that the art of letter writing isn’t dead, the choice to write and illustrate letters digitally via the Dearest Scotland website is also available!

Sarah also spoke of plans to publish received letters in a collated book format. She said: “Everyone who writes to Dearest Scotland has the chance to see their letter published. This allows for the opportunity to read what people of all ages from every part of the country have to say about their hopes and fears for a future Scotland both in connection to and outside of politics and the referendum.”

While new letters are catalogued daily, Sarah’s aim is to publish the visions in an open source digital catalogue – in addition to the book format – after the 13 September deadline for submissions, and all proceeds will be donated to new and existing Scottish literary projects.

The Dearest Scotland team is currently touring venues and events across the country, spreading the word in towns and rural areas.

The initiative has also caught the attention of politicians. Glasgow Anniesland MSP Bill Kidd lodged a parliamentary motion in support of the project in June, and a Holyrood debate has been scheduled for 13 August – the motion has received cross-party support from a further 25 members of the Scottish parliament. There are also plans to exhibit a display of letters by the Scottish Rural Parliament in November and within Holyrood in early 2015.

Sarah’s business partner and project co-founder, Lauren Currie, added: “We all have a box of letters stashed away somewhere that fill our hearts with joy every time we dig them out and re-read them. Dearest Scotland is our nation’s box of letters. These letters are so much more than communication, they are re-imagining the future of Scotland.”

To find out more information about Dearest Scotland’s project, summer tour, or to submit a future vision of Scotland, visit…

www.dearestscotland.com

twitter @dearestscotand

facebook /dearestscotland

Holyrood votes to end Right to Buy

The Scottish Parliament has voted to end the right to buy social housing. The Housing (Scotland) Bill passed at Holyrood yesterday will prevent the sale of up to 15,500 social houses over the next ten years and support improvements to the private rented sector. Housing charities have welcomed the decision.

The Bill will end the Right to Buy social housing in Scotland over the next two years, giving tenants time to consider their options and find financial advice if they want to exercise their right to buy their home

The legislation will establish a private rented sector tribunal which gives tenants and landlords access to specialist justice and allow them to resolve disputes more effectively.

Changes to mobile home site licensing will also improve the rights of over 3,000 households, many of whom are elderly, living permanently in mobile or park homes across Scotland.

Other measures in the Bill include introducing a regulatory framework for letting agents and giving local authorities new discretionary powers to tackle poor housing conditions in the private sector.

Housing Minister Margaret Burgess said: “This is a historic day for housing as it marks the end of Right to Buy social housing in Scotland.

“Stakeholders from across the sector have given this legislation widespread support as they recognise that we have put together a package of measures which will help improve housing in the social, private rented and owner-occupied sectors.

“Today I put forward a number of amendments to the letting agent provisions in the Bill to provide a robust regulatory framework that will ensure consistent and high standards of service for tenants and landlords across Scotland.

“I am very grateful to all those who have contributed their views on the Bill over the last nine months and more. But legislation is only one of many actions that this Government is taking to improve housing in Scotland.

“This government continues to invest in affordable housing. Earlier this week the First Minister confirmed we have invested £1 billion in affordable housing since April 2011, putting us well on track to delivering an additional 30,000 homes across Scotland by March 2016. This investment is supporting 8,000 jobs in each year of the five-year parliamentary term.

“This Bill is a landmark step forward for housing. With the full powers of independence we will have greater control to tailor our grants and housing supply investment, and to integrate housing and welfare policies to meet the needs of our communities and the homebuilding industry in Scotland.”

Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government introduced the right to buy policy in 1980 and it has proved to be very popular in Scotland – around 534,000 tenants have taken advantage of the scheme to purchase their homes at a discounted rate from their local council or social landlord.

But while Right-to-Buy was a hit with buyers, the loss – and non-replacement – of prime social housing has meant even longer waiting lists for tenants, and housing charities and social housing organisations have welcomed the decision to scrap the scheme.

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations’ Andy Young said the Right-to-Buy policy had ‘no place in 21st century Scotland’.

“Right-to-buy has been beneficial to a relatively small number of individuals, but clearly a loss to the greater public good”, he said. “Around 500,000 social rented homes have been lost in the 35 years of this policy in Scotland, very often the better stock in the more popular areas.”

