scottish labour policy document 2015

Scottish Policy Forum

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REPORT OF THE SCOTTISH POLICY FORUM 2015


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Foreword from Chair of Scottish Policy Forum

Introduction

Members of the Scottish Policy Forum

List of external submissions

Growth for Scotland

Care for Scotland

Prosper for Scotland

Achieve for Scotland

Notes

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25

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Contents


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It has been a busy and productive time for the Scottish Policy Forum and I have been honoured to be its chair.

Our first development stage saw the most external engagement and expert consultation the Scottish Labour Party has ever conducted. From charities to businesses, academics to our trade union friends, there was participation that gave our first stage publication the evidence base and wide reaching policy ideas we needed.

This second stage has been an exercise in democratic participation that the Labour Movement can be proud of. This stage was dedicated to our members and affiliates, with consultation and amendments sought from across Scotland. The Scottish Policy Forum received 155 amendments from local parties and affiliates, 126 of which were accepted and reflected in this document. I am immensely proud of the diversity of thought and compelling ideas that have come forward from our membership.

The four sections of this document not only reflect policy, but reflect our Labour values; the creation of wealth and a stable economy to allow us to redistribute and invest in our future, equality of health, opportunity and ambition, education for all and empowered, greener communities.

Being Chair of the Scottish Policy Forum has been an absolute privilege and has reaffirmed for me the Scottish Labour Party at its best. By consulting with our members and pursuing internal democracy, by opening the doors to experts to develop our policy stances for a better Scotland, we are a more effective Party. By 2016, we will have a manifesto that embodies what Scottish Labour stands for; fighting for an equal, fairer and progressive society.

FOREWORD FROM CHAIR OF SCOTTISH POLICY FORUM

Agnes Tolmie

“ It has been a busy and productive time for the Scottish Policy Forum and I have been honoured to be its chair.”


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Introduction

Scotland’s future is Labour’s top priority, just as it is the priority of every voter in next May’s election.

This document sets out Labour’s ambitions for the kind of future we want to build for our families, for our communities and for Scotland. A future founded on the promise of shared prosperity and mutual respect.

The past eight years have seen Scotland’s government distracted by an obsession with the constitutional arrangements of the UK, an obsession which the people of Scotland rejected. Our purpose is bigger than that. It is the rebuilding of Scotland from the people up.

We believe in opportunities for each and every person to make for themselves the life they want. We seek a fair deal for everyone who works for low pay or who can’t find a decent home. We will always be committed to a society where those who need it are given help freely, and the rest of us contribute fairly to a better society. We believe that in communities that share and work together, and which in doing so, can achieve great things.

And above all we are impatient for greater equality, for a country where no person, no family, no community is left out of our common prosperity and where each citizen has an equal voice in the decisions we make together

It is in the hands of governments to make choices: they can reach towards that better future, as Labour does - or they can look backwards to yesterday’s false arguments and tired dreams.

In the pages that follow there is a mix of ambition - and details of the steps that we need take to turn that ambition into reality. They range across all aspects of our values from Equality and Justice to Democracy and Community. They address issues

of democratic reform, public services and wealth creation. Above all, they leave no room for doubt about what Labour stands for and who we stand with.

This document has been drafted following a broad consultation within the Labour Party and beyond. It has sought to be inclusive of civic Scotland, trades unions, voluntary and community organisations and others with a stake in Scotland’s future. We are grateful to the many contributors for sharing so openly and fully with us; the document and its policy ideas are the richer for their contribution.

In the coming months Scottish Labour will set out our manifesto for the Scottish Parliament election in May. The ideas and vision for Scotland’s future in this document will be at the heart of that manifesto.

It is time to take a fresh look at Scottish Labour. It is time to leave the sterile arguments of the past behind. And it is time to get to work on building the better future we all believe is possible.


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Agnes Tolmie Chair

Clare Lally Vice Chair

Sarah Boyack Vice Chair

Rhondda Geekie Chair of Prosper Policy Commission

Katrina Murray Chair of Care Policy Commission

Paul O’Kane Chair of Achieve Policy Commission

Cathy Peattie Chair of Growth for Scotland

CLP Representatives

Kyle Bellamy

Edinburgh Central/Edinburgh Southern/Edinburgh Northern & Leith/Edinburgh Eastern

Sinead Browne

Ayr/Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley/Cunninghame North/Cunninghame South

Brian Chaplin

Western Isles

Bob Chicken

Argyll & Bute/Dumbarton/Clydebank & Milngavie/Strathkelvin& Bearsden

Margaret Cooper

Eastwood/Glasgow Cathcart/Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse/East Kilbride

Ann Darlington

Caithness, S&R/Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch/Inverness & Nairn/Moray

Maureen Devlin

Airdrie & Shotts/Coatbridge & Chryston/Motherwell & Wishaw/Uddingston & Bellshill

Margaret Doran

Cumbernauld & Kilsyth/Falkirk East/Falkirk West/Stirling

John Duncan

Ayr/Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley/Cunninghame North/Cunninghame South

Pam Duncan

Glasgow Pollok/Glasgow Southside/Glasgow Anniesland/Glasgow Kelvin

Paul Fletcher

Eastwood/Glasgow Cathcart/Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse/East Kilbride

Ann Henderson

Edinburgh Central/Edinburgh Southern/Edinburgh Northern & Leith/Edinburgh Eastern

David Hogg

Edinburgh Western/Edinburgh Pentlands/Linlithgow/Almond Valley

Yvonne Kucuk

Glasgow Shettleston/Rutherglen/Glasgow Provan/Glasgow Maryhill & Springburn

Clare Lally

Argyll & Bute/Dumbarton/Clydebank & Milngavie/Strathkelvin& Bearsden

John Marr

Caithness, S&R/Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch/Inverness & Nairn/Moray

Michael McBride

Airdrie & Shotts/Coatbridge & Chryston/Motherwell & Wishaw/Uddingston & Bellshill

Members of the Scottish Policy Forum


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Siobhan McCready

Greenock & Inverclyde/Renfrewshire North & West/Renfrewshire South/Paisley

Margaret McCulloch

Dunfermline/Clackmannanshire & Dunblane/Cowdenbeath/Kirkcaldy

Maureen McKay

Clydesdale/Kilmarnock & Irvine Valley/Dumfriesshire/Galloway & West Dumfries

Anne McMillan

Edinburgh Western/Edinburgh Pentlands/Linlithgow/Almond Valley

Craig Miller

Dunfermline/Clackmannanshire & Dunblane/Cowdenbeath/Kirkcaldy

Oliver Milne

Glasgow Pollok/Glasgow Southside/Glasgow Anniesland/Glasgow Kelvin

Martin Murray

Cumbernauld & Kilsyth/Falkirk East/Falkirk West/Stirling

Paul O’Kane

Greenock & Inverclyde/Renfrewshire North & West/Renfrewshire South/Paisley

Lorna Redford

Mid Fife & Glenrothes/North East Fife/Perhthshire North/Perthshire South & Kinross-shire

Liam Reid

Angus North & Mearns/Angus South/Dundee City East/Dundee City West

Kathryn Russell

Aberdeen Central/Aberdeen Donside/Aberdeen South & Kincardine/Aberdeen West

Stephen Slessor

Glasgow Shettleston/Rutherglen/Glasgow Provan/Glasgow Maryhill & Springburn

Phil Spencer

Clydesdale/Kilmarnock & Irvine Valley/Dumfriesshire/Galloway & West Dumfries

Lorna Ward

Angus North & Mearns/Angus South/Dundee City East/Dundee City West

Kenneth Watt

Aberdeen Central/Aberdeen Donside/Aberdeen South & Kincardine/Aberdeen West

Young Labour Representatives

Billy McCauley

Robin Murphy

Kevin O’Donnell

Socialist Societies & Trade Union Representatives

Sandy Cameron SERA

Brenda Carson GMB

David Conway SHA

Jackson Cullinane UNITE

Anne Dean GMB

Harry Donaldson GMB

Tracy Gilbert USDAW

Vicky Grandon UNITE

Liz-Anne Handibode UNISON

Duncan Hothersall FABIANS

Kevin Lindsay ASLEF

Eilidh MacDonald COMMUNITY

Sandra Macdonald Co-op

Richard McCready Co-op

Gordon McKay UNISON

John McKenzie GMB

William Menzies NUM

Tam Mitchell UNITE

Angela Moohan Co-op


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Paul Mooney UCATT

Cathy Murphy GMB

Katrina Murray UNISON

Cathy Peattie CWU

Alan Robertson CWU

Pat Rowland UNISON

Agnes Tolmie UNITE

John Tonner USDAW

Scot Walker UNITE

Dave Watson UNISON

Karen Whitefield USDAW

Local Government Representatives

Johanna Boyd

Bill Cook

Alison Evison

Rhondda Geekie

Tom McAughtrie

Stephen McCabe

Sean Morton

Elected Representatives

Ian Murray MP

Catherine Stihler MEP

Kezia Dugdale MSP

Jackie Baillie MSP

Neil Bibby MSP

Sarah Boyack MSP

Mary Fee MSP

Iain Gray MSP

James Kelly MSP

Ken Macintosh MSP

Hanzala Malik MSP

Michael McMahon MSP

Anne McTaggart MSP

Elaine Murray MSP

Graeme Pearson MSP

Scottish Executive Committee Representatives

Cathie Craigie

Harry Frew

Jamie Glackin

Richard Leonard

Jackie Martin

Erin Mulhatton

Linda Stewart


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External organisations who have taken part in the SPF engagement process

