Local government https://indylibrary.scot/ en Rewiring Scotland https://indylibrary.scot/rewiring-scotland <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Rewiring Scotland</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Scott Dickson </div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Mon, 18/03/2024 - 15:35</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Eddie Barnes</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">Our Scottish Future</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">2023</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/local-government" hreflang="en">Local government</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Report</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-length field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)</div> <div class="field__item">44pp</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=1365&amp;2=like_content" token="_txB86Y8WZ9Cf0fIN6IqDFaLIaBM-uwHzYRab-epI_s"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Local government does not have the independence or finances to operate effectively.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>There is clearly a case for greater community empowerment, which should reflect local needs and preferences. This could mean moving beyond the Community Council model towards the Community Development Councils, or enhancing the responsibilities of Development Trusts. In order to prove more successful than previous approaches to community governance and galvanise local interest, they would need actual powers, or a clear role in shaping public service delivery</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://ourscottishfuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Rewiring-Scotland.pdf" target="_blank">https://ourscottishfuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Rewiring-Scotland.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/304" hreflang="en">Local Government</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/1244" hreflang="en">Local government powers</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Mon, 18 Mar 2024 15:35:08 +0000 Stephen Richard 1365 at https://indylibrary.scot Glasgow is back! Revival of a city centre recovering from the pandemic https://indylibrary.scot/glasgow-is-back-revival-of-a-city-centre-recovering-from-the-pandemic <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Glasgow is back! Revival of a city centre recovering from the pandemic</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Martin Roche</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Sat, 10/09/2022 - 11:51</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">Bylines Scotland</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">2022</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/local-government" hreflang="en">Local government</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Report</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=729&amp;2=like_content" token="LEZVCFnmw9G_ltS9lQ_a5HyjWZXzqhd3FqgwNRxdj8o"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Glasgow’s plans to double the population of the city centre and once again put the River Clyde at the heart of the city life</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The strategy is not only to support development and initiatives that reenergise the traditional city centre, but also extent to areas on the periphery. Here he includes the enormous Sighthill regeneration programme. Once an area of poor-quality mid-20th century public housing, deep-seated social issues, and a contaminated post-industrial wasteland, Sighthill is one of the UK’s largest urban regeneration undertakings. A multi-use development high on landscaping, green spaces and infrastructure, a key feature is the new pedestrian bridge that spans the M8 motorway. The bridge is designed to physically and metaphorically unite two parts of the city.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://bylines.scot/news/scotland/glasgow/glasgow-is-back-revival-of-a-city-centre-recovering-from-the-pandemic/" target="_blank">https://bylines.scot/news/scotland/glasgow/glasgow-is-back-revival-of-a-city-ce…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/886" hreflang="en">Urban development</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/887" hreflang="en">City Centre Regeneration</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Sat, 10 Sep 2022 10:51:56 +0000 Stephen Richard 729 at https://indylibrary.scot The Power of Preferences: STV in Scottish Local Elections https://indylibrary.scot/the-power-of-preferences-stv-in-scottish-local-elections <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The Power of Preferences: STV in Scottish Local Elections</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">John Curtice</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Sat, 30/04/2022 - 08:05</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">Electoral Reform Society</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-date-published field--type-datetime field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Date Published: </div> <div class="field__item"><time datetime="2022-04-26T12:00:00Z" class="datetime">26/04/22</time> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/local-government" hreflang="en">Local government</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Report</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=653&amp;2=like_content" token="cGEYLl8e3_miP_bA-ueHAA0mR3kHwerZ7lDgcsGLdB0"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Scottish voters are choosing to make the most of the power of preferences when they vote for their local councils.