“Despite these barriers and traumatic experiences, the young adult migrants we spoke with strongly believed that Scotland was welcoming to everyone because the country “needs more people” and because they had been given equal opportunities to study and work.”
Policy
Biggest increase in alcohol-related deaths for 20 years
“Previous research shows us that people with common mental health disorders (such as depression and anxiety) are twice as likely to report an alcohol use disorder as those without. While many people may have used alcohol during the pandemic to cope with poor mental health, this short-term relief could lead to longer-term risks to both mental and physical health.”
Kate’s budget blues
“A core resource block grant in 2022/23 that is 8% higher than pre-pandemic might sound generous, but to deal with the pandemic’s legacy and underlying public services pressures it is anything but. In this context, Kate Forbes’ third budget may well be her most challenging.”
Reclaiming life and space at Picardy
‘Now that the traffic engineers have had their say it’s clearly about time that the public, not the notionally public servants, have a say about this space. I still hold to the view that sculpture – and new work in particular , the 4th plinth idea – would work here.’
Democratic backsliding under Johnson
“Cross-party calls for a culture of ‘kindness’ deserved to develop into a movement to rebuild civility and public trust. Amidst the Paterson controversy, such hopes looked very distant again – but perhaps the furore will in time spur recognition of the need for deeper cultural change.”
Regenerative farming could cut methane emissions
Food production will have to change to deliver the methane emissions reductions agreed at COP26. How will this work? Last week, I interviewed a “regenerative farmer” in Fife who may have some answers. Claire Pollock has a mixed farm of animals and arable – she doesn’t plough but sows cereal straight onto harvest stubble. Cows […]
Socialised power: electricity is a public good
The Scottish Government has dropped plans for a National Energy Company in favour of a watered-down advisory agency but the author says electricity should be treated as a public (common) good. The debate continues.
Scotland’s road to net zero: how far, so far?
Scotland has ambitious targets to reach net zero by 2045 and, so far, we are falling behind in the cuts to emissions needed to reach these targets…More needs to be done to improve our green and blue spaces, and protect the species that depend on these habitats.
Climate change and farming
“The prizes in terms of turning farming into a low emissions sector are significant, and necessary, to meet Scotland’s climate change targets. The challenge is to ensure food production can operate at a sufficient scale and quality to make the sector financially, as well as environmentally, sustainable.”
Energy efficiency could boost economy and jobs
A no-brainer ahead of #COP26: “The UK’s buildings account for 17% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Making them more energy efficient could cover 34% of the emission cuts needed in the sector by 2030. It would also increase GDP by nearly £1.3bn (0.07%) a year, and create 22,545 new full-time jobs across the UK economy.”