Action For Children

Age Scotland

Alzheimer’s Scotland

Association of British Credit Unions

Barnardos

Bethany Trust

CBI Scotland

Children 1st

Co-Operative Education Trust

Council of Occupational Therapists

Digby Brown

Engender

Equate Scotland

Fabian Society

Federation of Small Businesses

Govan Law Centre

Homelessness action group

Inclusion Scotland

Inclusion Scotland

Institute of Civil Engineers

Muslim Women’s Resource Centre

Nil By Mouth

One parent families

Oxfam

Peek Project

Positive Action In Housing

Royal Society of Chemistry

Save the Children

Scotland Institute

Scottish Care

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

Scottish Education Research Association

Scottish Parent Teacher Council

Shelter

Socialist Education Association

Stonewall

Times Higher Education

Transform Community Development

Turning Point Scotland

Universities Scotland

Volunteer Scotland

Who Cares Scotland

With Kids


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GROWTH FOR SCOTLAND


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GROWTH FOR SCOTLAND

Introduction

Our economy isn’t working for people in Scotland. We are told by the Tories and the SNP that the economy is recovering but people aren’t feeling the benefits. The link between the wealth of the country and finances of ordinary Scots is broken. We are working hard but don’t feel we are being rewarded. Parents worry that the next generation won’t have the chances they had in life. Our nation is too unequal and too unfair. The people need to exercise real democracy in the economy and no longer be ruled by market forces beyond our control.

After a long and painful recession people have lost faith that any party can really make a difference to the way the economy is led. Both the Nationalists and the Tories want to pretend there isn’t a choice to be made and that there isn’t a different approach.

The Tories have hit families with higher VAT while giving a tax cut for the highest earners. The Tories offer more of the same failed economic plan and the cost would be even bigger cuts. The Nationalists’ plan for all spending in Scotland to be paid for only from taxes raised in Scotland, would cut us off from sharing in the wealth of the rest of the UK and would, by their own admission, mean billions of pounds of cuts here in Scotland. We can do better.

Looking forward to 2016, we have an opportunity to elect a Labour Government in Scotland that will use the new powers of the Parliament to grow our economy, extend opportunities and end poverty.

We want a Scotland that is the fairest nation in the world. That is our cause. Together we can meet this challenge. We want a country that protects our environment and promotes the life chances of every child in Scotland to have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and develop their talents.

This means making sure that everybody in Scotland, no matter their background, has a chance to get

on in life. The inequality that divides our economy, society and communities is unjust. Scottish Labour exists to end it.

A Growing Economy for a Fairer Scotland

Our twin priorities of increasing prosperity and eliminating poverty go hand in hand because the most effective anti-poverty measure is a successful economy providing well-paid, secure jobs for all people in Scotland. A Scottish Labour Government will commit to using its devolved tax raising powers to counter the anti-austerity measures introduced by a Tory government and protect welfare claimants, the working poor and the under-privileged of Scotland.

We will support Scotland’s businesses to thrive and grow, working with businesses, trades unions, colleges, universities and others to increase productivity, exports and R&D investment and increased business birth-rate.

We are proud, but not satisfied with Scotland’s unique successes. We know we can do much better. We continue to lead the world in many areas, from aerospace to life sciences, to the oil & gas sector. Today, we recognise shared prosperity will be underpinned by these productive industries, our care and service sector, food and tourism businesses and vibrant creative industries. We need a growing economy because if redistribution is our aim, then we need to create, and more evenly share, the wealth that is generated so that more families share in that success. As part of this, we would use the new powers coming to Scotland over income tax to ask the wealthiest Scots, those earning over £150,000, to pay a little more so that we can create the fairer society we all want to see.

We want this success to be shared so that our cities, our rural communities and our islands flourish, as hubs of enterprise and wealth creation.

Amendments from CLPs and Affiliates are highlighted


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We will bring forward an economic plan which gives business certainty and outlines an active industrial strategy for manufacturing. We recognise that inequality harms our economy and can limit growth. We will bring forward a manifesto for Scottish business. We will establish a Scottish Economic Sustainability Agency to assist businesses and workers and their trade unions in making a ‘Just Transition’ to a sustainable future. ‘Just Transition’ is a framework for a fair and sustainable shift to a low carbon economy.

Scottish Labour is proud of its relationship with the wider labour movement, from co-operatives to trade unions. At the heart of Labour are values respecting work and workers. Scottish Labour will promote trade union membership and the co-operative movement to bring company decisions closer to their employees and ensure that workers have an influential voice. That is why we will oppose the Trade Union Bill. We will promote democracy in the workplace and the wider economy.

We are committed to implementing all the recommendations of the ‘Working Together - Progressive Workplace Policies in Scotland’ Review published in 2014, including recognising the role of workplace reps, facility time, and collective bargaining, and will work with employers and through procurement to promote this. Scottish Labour will promote trade union membership and the co-operative movement. We will encourage elected trade union representatives to hold seats on the boards of companies, to bring company decisions closer to their employees and ensure that workers have an influential voice.

We want to grow a strong Scottish economy, one where the wealth of the nation is used to benefit the whole of society. Not just a privileged few.

We believe in the pooling and sharing of resources across the UK to deliver change here in Scotland. We support the continuation of the Barnett Formula because it is in the best interest of Scotland. We believe that giving up Barnett, in favour of the Nationalist plans for Scottish services to be funded from Scottish taxes only, would mean damaging cuts to public services as Scotland’s share of UK spending would fall. Likewise we want to see the Scottish Parliament with the final say over benefit levels in Scotland, but we want to keep the guarantee of the UK benefit and pensions system.

A Scottish Labour Government will deliver industry specific plans, drawing on the best economic advice to meet the challenges we face to remain competitive and successful in the future. We are clear on the need for immediate action to support the oil and gas sector – supporting a roadmap based upon clear principles which deliver certainty for the industry. Scottish Labour will continue to develop Scotland as a world class export sector.

Businesses want certainty and must be confident in the actions of the Scottish Government. Scottish Labour will establish an independent Scottish Office for Budget Responsibility – giving transparency over our finances and economic forecasting. This will deliver on the Smith Commission’s conclusion that financial scrutiny be strengthened in the light of new powers.

Scottish Labour recognises the key role played by small businesses in our economy. Our local business strategy will support small business and the self-employed to facilitate expansion and thereby growth in local employment. Support for social enterprises and local business co-operatives, such as community marketing groups, will be encouraged.

Working with employers, local authorities and trade unions, we will bring forward a specific plan for business ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections. We will review the work of Co-operative Development Scotland to ensure that it effectively promotes the whole co-operative sector in a much stronger way.

Our world class universities are renowned for their research innovation. From the Euan McDonald Centre at The University of Edinburgh investigating the cure to Motor Neurone Disease, to Food and Nutrition innovation at the University of Aberdeen. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, 77% of the research submissions by Scottish Universities were considered to be “world leading”.

Scottish Labour believes our universities and their research are a key to developing innovation and growth. We want to see a Scotland that is not only a world leader in research, but a leader in using this research to create the jobs of the future in Scotland.

To enable us to work on tackling low pay and growing our economy, we need better, more robust research. The current sampling of data by the Scottish Government is unclear and dated (2007).


