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October 17, 2023
Turning Vision into Reality
Our Vision for Scotland describes the kind of country we need to become if we are to meet the many challenges that lie ahead. However, visions have little value if not backed up by action. After extensive consultation, SCA has also published a manifesto containing over 80 recommendations for the Scottish Government to adopt as it considers how to implement its most recent Programme for Government. Drawing primarily on our responses to Scottish Government consultations, our manifesto is designed around four cross-cutting themes: Governance and Decision-Making ; Land, Assets and Resources ; Local Economy ; and People.
Manifesto for Action
While our vision is focused on the long-term, there is much that can be achieved in the short to medium term to begin the process of realising many of its elements. Legislative and other policy measures during the current session of Parliament offer important opportunities in that regard. Examples of the former include the forthcoming Community Wealth Building Bill, Land Reform Bill, Agriculture Bill, Human Rights Bill and Circular Economy Bill. There is also scope for framing non-legislative policy measures, such as the updated Climate Change Plan, to drive change, especially across policy silos, and deliver elements of our vision.
The remainder of this document provides a Manifesto for Action to begin the process of putting SCA’s vision for a sustainable Scotland into practice. It does so by consolidating key proposals originally contained in our responses to specific Scottish Government consultations relating to legislation due to be introduced to Parliament during the current session.These proposals are organised and discussed under the following inter-related themes in the remainder of the paper:
- Governance and Decision-Making
- Land, Assets and Resources
- Local Economy
- People
It is important to note that many of the issues on which we make proposals for action are intrinsically cross-cutting in nature, and consequently demand a holistic policy approach. For example, the provision of affordable housing is a social issue which is critical for community and cultural resilience. It is also an economic issue, not least because a lack of affordable housing for rent or purchase within communities represents a major barrier to staff recruitment and local economic development. SCA therefore advocates for such an approach to be adopted in practice by policymakers, and we contend that the following thematically organised proposals provide a blueprint to enable that to happen.
Read our Manifesto HERE