In Dad’s Shoes exhibition opens at Scottish Parliament

In Dad’s Shoes, a photo exhibition which shows what it means to be a dad, opened in the Burns Committee Room in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood yesterday.

Organised by Fathers Network Scotland and Dads Rock in conjunction with Dad’s House, the exhibition tells the story of thirty dads of all types, through images and their own words. The pictures – both personal snaps and professional images – shows the great variety of life as a dad, and the aim of the exhibition is to highlight positive, caring images of dads and their children.

Two local men were among the thirty dads whose stories and pictures were recorded for the exhibition. Dads Alex Newport, from Wester Drylaw, and Malcolm Borthwick, are members of a North Edinburgh group set up specifically for dads. Based at the Haven Project in Craigroyston Primary School, the father’s group is run by Circle Scotland’s Nick Smithers, who enlisted the NEN’s help.

Alec and Malcolm were photographed and interviewed last month, but this was the first time they had seen the finished product – fortunately both men were happy with the display!

Alex Newport lives with his sons Cameron (12), Declan (9) and daughter Tiffany (7) in Wester Drylaw.

“Life doesn’t always go to plan. My partner developed Huntington’s disease and is now in care – that had a devastating effect on our family, and it’s been really tough. There have been lots of ups and downs, but things have been more settled as the kids have grown up. They understand more now. The biggest challenge has been the change in lifestyle – from having enough money to having to be very careful, but have a social life as a family and we’ve done lots of fun things together over the summer.

“My big hope for my kids is that they enjoy school – I didn’t have a good educational experience and really I hope my own children will continue to enjoy school – the opportunities available to them are much greater. There will be more challenges – Cameron is nearly a teenager, and daughters can bring other challenges – but we’ll get through them together.”

Malcolm Borthwick lives in Granton with his two-year old son James.

“It was an almightly struggle to get custody of James – my ex-partner’s family made things difficult and I think at first the authorities thought that, because I was brought up in care myself, I wouldn’t be a fit person to bring up my own son. I think the opposite is true – I’m going to do everything I can to make sure James gets the opportunities that I never had.

“I have a boy and girl from a previous relationship. They’re both really brilliant, and I think I’ve learned enough from bringing them up to make sure James is well looked after and cared for. We do everything together – fishing, reading books, going for walks – and I try to make sure James eats all the right things and has a healthy diet. He’ll get the best start in life I can give him.”

Alex, Malcolm and Nick (pictured top) were joined at Holyrood by Circle Scotland Director Liz Dahl, and parliamentarians of all political persuasions were among the first-day visitors – Children and Families minister Aileen Campbell, Sarah Boyack, Lewis MacDonald, Margaret McCulloch and Ann McTaggart were among those MSPs to look in on the exhibition.

Good news for North Edinburgh dads – dad’s group Dad’s Rock will be launching new weekly sessions at The Prentice Centre on Saturday mornings from the end of October. We’ll keep you posted with details when they are confirmed.

Local dads off to Holyrood!

Two local men will feature in a photographic exhibition at the Scottish Parliament next month. Dads Alex Newport and Malcolm Borthwick and their families are part of the ‘In Dad’s Shoes’ exhibition being staged by the father’s group Dad’s Rock.

Wester Drylaw’s Alex and Malcolm, who lives in Granton, are members of a North Edinburgh group set up specifically for dads. Based at the Haven Project in Craigroyston Primary School, the father’s group is run by Circle Scotland’s Nick Smithers.

Nick explained: “The exhibition comprises of photos of all kinds of dads and their children, telling their own stories through photos and with words. The images show a variety of differing stages of being a father, ultimately the aim is to highlight positive, caring images of dads and their children. The exhibition has been on view at Eteaket during July and August, and, complemented with added new material, will go to Holyrood next month.”

Previously on display south of the border following an official launch at the House of Lords in June, Dads Rock and Fathers Network Scotland worked in conjunction with Dads House to bring this unique photo exhibition to Scotland. It’s hoped that the display will continue to tour Scotland after the Holyrood exhibition.