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Scottish Labour will pursue a detailed research study into poverty and wages, which will include details on demographics, sectors and individuals incomes as well as household data.

Our universities are a major industry in their own right contributing £6.7 billion to the Scottish economy and employing 142,000 people but our record for closer to market activity is not so good, missing opportunities for jobs and longer-term economic growth. We will foster greater partnership between universities and business to translate our world leading research into making Scotland the most innovative economy in the world.

Employee ownership and co-operatives should be facilitated, supported and encouraged in partnership with trades unions. We will extend the role of Co-operative Development Scotland and promote the co-operative council model where councils can consider developing local employee co-operatives.

We will look at options to change planning legislation to support local economies, deliver community benefit and develop diversity on our high streets. We will consider amendments to planning legislation to favour community-owned co-operatives. We should encourage the creation of local marketing co-operatives by local businesses to better promote and protect our high streets and district shopping centres and ensure that they have the resources required. As part of this we will work to develop a retail strategy alongside other sectoral strategies. In government, Scottish Labour will undertake a strategic review on the next generation of rail investment, which will include an evaluation of stations, tracks and capacity.

We will create change through leading by example. In government, we would use Scotland’s £10 billion procurement investment to transform workers’ rights and promote the Living Wage. We believe that the Living Wage should be paid by all public sector contractors, something the SNP have repeatedly blocked. Scottish Labour will legislate to make payment of the Living Wage a requirement of public sector contracts. We will establish a Low Pay Unit to promote the Living Wage in the private sector, and work to tackle low pay and poor standards across all sectors.

We can go further to deliver a positive employment agenda through procurement, including ending the blacklisting of trade unionists, the abuse of workers through umbrella companies, the use of exploitative zero hour contracts and addressing inequality at work for women. We will look to use procurement, through Article 19 to support people with disabilities into work by targeting contracts to modern supported employment providers.

We will introduce a top rate of income tax of 50p in Scotland so that those with the broadest shoulders contribute the most.

The SNP have been the most centralising government on record, removing power from local government and communities. We do not want to swap one centralising Government in Whitehall with another in St Andrew’s House. We will reverse the SNP’s centralisation by devolving power down from Holyrood to our villages, towns and cities.

With new powers coming through the Smith Agreement, we support double devolution to our local authorities and cities. With Labour, the Work Programme will be devolved to Local Authorities – a real job creating power that can meet local economic need. We will consult on how we use these new powers to establish a new employment support service helping people back into work. We will support and campaign for city deals for every one of Scotland’s cities.

Having devolved the Work Programme to local authorities, we will work in partnership with tailored local programmes to ensure that travel is no barrier to work.

We will promote connectivity through a broadband and mobile phone strategy to ensure full internet and better quality mobile phone coverage and access across Scotland particularly in rural, remote and island communities.

Scottish Labour will never support the SNP’s race to the bottom on corporation tax, or promote policies which would promote inequality through a giveaway to large corporations. We will use procurement policy to promote corporate tax justice.

We will create a Resilience Fund to support local communities when large scale job losses are threatened. It will be available to local councils


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in times of crisis for some of Scotland’s crucial industries – today it should be used to support the North East as the oil crisis continues. This package should include using business rates to support industries experiencing unforeseen and exceptional change. We will ensure the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team have a proactive role in working with trade unions in helping workers and businesses that are in difficulty.

We believe that there is a case for reform and that it needs to be there for early intervention, job loss prevention and is not a voluntary scheme. The PACE team measure outcomes, not simply immediate work conditions. As is currently in place for child poverty and climate change, Scottish Labour will implement low pay reduction targets; with a commitment to reduce in work poverty by 50% within 5 years. Scottish Labour wishes to see more focus and accountability, for both government and employers to encourage faster change to lift workers out of poverty

Employment and Training

Through discussion with employers, business, public services and trade unions, including with specific supports for young people with disabilities, and for childcare or other caring responsibilities, a Scottish jobs guarantee will be established for anyone under 25 on Jobseeker’s Allowance for a year or more. This job will pay at least the minimum wage for 25 hours a week and offer training for at least 10 hours a week.

The Living Wage should become the minimum wage and fair pay should be promoted through trade union recognition and collective bargaining, including sectoral bargaining.

Working with local authorities, we will also look to create pooled apprenticeship schemes and entrepreneurship focussed programmes for young people who are hard to reach. We will ensure that education and training around the co-operative model is available at all levels from school to university, building on the work of Co-operative Education Trust Scotland, and that all economic development agencies are open to developing co-operatives.

We will invest in skills diversification and support career changes that meet economic need. We will

fully implement and fund the recommendations of the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce chaired by Sir Ian Wood.

We want more and better apprenticeships. But there is nothing to be gained from simply playing the numbers game. Our aspiration is for properly accredited and approved apprenticeships that will provide a high-quality alternative to academic routes for many young people. That is why we will look at setting up a pooled apprentice scheme to help small businesses afford high-quality apprenticeships, and to help apprentices gain a wider range of work experience and skills. This system will allow apprentices to move around different employers, gaining a range of experiences, networks and contacts.

Scottish Labour will develop an up-skilling strategy to support and develop the reskilling of workers for the jobs of tomorrow and to have the opportunity for progression within their sectors. Scottish Labour will work with businesses, trade unions, and local authorities to consider the best way to develop this.

We believe in safe and healthy workplaces and are committed to reducing the toll of workplace injuries and ill-health and to achieve this we will ensure that the prevention of occupational illnesses, diseases and long-term health conditions are given greater priority and no workplace is free from inspection by health and safety authorities, with a better independent inspection regime for workplaces, including shops and offices.

Scottish Labour proposes a return to a system in which all workplaces are subject to regular inspection. Instead of restricting local authority inspections, local authorities would ensure that inspections are targeted on the significant risks for the sectors they enforce. This will mean a return to a greater focus on compliance with health and safety laws on prevention of work-related ill-health such as musco-skeletal disorders and stress-related illness

Scottish Labour Government will support the maintenance of good industrial relations through courses for trade union representatives, to enable those reps to carry out their statutory functions and ensure workplaces comply with all relevant regulations including health and safety and employment, that they are able to support


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trade union members in the workplace as part of companies’ internal procedures for accompaniment, representation and for negotiation, and to assist in promoting good industrial relations which are beneficial for productivity.

We support the creation of a Scottish Hazards Centre which will provide awareness, knowledge and understanding of occupational health, safety and environmental matters and help lower the instances of work related ill-health, injury and deaths.

Transport

We will support a publicly owned and accountable rail operator – a people’s ScotRail -using powers devolved through the Smith Agreement. This approach will see profits reinvested in better services and cheaper fares for passengers. We will explore the options to protect commuters from rising costs.

We will connect our nations, regions and cities through high-speed rail. It will boost our economy and develop links with our most important trading partner – the other nations of the UK. We support the extension of high-speed rail to Scotland. An early priority will be to put in place a plan to link Scotland to the high speed rail project much earlier than the current plans which will take decades for Scotland to be connected.

We will commit to the long-awaited Glasgow Crossrail scheme which will mean better links between the North and South, East and West of the country.

We will work to ensure we connect our towns and cities with sustainable transport that also supports growth. We will continue to support free bus travel for pensioners, which we introduced. We will go further to give local authorities more powers to regulate bus routes so that they meet the passengers’ needs, not those of the operators. We will go further to promote and invest in active travel. We will work with local authorities to deliver a programme of work to clear the backlog of roads maintenance work.

Too often our vital bus routes are being cut leaving isolated communities more cut off from important family, work and social links. Our bus services are a critical driver of economic growth and activity. Increasingly local authorities struggle to ensure that they are able to provide the service which

their communities require. The power within the bus industry is heavily tilted in favour of a small number of large operators. These operators can cherry pick the profitable routes whilst leaving the socially necessary routes alone. In order to arrest the decline in services, falling passenger numbers and rising fares there is a need to look at this industry in a new way. Municipal, publicly owned, co-operative and social enterprises successfully operate services across the country – running metropolitan services to socially necessary education and social care networks.

These operations run in true partnership with commissioning authorities, reinvest profits back into the services and infrastructure and often are employee-led. These models of bus service delivery require support and promotion by Scottish Labour to ensure that procuring authorities are aware of the options available to them. Scottish Labour will ensure a task force is created to drive forward the advancement of these public transport models. In addition to the taskforce consideration should be given to whether new procurement regulations should be extended to ensure that local authorities have a duty to consider source services from these sectors when delivering bus services.

