The Assembly has spoken...
/The report and final recommendations from the Citizen’s Assembly of Scotland has been published.
The Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland is a group of 100 citizens' from across Scotland that are broadly representative of the country and came together to address the following three questions:
What kind of country are we seeking to build?
How best can we overcome the challenges Scotland and the world face in the 21st century, including those arising from Brexit?
What further work should be carried out to give us the information we need to make informed choices about the future of the country?
Read the final report and recommendations (link)
The Assembly was set up by the Scottish Government with independant oversight. It met 4 times in person and 4 times online to deliberate on the above questions and make their recommendations. Scottish Community Development Centre helped to facilitate discussions.
There were 60 recommendations in all, with citizens taking part in a final voting exercise to determine the level of support for each one. The recommendations will now be presented to the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Parliament is due to debate the recommendations in January 2021.
Well-supported recommendations include:
The abolition of zero hours contracts.
Establishing an anti-poverty task force in every council area.
Permanent mental health support liaison officers in every school.
A national minimum wage for people aged 18-24 should be increased to a national living wage.
The lowering of the the state pension age.
A ban on the unnecessary use of non-biodegradable products.
Greater Scottish Government investment in new industries such as green energy, science and technology.
A register of organisations’ compliance with tax and employment measures using a "green/amber/red system".
Greater use of citizens assemblies and other methods of deliberative democracy to inform decision making in Scotland.
Further information
Find out about the recently established Climate Assembly of Scotland, which is using similar methods to develop recommendations on how Scotland can help tackle climate change http://www.communityscot.org.uk/news/article/follow-scotlands-climate-assembly-online/
