Public Services
Symbolically, by comparison to Westminster’s slap in the face, this pay offer appears as a victory for decency. But we’ve got to start holding our government to higher standards than “one notch better than Westminster”.
Source Direct: Help for #Heroes
Forbes styles the Scottish budget as continuing a “progressive and restorative approach”. Conversely, Larry Flanagan, head of Scotland’s main teaching union, spoke of “an effective pay freeze”. And critics led by the STUC say key workers have been “left out in the cold”.
Source Direct: For the Love of Money
Free Our City is a campaign being launched by Get Glasgow Moving calling for public transport to be made free to use. “This radical policy is a necessary one: to address the climate emergency and gross inequalities in our society and ensure we make a just and green recovery from the pandemic.”
‘Free Our City’ Campaign Calls for Free Public Transport in Glasgow
Education Secretary John Swinney’s U-turn was about as complete as could be, to the extent that it was more an O than a U. All those SQA moderators may as well not bothered – Swinney has rubbed out their markings. The questions about what this means for the future of Scottish education are profound (David […]
Grading U-turn is the starting pistol on 2021 election
Common Weal today publishes a very important report on the Care Homes crisis written by Nick Kempe, former Head of Service for Older People in Glasgow. The report can be read here, and is worth taking the time to go through carefully. A full analysis will appear on Source later. Here, I will only focus on one aspect […]
We need to talk about democratic accountability in public services
The UK is going Korean. Having led with a herd immunity approach to this crisis, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now said to be convinced that South Korea’s “test, trace, isolate” is the model for Britain. That means forcing the rate of transmission down low through the lockdown, and at the same time building a […]