We will build on the growth of cycling by developing routes for safe cycling and active travel.

We will continue to support investment in the Strategic Freight Network to electrify key routes as well as ensuring gauge clearance to allow higher capacity and longer trains on paths to key ports and diversionary routes. We will oppose the introduction of longer, heavier lorries on Scotland’s roads on the grounds of environmental, cost and health & safety concerns and because we believe that the case for extra capacity lorries has not been proven.

Research shows that women feel significantly less safe on their journeys outside the home than men. Women rely on public transport far more than men, partly because far fewer women drive and because women are more likely to be travelling when it is dark. This is because women make up the majority of part-time workers. Part-time workers are far more likely to be working anti-social hours such as late at night or very early in the morning.

Scottish Labour will work with providers to ensure that public transport is available to assist


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working people with their journeys to and from work wherever possible, including late at night, in early mornings and at weekends when increasing numbers of people now have to work. Scottish Labour will ensure that safety considerations on buses and trains, and at bus stops and at train stations are prioritised to make public transport as safe as possible.

Energy

We will look to empower local government to enable them to negotiate deals with suppliers. In addition to this we will explore offering 0% loans for energy efficiency measures for those able to pay. We will continue funding for solar panels and energy efficient heating, including new targets for all public buildings in Scotland.

We will help to build a civic energy future, realising the potential for distributed energy systems and to help tackle rural poverty. We will roll out strategic insulation projects in both urban and rural homes, while introducing minimum energy efficiency standards for new build housing.

A Labour Government would invest in wave, tidal and hydropower and using energy from waste, we would facilitate development of solar farms and district heating projects, with more significant support for Scotland-wide community and co-operative energy projects, bringing local and well paid jobs. We would do everything necessary to meet the climate targets SNP have failed to three years running.

We will work across the country to create a more sustainable Scotland and in particular will work with all rural and island councils to create genuine community participation in all renewable energy developments.

The environmental and safety case for fracking has not been made. We will introduce a triple-lock system to halt any onshore fracking taking place in Scotland until environmental and health safeguards are in place. Scottish Labour will review the extraction of coal-bed methane. We recognise the powerful concerns about the process of CBM.

The environmental and safety case for fracking has not been made. We will introduce a triple-lock system to halt any onshore fracking taking place in Scotland until environmental and health safeguards are in place. Scottish Labour will

review the extraction of coal-bed methane which requires hydraulic fracturing of coal seams that lie at shallower depths than gas bearing shale - and is even more risky in Central Scotland due to heavy faulting in proposed development areas. Given the powerful concerns about coal bed methane and underground coal gasification in relation to health, environment and climate emissions we will include these technologies in our triple lock.

North Sea oil and gas remain central to the economy of the whole of Scotland. We will work to support the whole supply chain in the North East and across the country, and to support the export of oil and gas services worldwide. We will press the UK government to support a long-term strategy to maximise economic recovery.

Equality

With gender balance already achieved in the Frontbench team, a future Labour Scottish Government Cabinet will have at least 50% women members. We will appoint a Cabinet Minister for Women and Equalities with specific responsibility to ensure that equalities are mainstreamed throughout the Scottish Government and public sector.

In government, we would deliver equal representation between women and men on the boards of public bodies accountable to the Scottish Government. We will campaign for private firms to publish their pay gap (and their pay ratios), to expose any discrimination and inequality in workplaces across Scotland.

Scottish Labour will make equality and transparency key in all public contracts to government. Using the Procurement Bill, we will ensure that all companies publish the pay difference between men and women and publish pay ratios to highlight the increasing disparity between the highest and lowest paid in Scotland.

Scottish Labour will pursue a sectoral approach in tackling low pay. Hospitality, retail and care are not only the sectors with continuing low pay, but also the sectors which employ proportionally more women and black and minority ethnic (BME) workers. Scottish Labour will develop a strategy with the Living Wage accreditation scheme to focus on these sectors, amongst others that have continuing low pay.


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CARE FOR SCOTLAND


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The NHS is Labour’s proudest achievement. An institution that embodies the idea that everyone should be treated equally, regardless of their wealth or background. Scottish Labour wants to oversee a radical shift to a preventative and community-based approach to health, which will help Scots live better lives and allow our NHS to thrive in the future.

Every family in Scotland has a personal story about what they owe to the NHS. We will always do everything in our power to protect and improve it. That is why after delivering devolution, we set about ensuring our NHS, its staff and patients got the support they needed, raising spending to record levels.

Between 1999 and 2007, Scottish Labour doubled per capita health spending, elevating it to record levels. By 2007 there were over 2,500 more doctors working in our NHS and over 5,000 more nurses. We introduced free personal care for the elderly and quadrupled investment in support for unpaid carers to £23.7m. We led the UK in banning smoking in public places. Between 1997 and 2007 stroke deaths among under-75s fell by 40% and heart disease deaths among under-75s fell by 45%.

We are proud of our record on the NHS but today the NHS and its extraordinary staff, are facing huge challenges while not getting the resources to keep up with Scotland’s changing needs and to deliver the excellent care we have come to expect of our most valued national institution. Scottish Labour will aspire to the highest quality standards of administration, management, care and continued development, run in partnership with local government and local communities. The SNP have taken their eye off the ball on the NHS and the result is an A&E crisis, waiting time targets missed and too few staff with too little time to care for patients and a growing crisis in primary care.

Scottish Labour is opposed to further privatisation within our NHS and public services.

As we all know, Scotland’s health record is not nearly as good as it should be to allow our citizens to live fulfilled and happy lives. Health inequalities are a scar on Scotland. In the poorest areas of our country, some people live a full twenty years less than other Scots. It’s unacceptable that the poorest people live 9 years less than the richest and are three times more likely to take their own lives. Unequal distribution of income, wealth and power all contribute to our unequal health record. That’s why we need a Labour Government committed to tackling the gap between rich and poor.

A Scottish Labour Government will take action to narrow wealth and income inequality, not just increasing income at the bottom. Building on the Health Inequalities Review commissioned in 2014, we will develop a new structural approach that places health inequalities at the centre of public policy and implement a range of practical measures with the aim to first alleviate and then eradicate health inequalities.

Protecting and Investing in our NHS

Scottish Labour’s vision is of a country where every individual’s life chances are equal.

Inequality of access is unacceptable. Tackling health inequality begins with ensuring that access to local health services, and to the leisure and sport facilities that keep us healthy, is equal.

Equal access, irrespective of geographical location, to contraceptive advice, family planning services and abortion services is crucial and will be provided. Scottish Labour supports the protection and extension of all women’s rights, including with regard to their reproductive health, opposing cuts in health and public services which restrict women’s rights in practice.

CARE FOR SCOTLAND

IntroductionAmendments from CLPs and Affiliates are highlighted


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In order to tackle health inequality we must address wealth inequality, the Living Wage and the promotion of trade union recognition and collective bargaining to secure fair pay and fairness at work, which will play a huge part in that. The health and wellbeing benefits of introducing a Living Wage for employees, such as improved life expectancy and tackling depression should be acknowledged. Only recently, the Scottish Public Health Observatory published a study which highlighted the Living Wage as one of the most effective ways of reducing inequalities and improving health.

Mental health, its prevention, support and recovery, must be a priority in Scotland, where two people die each day by suicide. Recent figures showed that mental health research funding has been cut by 80% by the SNP. We must do more to identify mental illness and support recovery, especially in young people.

There is real concern over the delivery of integration of health and social care. For Scottish Labour, the integration of health and social care is a mounting challenge which we will focus on strategically. Scottish Labour will also support the development of more prevention and early intervention services.

Scottish Labour believes that we must create a healthier Scotland by working to tackle the causes of alcohol and substance misuse as well as poor diet and nutrition. We must build a healthier Scotland with an NHS fit for today, which is able to meet the demands of an ageing population and be able to support all people of Scotland at any stage in life.

Scottish Labour will support opportunities to develop more social transport schemes, in addition to existing public transport provision, to enable disabled and older people to take part in and utilise these prevention and early intervention schemes.

We will make sure that we have a single system for Scots to raise concerns, whether it is about hospital care, primary or social care. The current system should have been integrated along with health and social care. Where the SNP has failed, Scottish Labour will act.

We will ensure that data of all Scots is protected whether it is as a patient or in social care. No one’s data should be accessed or shared without their consent.

