The recent political manoeuvring around abolishing the cap for some families on benefits has brought the issue of child poverty back to the fore. The Labour Party is setting up a Child Poverty Taskforce to look into the matter and there is pressure from within and without to do something in the October Budget. Meanwhile, John Swinney is well ahead of the pack, claiming, on his … [Read more...] about Ending child poverty – hard facts vs empty promises
Inequality
Political posturing over child poverty
There are around a quarter of a million Scottish children living in relative poverty out of 4.3m in the UK as a whole, according to the Scottish Government. John Swinney says “eradicating child poverty in Scotland is my top priority as First Minister” but he and his administration admit that current levels of relative poverty are little changed over the past five years when … [Read more...] about Political posturing over child poverty
Lost opportunities to last a lifetime 1
Why is Scottish education failing to deliver the long-promised pupil excellence and closure of the attainment gap in schools after two decades of much-vaunted policy-making and legislation? Two leading experts re-examine the roots of the problem in what was once ’the jewel in the British educational crown’. Below, Lindsay Paterson explores the links between the Curriculum for … [Read more...] about Lost opportunities to last a lifetime 1
Energy market reforms must embrace a social tariff
The British energy regulator Ofgem has announced the energy price cap for the last quarter of 2023, including early winter. Gas and electricity should be slightly cheaper than last year, but they are still too expensive. The problem is the cap itself which, as I have written before, was never designed to keep energy affordable. It limits profits for suppliers but not bills for … [Read more...] about Energy market reforms must embrace a social tariff
Gulliver’s foot and art’s redemptive power
“I met a traveller from an antique land,Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stoneStand in the desert. . . . nothing beside remains…“OzymandiasI went on a hunt for Gulliver’s foot today - it is all that remains of a gigantic statue by the sculptor and former convict Jimmy Boyle, in a park near the housing schemes of Edinburgh’s Craigmillar and … [Read more...] about Gulliver’s foot and art’s redemptive power