Scotland

A problem shared: co-production in practice

17 May 2013 | Campbell McLundie

Community co-production might seem like a touchy-feely 1970s concept – but in austerity Britain parts of the public sector are making it work Read more

Tags: | | | Comment

Council accounts: what about the users?

30 April 2013 | Don Peebles

Public sector accounts have faced criticism for their complexity, timeliness and relevance. Now users of local government financial information in Scotland have an opportunity to express their views and make the system work more effectively Read more

Tags: | | | | Comment

Council cuts: valuing the vulnerable

17 April 2013 | D Asenova and S Bailey

Local authorities are caught between a rock and a hard place when cutting budgets, but evidence from Scotland shows they can avoid making a bad situation worse by protecting those most in need Read more...

Tags: | | | | | | | 2 comments

Scottish independence: over a barrel

2 April 2013 | Iain Macwhirter

Both sides in the battle over Scottish independence are using North Sea oil to boost their case. But how important is this? Read more

Tags: | | | | | 6 comments

States of confusion

5 March 2013 | Iain Macwhirter

The opinion that independent Scotland will start life outside international treaties might not be as clear cut as some believe Read more

Tags: | | Comment

Scottish care: do the demographics

26 February 2013 | Don Peebles

Scotland faces a £3bn funding gap in projected spending on older people. So why aren’t public bodies planning accordingly? Read more

Tags: | | | | Comment

Scotland, scrutiny and Mid-Staffs

12 February 2013 | Don Peebles

Healthcare works very differently north of the border, but Scotland can still learn from the inquiry into Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust. The first lesson should be the need for an integrated and robust scrutiny system Read more

Tags: | | | | | Comment

Scotland’s other referendum

6 February 2013 | Iain Macwhirter

David Cameron’s decision to rethink EU membership is having a dramatic effect on the Scottish independence debate Read more

Tags: | | Comment

Town hall transformation

29 January 2013 | Graham Allen

Local government has had to dance to Whitehall’s tune for far too long. It’s time for a more mature relationship enforced by a statutory code that protects councils’ rights and provides greater financial autonomy Read more

Tags: | | | | | | | 1 comment

Welsh lessons on scrutiny

12 December 2012 | Don Peebles

Scotland has developed a number of radical policies in recent years, but has its financial scrutiny process been left behind? It could learn a lot from the system introduced in Wales Read more

Tags: | | | | | Comment