Scottish Labour notes the findings of the NHS staff survey which suggested only one third of NHS staff believe there is enough staff for them to do their jobs properly. We will deliver safe and appropriate levels of staffing across our NHS, including our nursing complement to ensure the working environment supports the best service delivery possible.

Scottish Labour believes that spending priorities on NHS staff should always be designed to employ staff within the health service and not reliance on privately owned supply agencies.

Furthermore Scottish Labour believes appropriate resources should be delivered as part of the integration of health and social care to employ, train and support social care staff.

The fear of a cancer diagnosis and waiting for treatment is an extremely anxious time that most families in Scotland have experienced. Our NHS is good at treating cancer, but the SNP Government’s cancer waiting time targets are regularly missed.

More than half of Scotland’s Health Boards are missing their cancer waiting time targets, Scottish Labour will drive up standards and bring down the wait that Scots have to see a cancer specialist.

Getting elderly patients out of hospital with a care package suited to their needs is one of the biggest challenges in the Scottish NHS. We have an ageing population, so must get this right as delayed discharges could increase. Scottish Labour introduced free care for the elderly and will better integrate health and social care so delayed discharge becomes a thing of the past. Our elderly citizens deserve more than waiting in a hospital beds for weeks on end. We recognise the unique challenges that care and support creates in rural, remote and Island communities but will ensure that sufficient funding is available in these areas to meet those challenges.

Diseases like Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are affecting families across this country at a rising rate. Scottish Labour will put a strategy in place to ensure we are able to support our aging population and that local health services are fully equipped and trained to assist those dealing with their diagnosis


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Our NHS staff

All our NHS staff go the extra mile to keep our health service running and providing the excellent care that it does.

Scottish Labour will always protect and stand up for our public sector workers and work in partnership with NHS trade unions.

We know that NHS staff are under pressure. We know this can affect the quality of care. Scottish Labour will ensure that there are safe levels of staff at all times on all hospital wards and ensure that quality training is in place for all staff.

Mental Health

Every family in Scotland is affected by mental health. Scottish Labour wants mental health and prevention to become a priority across our public services, especially for our young people. Good mental health should be rooted in our communities.

Scottish Labour’s plan for mental health will focus on prevention, early intervention and better support – particularly for young people.

Too many families wait too long to have their child seen by an Educational Psychologist. Psychologists in primary schools can spot mental health problems early and can often intervene before the problems escalate or are referred into the Health Service.

There is a shortage of Educational Psychologists in Scotland. Scottish Labour will increase their numbers across the country. Scottish Labour will ensure that mental health is an integral part of all teacher training in Scotland, so teachers can identify, support and refer children with mental health problems.

Scottish Labour will ensure that the training of all NHS staff includes mental health so problems are identified and addressed.

Scottish Labour will guarantee one point of contact for young people with mental health issues who are about to leave school and not yet transitioned to adult care services. This will ensure every young person will have a consistent point of contact that has already been established before any life change has occurred.

We will ensure there is support for families where someone has a severe mental health issue, we will support the invaluable work of the third sector and voluntary organisations and we will look to tackle short term funding of third sector organisations by committing to longer-term funding.

Access to counselling is critical. Waiting times in Scotland under the SNP are far too long. Scottish Labour will work towards a maximum 28 day waiting time standard for both adults and young people’s counselling.

Multiple appointments with different people undermine patient confidence in their care. Scottish Labour will ensure that people with complex physical and mental health conditions will be given a single point of contact for all of their care.

We will consider greater use of social prescribing to link those who are isolated or lonely up with social activities and support.

We will ensure providers of government employment programmes have specialist knowledge of mental health and can offer access to programmes that will help.

Scottish Labour is committed to supporting campaigns to de-stigmatise mental health.

Scottish Labour recognises that mental health difficulties are not just limited to adults. It has taken the SNP 8 years to increase the number of child and adolescent mental health beds meaning many young people living with mental health difficulties have had to be admitted to adult mental health wards. Scottish Labour will provide extra beds to ensure there are enough child and adolescent spaces, we believe our young people should not have to be admitted to adult mental health wards.

Wellbeing

Scottish Labour believes that wellbeing and fulfilled lives are forged in the heart of our communities with support in place to allow healthy lives.

Scottish Labour is committed to well-resourced family centres in our deprived communities in Scotland.


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Labour is committed to ensuring women have access locally to family planning and contraception services and to abortion services including late terminations when they so choose.

Play-parks and outdoor activity can rapidly improve health and wellbeing but many of our play-parks are not up to scratch. Scottish Labour will do an audit of our children’s play equipment across Scotland and invest in new modern play-parks.

All school meals should be packed with nutrients. Scottish Labour is committed to strict nutritional standards on all school meals.

Scottish Labour will ensure that all schools meet their targets for physical activity and support communities to create better access to physical activities.

Gyms and swimming must be at affordable prices for all. Scottish Labour will make sure that public leisure centres and gyms are affordable.

Scotland’s relationship with alcohol has a detrimental impact on our health, wellbeing and capacity for work. Scottish Labour will bring forward evidence-based proposals to reduce alcohol problems.

Labour supports access to safe and legal abortions. We oppose any move to devolve this service, as we do not want to repeat the situation that exists in Northern Ireland, whereby women have to travel to the mainland to obtain a termination.

Care and Carers

We know that our NHS staff are overstretched and undervalued by the Scottish Government, 70% of staff don’t think there are enough staff for them to do their job properly. Scottish Labour has consistently challenged the Scottish Government to act on the scandal of 15 min care visits.

Families are left with no confidence that loved ones are being given the level of care they need and deserve, while workers are being rushed between far too many clients and placed under immense pressure. What’s worse is that only around half of carers are paid for their travel between clients which in effect leaves many workers beneath the minimum wage level.

A Scottish Labour Government will adopt the provisions of UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter which sets minimum standards to protect the dignity and quality of life for people who need homecare. The charter will commit councils to accessing homecare only from providers who give workers enough time, training and a Living Wage, so they can provide better quality care for the thousands of service users who rely on it.

Currently much of the social care workforce is doing the best it can to maintain minimum levels of care whilst receiving low pay and poor conditions.

Fair pay and conditions and dignity for those receiving care are the embodiment of Labour values and a Scottish Labour Government will ensure that staff are supported to deliver the best standard of care possible.

We want Scotland to be the best place in the world to grow old and we can only do that by treating care workers with the respect and dignity that they in turn need to give to our elderly. We know the selfless work that carers do. We know the hours, days and weeks of work with the highest quality of care that they provide. We also know the unpaid efforts of family members, caring for their loved ones day in and out need to be recognised and respected.

Scottish Labour will seek to enhance paid respite support for unpaid carers.

We will consider reforms to carer’s allowance using the powers of the Smith Commission.

We will support Carer’s Scotland in their aim to ensure every carer is aware of the financial support they are entitled to and will go further by ensuring and promoting the “carer positive” employer kitemark programme.

Every carer, if they wish it, will have an emergency plan created for them as part of the carer support plan and we will support access to training and support for unpaid carers who want it, without it negatively impacting carer’s allowance.

Health Technology

Innovation in technology is rapidly changing society and the NHS is no different. Across the NHS there are excellent examples of the harnessing of


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technology to improve outcomes and the treatments for patients. Labour will fully-fund provision of new evidence-based surgical techniques where outcomes are improved, for example in robotic prostatectomy.

The technology used to enhance treatments currently available for one condition can often be applied to other conditions.

A Scottish Labour Government will invest in a specialised staff resource and implementation to ensure learning from technology utilised in the NHS can be applied where possible across the NHS in other disciplines to enhance patient outcomes, reduce waiting times, improve care, and an increase access to services for people living in remote and rural communities.

The impact of technological communication advances has been significant in the business world, and there are real productivity and financial benefits to be had by bringing them into our public services.

Clearly, for people living in our rural communities there can be benefits around accessibility and not having to travel for a health consultation that can be done via video conferencing, but there are potential other gains such as allowing people to utilise their own time to have an e-consultation with a doctor rather than waiting in a clinic.


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PROSPER FOR SCOTLAND


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Scottish Labour believes in building strong communities, supporting families and ensuring access to high quality public services for all.

We want safe, sustainable communities where every young Scot, regardless of their background gets the opportunity to flourish, where our sick and elderly get world class care and where our environment is protected and enhanced.