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>To mark this, we commissioned elections expert Professor Sir John Curtice to conduct analysis of the 2017 Scottish Local Election results and also look ahead to what might be in store in 2022. We wanted to see how, after several elections under their belts, the voters of Scotland have adapted to the power of the Single Transferable Vote. </p> <p>The results show an electorate that has embraced this new form of voting – ranking their preferences instead of being forced by a winner takes all system to take a gamble on one option, which they often view as the least worst. </p> <p>This report shows how Scottish voters are choosing to make the most of the power of preferences when they vote for their local councils. In 2017, 85.8% of ballots contained more than one preference while the number of ballots which contained three or more preferences stood at 60.7% – a steady growth since the first STV election in Scotland where just 54% did so. </p> <p>One of the benefits of this use of preferences is that voters are able to express their support for more than one party. Under First Past the Post voters have as many or as few votes are there are vacancies, meaning that voters are left unable to express a ‘second preference’ choice once they’ve backed their preferred candidates. </p> <p>In Scotland around seven in ten Conservative, Labour and SNP supporters chose to use their transferable vote to express preferences for other parties or independent candidates once they had voted for all the candidates of their party of choice. With Liberal Democrat voters it was even higher, with just one in five choosing to back the party and the party alone. </p> <p>And the increased use of preferences is important. In 2017 we saw just 38.5% of candidates elected on first preferences alone – down five points from 2012, showing the growing influence of those second, third or even fourth preferences on the outcome of Scottish local elections. Professor Curtice’s analysis found that 101 seats (or 8% of all seats) in 2017 were eventually won by candidates who were not in a winning position after the first round. </p> <p>These data show how, under STV, voters are able to shape the outcome of an election to make it far more reflective of their views and preferences than under FPTP. Indeed, the report emphasises how Scottish council elections held under STV have seen outcomes far more proportional than those seen in Scotland at the last three Westminster elections, held under First Past the Post. </p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/latest-news-and-research/publications/the-power-of-preferences-stv-in-scottish-local-elections/" target="_blank">https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/latest-news-and-research/publications/the-p…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/838" hreflang="en">Single Transferable Vote</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/839" hreflang="en">Local Elections</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/749" hreflang="en">Voting</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/244" hreflang="en">Voting strategies</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Sat, 30 Apr 2022 07:05:48 +0000 Stephen Richard 653 at https://indylibrary.scot Local Government https://indylibrary.scot/local-government <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Local Government </span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item">Neil McGarvey</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Wed, 01/12/2021 - 19:36</span> <div class="field field--name-field-publisher field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Publisher: </div> <div class="field__item">The Oxford Handbook of Scottish Politics</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">2020</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/local-government" hreflang="en">Local government</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Book</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=483&amp;2=like_content" token="4kpB1Z6H9vD_egMJrJyqvZ8dnxuAgUM04huTTHEioiA"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Local councils have a range of political and bugetary pressures with a wide range of welfare, democratic, and cultural roles.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Despite the obvious importance of the local council in Scottish public life, their study by social scientists has become somewhat of a niche subject. Indeed, there is often a tendency to think that the workings of the Scottish Government and Parliament are somewhat ‘bigger’ subjects.</p> <p>This chapter seeks to outline the role played by local councils in Scotland and draw attention to many of the budgetary and political pressures that they face. By comparing local government in Scotland pre- and post-devolution, the chapter also assesses the status of councils within Scotland’s democratic culture, their role as part of the welfare state, and their position within the Scottish polity today.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198825098.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780198825098-e-28" target="_blank">https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198825098.001.0001/ox…</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/304" hreflang="en">Local Government</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/594" hreflang="en">Public finance</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/459" hreflang="en">social welfare</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/762" hreflang="en">culture</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Wed, 01 Dec 2021 19:36:17 +0000 Stephen Richard 483 at https://indylibrary.scot Divest¦Reinvest: Scottish Council Pensions for a future worth living in https://indylibrary.scot/divestreinvest-scottish-council-pensions-for-a-future-worth-living-in <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Divest¦Reinvest: Scottish Council Pensions for a future worth living in</span> <div class="field field--name-field-author-or-creator field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Primary Author or Creator:</div> <div class="field__item"> Ric Lander</div> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span lang="" about="/user/18" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">Stephen Richard</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden">Tue, 07/09/2021 - 08:54</span> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-author-s-creato field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Additional Author(s) / Creators</div> <div class="field__item">Flick Monk, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Unison Scotland, Common Weal</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-alternative-published-date field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Alternative Published Date</div> <div class="field__item">March 2017</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-category field--type-entity-reference field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Category: </div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/151" hreflang="en">Pensions</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/category/local-government" hreflang="en">Local government</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-string field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Type of Resource: </div> <div class="field__item">Policy Paper</div> </div> <drupal-render-placeholder callback="flag.link_builder:build" arguments="0=node&amp;1=365&amp;2=like_content" token="i0IBzWt0rE2fi3elkEQ3XAgC1ILzdwev4rZaTm4QH10"></drupal-render-placeholder> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Fast Facts</div> <div class="field__item"><p>A report of the effects of divestment of Scottish pension funds from fossil fuel companies and re-investment into socially and environmentally useful investments.