In too many areas people feel that their community is changing in a way that makes them feel less secure. Whether it is payday lenders taking over high streets or private landlords who abuse tenants, there is a sense of people feeling they have less power over their lives and the areas they live in.

We want everyone to have a stake in our society and our democracy, where there is civic pride in the communities we live in, and where decision making is as close to people as possible.

Scottish Labour has a proud record in decentralising power, most notably in creating the Scottish Parliament, establishing the Calman Commission to strengthen the parliament, and supporting the Smith Commission which will deliver real financial and welfare powers to Holyrood. However, we do not simply want to shift power from Whitehall to St Andrew’s House.

The current SNP Government’s agenda of centralisation is harmful to our communities. We need to re-establish local democratic accountability. We recognise that a one size fits all approach is not good enough for our local communities. People should have a greater say in matters that impact on their local area, whether they live in an urban or a rural area. We have a commitment to empowering local communities and enhancing democracy.

Justice

We want to ensure that there is transparency and local accountability of our police and fire services.

We will focus on reducing crime, reducing reoffending and supporting access to justice for victims.

The SNP’s creation of Police Scotland has drastically reduced local accountability of police; Scottish Labour will work to redress that.

We will conduct a review of sentencing; a prison sentence should both be effective at deterring reoffending and mean what it says. We will explore alternatives to custody, including support for community justice centres, to reduce reoffending.

Scottish Labour is proud of our record on equality and human rights. Every person in Scotland, from every background; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), black and ethnic minority (BME), women, disabled or new to Scotland is equal and shares the rights of all.

No worker should face discrimination or intimidation at work. We will ensure that there is legislation in place to protect them and that access to justice is not dependant on their income or the need to pay tribunal fees.

We will ensure that there is transparency and local accountability of Police Scotland.

Scottish Labour will review the Police and Fire Rescue Service Reform Act. We will introduce measures that give communities the opportunity to be involved in how their policing is delivered and how the service is held locally accountable. A Scottish Labour Government will give local authorities more say in local policing; and reform the Police Scotland Board to make police more accountable to local authorities and communities. We want the police to work with the communities they serve and be open about the budgets allocated for each local authority. We will also recognise the dedicated specialist policing needs of the railway community and ensure they are met through the reestablishment of British Transport

PROSPER FOR SCOTLAND



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Police. We want to ensure greater transparency on the numbers of police constables and staff to ensure that the objectives of local police plans and community needs are met. The SNP Government have taken officers away from operational duties to replace properly qualified police civilian staff. We will allow Police Scotland to adopt a balanced workforce that puts the right staff in the right posts and returns police officers to the visible jobs they are trained to do in our communities.

We recognise that sectarianism exists beyond our football terraces and will tackle it through genuine and effective methods without penalising football fans at large.

Scottish Labour remains committed to repeal the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act, because we believe there are better and more effective ways to tackle the issue. We recognise that sectarianism is a human rights issue and will tackle it through education and prevention, working with anti-sectarianism charities, churches, football authorities and fans to develop positive and practical evidence-based measures to stamp out sectarianism in Scotland once and for all.

Scottish Labour will establish the long promised Sentencing Council and ask it to review how sentencing works. We need people to have confidence that sentencing is fair and delivers justice. We will reform sentencing and implement a mandatory nationally accredited programme of work, volunteering, education, and drugs and alcohol rehabilitation (where appropriate) and/or have been assessed as willing and ready to engage with community based rehabilitation.

Not only will this make sentencing fairer, but it will help prison work and reduce the risk of released prisoners reoffending. We also believe that there should be a more joined up holistic approach to work inside and outside of prison and the transition between them. We will work with stakeholders to define what this looks like in practice.

We will focus on reducing crime and supporting our communities. Scottish Labour wants to end the cycle of crime that can exist within a community or family. We need to create opportunities for intervention at an earlier stage. Young people with a history of

offending in their families and local communities with a high crime rate should be supported through local educational activities. We will work with charities and stakeholders to decide how best this can be implemented across Scotland. We will ensure that all young people have real opportunities by guaranteeing a job or training.

We will review the operation of Scotland’s antisocial behaviour legislation.

Too many communities are still blighted by antisocial behaviour perpetrated by a small minority of individuals who have no respect for their neighbours. When Scottish Labour was in power, we introduced policy initiatives and legislation to tackle these problems, but since coming into power the SNP has ignored the issue. We will consult with stakeholders and victims to ascertain how well these initiatives are working in practice to ensure that momentum is resumed.

Scottish Labour successfully campaigned to scrap the building of the women’s “super prison” in Scotland. We need real justice and rehabilitation. When mothers are imprisoned, the impact is wider than an individual, children and families suffer too. Scottish Labour will focus instead on community based alternatives to custody such as community justice centres, ensuring perpetrators are held to account, that justice is served, but importantly, that rehabilitation is not sacrificed and families do not suffer.

Scottish Labour believes that a justice system works well when victims are supported to report crimes. We will develop and support advocacy projects for victims of crime, to provide them with independent advocacy and counsel where required. In particular, this will be a platform to further support victims of sexual offences and domestic abuse.

The Scottish Labour Party has a long history in tackling gender inequality and more specifically tackling violence against women. We have championed these areas and have brought forward various pieces of legislation including making stalking a criminal offence and the Domestic Abuse Bill. In Scotland there has been a lot of progress in this field but we still have a long way to go as sexual crimes are on the increase.


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Scottish Labour aims to tackle commercial sexual exploitation by challenging demand and by supporting those involved. It has a three-pronged framework; criminalising the buying of sex, decriminalising people involved in prostitution and providing long-term support and exiting services for those exploited through prostitution.

The UK Government callously cut the compensation scheme for seriously injured victims of crime whilst the SNP Government failed to object to any revisions to the scheme. Scottish Labour will review the impact of those cuts on victims of crime in Scotland and will review how best to support those who suffer serious financial detriment as well as pain and trauma of their attack and injury.

The SNP Government no longer record assaults on public facing workers and have refused to respond to calls for greater protection for those workers who are the victims of abuse and assaulted simply for doing their job. Scottish Labour will give staff who work with the public greater protection from attack through legislation to provide stiffer sentences for those who assault someone working with the public during the course of, or because of, their duties.

Scottish Labour is committed to abolishing Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal fees. The purpose of Employment Tribunals is to decide employment disputes with both employees and employers. Abolishing fees will ensure that access to justice is fair and not based on ability to pay fees.

Scottish Labour advocated for the regulation of employment tribunals to be devolved to Scotland. We know that the volume of employment tribunal claims being pursued by our workforce has dropped dramatically since the introduction of Employment Tribunal fees. We will ensure that access to justice for employees is not dependent on their level of income.

We would ensure that survivors of historic child abuse get the justice they deserve. We know that they still face too many barriers to justice. We backed their calls for a public inquiry and will make sure this inquiry is robust and delivers the answers survivors have fought so hard for.

Scottish Labour recognises the vital work of the Children’s Hearing System and Children’s Hearing Scotland in supporting children and young people at risk, and will ensure their work continues to be integral to the justice system of Scotland.

Local Government and Communities

We want to reinvigorate civic pride in Scotland. Scottish Labour believes in local accountability and inclusive democracy. We believe communities are entitled to high quality local public services not determined by their postcode. Our rural and urban communities should have equal access to the support that they need.

Scottish Labour’s vision is one of community empowerment in practice, not just in name. We will bring about the change that local government in Scotland needs by working closely with our councils and local communities to ensure that they have a greater say on shaping their communities and the services they rely on. We support the devolution of decision-making to local communities.

We will provide a constitutional guarantee of powers to local government.

We recognise the special requirements of all island communities and will work with island councils to develop and extend their powers.

We will consider how co-operative models can empower people in our communities to influence the decisions in their area.

Scottish Labour will work to address the long-term funding of local councils. We remain concerned about the underfunding of local government and the centrally imposed Council Tax freeze. Scottish Labour has been working with the all-party local tax reform commission and we are committed to implementing a fairer local tax solution.

We will support our local authorities in a capital programme ensuring that local authorities have the infrastructure to provide the best schools and vital services including care and housing.

We will support councils in restricting the number of fixed odds betting terminals, betting shops and pay day loan companies setting up in our town centres.


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Local marketing co-operatives can play an important role in reinvigorating our town centres.

We will publish and implement a radical plan to reinvigorate our town centres.

Rural Affairs, Land and Environment

Scottish Labour will make sustainable development and environmental justice key priorities and will ensure that climate change targets are met. We want communities in Scotland and across the world to benefit from us taking climate justice seriously.

We want to set out a long-term vision for the future of our communities which reinvigorates localism to ensure that there is access to services and opportunities for all, regardless of where people live. We aim to build upon our ground breaking land reform legislation to offer solutions that tackle the inequalities faced by our rural communities. We want to empower rural communities to make the best use of resources in their area for the benefit of the whole community through collective action and community mobilisation.

Animal welfare remains a concern for Scottish Labour and we will work to ensure humane treatment of animals within all sectors of the economy.

Scottish Labour was at the forefront of ground-breaking land reform legislation in the early days of the Scottish Parliament which has led to radical change in many of our communities; we aim to build upon this to offer solutions that tackle the inequalities faced by our communities - urban and rural. Mutual and co-operative models should play a key role in the land reform agenda.

Scottish Labour will support the promotion of local produce and facilitate greater use of locally sourced food, including supporting food cooperatives and greater access to allotments. We also recognise the need for a well-funded regulatory regime to protect our food from any more scandals and restore public confidence in food quality.

We recognise the link between poor food safety standards and poor working conditions. Our commitments on tackling abuses such as exploitative zero hours contracts is part of ensuring safe, hygienic food standards, as is our commitment to the

promotion of trade union recognition and collective bargaining forums such as the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board.

We will devolve the administration and revenue of the Crown Property and rights and interests in Scotland to ensure local communities can manage and develop their own seabed and foreshore.

We will commit to the 2030 decarbonisation target and set out how we will achieve this with a focus on housing, transport, business, farming and land use.

We will review the future of National Parks with a view to establishing a new National Park.

We will both extend the rights that communities have to buy land across Scotland and also support capacity building to enable communities to exercise those rights.

We will review community ownership legislation; the process should be made easier and less lengthy.

We will secure a fairer deal for our remote and rural communities, particularly our Highland and Island communities, specifically in relation to better access to goods and services. We will also ensure that lifeline ferry services are maintained within the public sector.

We will support community-led initiatives to improve the quality of our local environment and reintroduce environmental justice as a priority for the Scottish Government in policy and investment decisions. We will work with local authorities to extend the work of Eco Schools, and provide new training opportunities for young people that focus on environmental skills with colleges and businesses.

We will consider how we can support and encourage industrial democracy, forms of common and public ownership (including employee ownership) and collective bargaining which help distribute wealth to employees and encourage long service.

Social Justice and Equalities

Inequality, unfairness and prejudice impacts on us all. Scottish Labour believes in a Scotland where all people regardless of race, religion, gender, sexuality or disability are full and active members of society. Scottish Labour will ensure that our policies reflect the needs and lives of everyone in Scotland, including


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ethnic minorities. We want Scottish politics to see people at the grassroots level involved in influencing decision making. Scottish Labour believes decisions should be made with people not for people.

Scottish Labour aims to reduce the gap between rich and poor.

The Labour Party has a proud history of tackling child poverty. In 1997, 360,000 children in Scotland (35%) lived in poverty. By 2003 that figure had fallen to 280,000 (27%) and by 2011 it fell to 220,000 (25%). Scottish Labour will make cutting child poverty a priority again. Our target is to lift 100,000 children out of poverty by 2021. We will ensure that children have access to a world class education and that every child has the opportunity to reach their potential. We will use all the powers of the parliament, including the new devolved powers over welfare, to lift children and the most vulnerable in our society out of poverty.

We believe that improving social mobility should also be a stated aim of Scotland’s education and housing policies.

Loneliness is a significant problem for so many of our fellow citizens. Alongside specific health and social care initiatives, we will introduce a programme of support for the voluntary sector targeted at older people living alone. We reaffirm and reclaim our support for concessionary travel.

We would appoint a Cabinet Minister for Women and Equalities, with specific responsibility for championing the rights of women within the Scottish Government.

We would campaign for private firms to publish their pay gap, to expose the discrimination in many workplaces across Scotland.

Scottish Labour would show its support for charities and the voluntary sector working to combat discrimination, whether they are tackling racism, sexism, homophobia or disability discrimination.

Housing

Scottish Labour believes that every person in Scotland has the right to a safe, affordable and suitable home. Tackling Scotland’s housing crisis will be a priority of a Scottish Labour Government in Holyrood.

We will tackle the housing supply crisis head on by radically increasing the number of homes being built. This will include an increase in the amount of good quality social housing, which is affordable to tenants.

We will offer those in the private rented sector some of the protection enjoyed by those in social rented properties by:

• Capping rent rises.

• Limiting rent reviews to one per year.

• Reforming private rented sector tenancies.

We will help everyone across Scotland to make their homes more energy efficient.

We will ensure that access to safe and suitable housing for those with disabilities and the elderly is a priority; and we will work with local communities on housing build projects to ensure that the needs of the community are being met and that local communities are able to influence decisions.

Too many people in Scotland find themselves without a roof over their heads. In 2013/14 almost 30,000 households were assessed as homeless in Scotland. It is our duty to support those most in need and Scottish Labour is committed to creating a Scotland where every person has the right to safe and affordable accommodation.

Scottish Labour created a homelessness sounding board in 2014 with expert organisations to consider how homelessness in Scotland can be eradicated and how we can ensure that vulnerable people in Scotland are given safe shelter and support.

Scottish Labour’s policy on housing will include prioritising the affordable housing shortage, ensuring all people who find themselves without shelter have access to advice and assistance, developing quality standards for temporary housing and creating better partnership working between housing officers and other support services to ensure all people who are homeless have a central point of contact. We must also consider the type of housing the most vulnerable need and ensure that families and lone parents, who are assessed as homeless, have the accommodation they need.

Scottish Labour has already made it clear that we will abolish the bedroom tax to remove one of the


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most unfair policies of the Tory Government. The Smith Powers offer Scotland the ability not only to raise revenues but to spend them to tackle poverty through the welfare system. Scottish Labour would build on Smith by ensuring that the final say on benefit rates are set in Scotland, that the Scottish Parliament has clear power to establish new benefits, that powers around incentives to return to work in the welfare state are devolved so we can align them with colleges and other support that is already devolved. This means that Scots would be guaranteed the minimum security of the UK benefits system, underpinned by the sharing of resources with the rest of the UK, but with a Scottish welfare system having the final say over benefit rates over and above the UK level.

Research has suggested that as much as 95% of government spending on housing is through the benefits system with just 5% being invested in new homes. A Scottish Labour Government will also promote innovative ways to fund new social housing, including the potential for utilising public sector pension funds as a source of finance.

Fuel Poverty

At least 40% of Scottish households are living in fuel poverty, with the problem particularly acute in rural and island communities. We will take measures to ensure that the differential in energy costs between rural and urban areas is removed. We will promote energy co-operatives in local areas to provide cost-effective energy-efficiency actions and also by bulk-buying to reduce the cost of fuel.

The measures adopted by the SNP Government will not meet the statutory duty under the Housing Act 2001 to eradicate fuel poverty by November 2016. It will not stop financially disadvantaged families being asked to make substantial contributions to Scottish Government grants to have measures fitted to their homes - financial contributions that they cannot afford to make. Scottish Labour will support renewable energy options including the contribution of combined heat and power schemes to reduce fuel poverty.

A Scottish Labour Government will look at ways to better support pensioners, households with a disabled person and families receiving Child Tax

Credit with the cost of insulating their homes and improving heating systems where this is needed. We will also work with energy suppliers in Scotland to tackle the unfair practice of energy companies charging higher tariffs for those on pre-paid meters.

Scottish Labour will adopt a transparent action plan of effective measures to address energy efficiency and will adopt energy efficiency as a National Infrastructure Project.


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ACHIEVE FOR SCOTLAND


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We believe that it is through education that all Scots will reach their full potential.

This has always been central to Scottish Labour’s belief in a fairer society, but in today’s global economy unlocking young people’s talent and ambition through education is an economic necessity.

If we are to create a fairer, more equal Scotland then everyone, old or young, must get the opportunity to learn.

Scottish Labour wants to ensure that all children in Scotland have a nurtured, secure and fulfilling childhood.

Scottish Labour aims to:

• Create a flexible, accessible and high quality childcare system in Scotland that includes universal out-of-school-care services.

• Set an ambitious target to make Scotland’s schools the best in the world.