</p></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-precis field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">More details</div> <div class="field__item"><p>― Scotland’s councils continue to invest in the companies most responsible for climate change, holding a £1,683 million stake in fossil fuel companies through their pension funds.</p> <p>― 4.8% of the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme is invested in fossil fuels – £3,300 for every scheme member. £543 million is directly invested in oil and gas and £113 million in coal. The majority of holdings, £1,046 million, were invested through intermediaries.</p> <p>― Councils invest in BP, who are fracking and drilling for oil in the Arctic as well as having a history of campaigning against subsidies for renewable energy, and BHP Billiton, the 12th largest extractor of coal in the world, currently mining in the centre of the Borneo rainforest and facing prosecution over Brazil’s worst ever environmental disaster.</p> <p>― Only three councils were found to be actively investing in socially and environmentally beneficial projects. The Strathclyde, Falkirk and Lothian Pension Funds invest a combined £234 million in renewable energy and social housing. Although encouraging, this represents just 0.7% of the Scotland-wide scheme’s value.</p> <p>― Pension funds are some of the largest investors in the world and with auto-enrolment requiring more people than ever to join a pension, the money put aside for our retirement is set to become even more powerful. Pension funds are dependent on the future of the world economy and have the power to shape it. Councils must be willing to influence the pensions industry to ensure we all have a future worth retiring for.</p> <p>― Scotland’s local councils run the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme, a £35.4 billion pension scheme with 505,769 members. The scheme’s advisory board estimates one in five of the population have a financial interest in the fund.</p> <p>― 335,000 households are on social housing waiting lists in Scotland and we are undergoing massive job losses in North Sea oil and gas, where production peaked in 1999.</p> <p>― Scotland has been leading the fight against climate change with world-leading legislation and carbon emissions falling considerably over the last 10 years. In 2015 world leaders, recognising that the burning of fossil fuels is damaging the earth’s ability to support life, signed a historic treaty aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5°C.</p> <p>― As the world shifts away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy Scotland can continue to lead the way in tackling climate change by taking money out of fossil fuels and putting it back into local economies and sustainable jobs. The Governor of the Bank of England has warned that the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves are unburnable if climate change is to be limited to safe levels as pledged by the world’s governments.</p> <p>― Because the value of fossil fuel companies is directly linked to the amount of coal, oil and gas that companies can burn, any action that governments take to tackle climate change threatens the future profitability of fossil fuel companies. This makes climate change a clear financial concern for investors.</p> <p>― Some investors are taking bold action to limit climate change and the risks it brings by divesting from fossil fuels and reinvesting in sustainable projects. Eight universities and churches in Scotland have made a commitment to cut their investments in fossil fuels along with five pension funds elsewhere in the UK. Across the world 701 institutions, with total investments valued at $5.5 trillion USD, have divested.</p> <p>― No Scottish councils have any made a commitment to divest from fossil fuel companies. In fact the majority have never even discussed climate change and the risks it poses to their pension funds. Those who have, have done little to change what they invest in instead falling back on the practice of ‘engagement’ – persuading fossil fuel companies to transition to renewable energy – an approach to climate risk which has been widely debunked.</p> <p>― Ignoring climate change won’t make it go away. Council pension funds that fail to act on climate change will risk heavy losses and face the possibility of a legal challenge. If investors continue with business as usual the risk of financial and environmental catastrophe will only grow.</p> <p>― A public commitment to divest, such as that made by the London Borough of Waltham Forest or the University of Glasgow, limits exposure to risks and promotes the wider action on climate change we need to bring about a sustainable economy. Reinvesting in social housing and renewable energy will also help build sustainable local economies here in Scotland. This is something councils can do right now, within their existing structures.</p></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-resource-url field--type-link field--label-inline"> <div class="field__label">Full Document (link)</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Divest%C2%A6Reinvest.pdf" target="_blank">https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Divest%C2%A6Reinvest.pdf</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-keywords field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/341" hreflang="en">Climate change</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/322" hreflang="en">pension fund investments</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/647" hreflang="en">Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/304" hreflang="en">Local Government</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-related-questions field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Related Questions</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item"><a href="/questions/how-will-pensions-be-paid-in-an-independent-scotland" hreflang="en">How will pensions be paid in an independent Scotland?</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="field-language-display"> <fieldset class="js-form-item js-form-type-item form-type-item js-form-item- form-item- form-group"> <label>Language</label> English </fieldset> </div> Tue, 07 Sep 2021 07:54:51 +0000 Stephen Richard 365 at https://indylibrary.scot