• Create world leading literacy, numeracy and science education for all children in Scotland.

• Transform the performance of the schools and pupils currently being left behind by the SNP.

• Close the attainment gap in Scotland’s schools.

We want schools that provide broader educational opportunities for Scotland’s young people by supporting opportunities in music, sports and the arts. We want to inspire a new generation of world leading scientist and innovators.

It is simply unacceptable that, in modern Scotland, where you are from determines where you are going in life. We need to break the link between parent’s income and educational attainment so that young people can continue into further and higher education and working life able to fulfil their hopes and dreams.

Supporting young people to achieve means supporting their families too with affordable, accessible childcare. It means giving people not just a first chance through education but a second chance through access to the skills and training adults need to get on in life. We believe that the education system in Scotland should introduce pupils to the co-operative model, and believe that it should be taught at all levels.

Opportunities for all young scots

We will turn around schools left behind by the SNP Government by transforming them into places of community learning and opportunity. This targeted support will include increasing the number of teaching assistants in every associated primary school in order to meet pupil need. Labour has committed to recruit and train more literacy specialists to support pupils in both primary and secondary schools. This literacy support will be extended to parents so they can learn alongside their children and we will introduce special literacy provisions for looked after children in Scotland.

We will create Family Centres, based in Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities but open to all, so young children and their parents can receive a wide range of support, including educational and health care support, in one place in their community. Labour will support babies and children through their early years by ensuring that families are supported by adequate Health Visiting services.

Scottish Labour has set a goal of capping childcare costs at no more than 10 per cent of the median income of Scotland. Barnardo’s, Save the Children and Children in Scotland have all supported this policy and we are working alongside them to determine how this will be best delivered to meet the needs of parents across Scotland.

We are developing a long-term strategy for childcare in Scotland that includes expanding wraparound care for school pupils. A Scottish Labour Government

ACHIEVE FOR SCOTLAND



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will seek to implement childcare provisions which include: an expansion of paid parental leave and flexible working for parents; fair pay, training and career paths for childcare workers and childcare to be delivered free in the public sector. We will explore ways of promoting co-operative and mutual models of wraparound childcare.

We recognise our particular responsibilities towards children who have been in care. We believe there is a need to change the school inspection system so it reports on how schools cater for looked after children.

We need to recognise that children with a parent in prison are more likely to go on to commit a crime themselves later on in life and suffer from mental health problems. They are victims of circumstance who need support, and should not be punished for things outwith their control. When a parent is sentenced, we will ensure a needs assessment of their child is carried out right away. It will also guarantee that the difficulties faced by children with a parent in prison are recognised in school.

We will change the existing exam review system which is clearly unfair to pupils from poorer backgrounds.

We recognise the wider role young people play in society and support 16&17 year olds voting at all elections.

Further and Higher Education

We will make provision for full access to high quality higher and further education to ensure all students have opportunities without financial barriers, and crucially, ensure students are properly supported on their education journey. The funding of this must be addressed through taxation, which reflects the gains to society and to individual graduates of higher education.

A Scottish Labour Government will commit to reinstating the lost educational opportunities provided previously by our colleges of further education and eroded since May 2007 by the deliberate under-funding of this important sector.

In contrast to the SNP’s cuts in student bursaries, we will make sure that students in the most need get the essential support they need throughout

their studies. The SNP cut bursaries and grants for the poorest students in Scotland going into higher education by 35.5%. At the same time, student loans have increased by 69% in the last year.

Universities and colleges benefit from significant public funding and should not employ exploitative zero hour contracts.

Scottish Labour acknowledges that families come in a variety of structures in the modern world. To enable parents to access well-paid jobs we must support them to gain the necessary skills to make the most of their potential. We will ensure free pre-school childcare places for either parent re-skilling at college. Mothers are especially disadvantaged by taking time out of the jobs market to have their families, but by offering a free guaranteed childcare place for all pre-school children who have a parent attending college, we will support parents to re-skill and return to work where this is desired.

In redesigning disability benefits when they are devolved, Scottish Labour will create new support for young people with disabilities to access mainstream education at all levels.

Scottish Labour will maintain and expand the Scottish Union Learning Fund and network of trade union learning representatives. Scottish Labour recognises and will continue to fund the very valuable work that trade unions do to engage working people with low skills in learning. We will work with the STUC, the Scottish Trade Union Learning Fund and the trade unions to put in place long-term projects which bring people into learning.

Culture

Scottish Labour values our vibrant cultural life. Cultural experiences benefit and enrich communities and help bring them together. They give us a sense of who we are and bring enjoyment and excitement into our lives.

We should be proud and celebrate our rich and diverse culture, from our traditional culture and arts to all the vibrant and multicultural experiences modern Scotland has to offer.

Everyone, regardless of where they live, their income or circumstances, should be able to engage with Scotland’s culture and artistic community, being the


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audience, the performer, the artist. There should be no barriers to cultural experience. Children and young people should have high quality experiences.

Our traditional and national days are celebrated here and around the world. Our local and national museums tell the story of Scotland and our role in the world. Our unique historic environment, from the battlefields of Bannockburn and Culloden to the Standing Stones of Callanish and the Neolithic settlement at Skara Brae.

Scottish Labour is committed to ensuring that Scotland’s home-grown talent have the opportunities to fulfil their potential at home and abroad.

We want to see a flourishing cultural community in Scotland, an inclusive arts sector, the potential to make a living from the arts, a recognition of the importance of the arts and the economic contribution it makes, from significant major events and festivals to the network of craft industries Scotland encompasses.

We recognise Scotland’s rich cultural heritage including Gaelic, Scots and Nordic. We will meet the current commitment to Gaelic education for all students that desire it.

Increasingly the place of popular history and working class history is under threat with local and national museums facing funding difficulties. Scottish Labour recognises this is a vital part of our heritage and will work to protect and enhance it.

Scottish Labour will ensure that entrance to museum and art galleries remain free in Scotland. We will establish a network of creative industry skills hubs within existing venues across Scotland to support and develop Scotland’s international creative platform and ensure these hubs commit to outreach to supporting creative education in disadvantaged area. We will ensure that all libraries across Scotland are equipped for a digital age and that digital downloads, including eBooks, are available across all platforms. We recognise the importance of physical books and community libraries especially to disadvantaged communities and will encourage councils to retain a sufficiency of library contact points. We know the value local news can have on

developing community links accountability, we will support and promote local community media and reporting.

Scotland in Europe and Beyond

Labour is the party of Europe; our MSPs and MEPs work together for Scotland to have a Europe-wide reach. Labour’s history of delivering positive change through the European Parliament cannot be matched and Labour will continue to be the party that delivers.

We have an international duty to developing countries. Labour has a proven track record in creating a fairer more equal world. We are the party that developed Department for International Development, tripled the aid budget, lifted millions worldwide out of poverty, helped to get 40 million children into school and improved water and sanitation for those that needed it most. Under Scottish Labour, Scotland became a friend of Malawi, recognising our historic relationship and supporting a growing country.

Scottish Labour will work in partnership with Scottish MEPs to ensure Scotland has the strongest voice across Europe and makes best use of EU regional economic development investment in Scotland.

Scottish Labour will protect the international aid budget of the Scottish Government, using it to help the most vulnerable throughout the world and to respond to the challenges faced by developing countries. We are an internationalist party and believe that the socialist maxim “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need” doesn’t stop at any border.

Scottish Labour believes that companies that behave responsibly in developing countries, for example those that contribute to the local tax base and treat workers with decency and respect, should be recognised and those who don’t should be exposed. A Scottish Labour Government will introduce measures to exclude from the procurement process for government contract tenders those corporations, businesses or individuals convicted of evading tax in Scotland, the UK, the EU or elsewhere, whether domiciled in the EU or not.


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Scottish Labour believes Scotland can have a wider role in international development, supporting the education and development of girls and young women in partnership with local NGOs and working to achieve climate justice.

Through the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund, Scotland will be granted over £600 million pounds between 2014-2020. Our membership of the European Parliament, through the United Kingdom, will give us vital funds to tackle youth unemployment and a further £130 million being ring fenced for Highland and Islands development. Our engagement with the European Parliament has not only given Scotland a European wide stage, but has been the source of employment, Third Sector funding and the redevelopment of our town and cities across our country.


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7240_15 Printed and promoted by Brian Roy, Scottish General Secretary, on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party both at 290 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4RE

scottish labour policy document 2015

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