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Scottish Policy Forum

REPORT OF
THE SCOTTISH
POLICY FORUM
2015

Scottish Policy Forum

Contents
Foreword from Chair of Scottish Policy Forum

Introduction

Members of the Scottish Policy Forum

List of external submissions

Growth for Scotland

11

Care for Scotland

19

Prosper for Scotland

25

Achieve for Scotland

33

Notes

38

Scottish Policy Forum

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.
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.

It has been a busy and


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

Scottish Policy Forum

Introduction
Scotlands future is Labours top priority, just as it
is the priority of every voter in next Mays election.
This document sets out Labours 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 Scotlands
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 cant 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 yesterdays
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 Scotlands 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 Scotlands 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.

Scottish Policy Forum

Members of the Scottish


Policy Forum
Agnes Tolmie
Chair
Clare Lally
Vice Chair

Maureen Devlin
Airdrie & Shotts/Coatbridge & Chryston/Motherwell
& Wishaw/Uddingston & Bellshill
Margaret Doran

Sarah Boyack
Vice Chair

Cumbernauld & Kilsyth/Falkirk East/Falkirk West/


Stirling

Rhondda Geekie
Chair of Prosper Policy Commission

John Duncan

Katrina Murray
Chair of Care Policy Commission
Paul OKane
Chair of Achieve Policy Commission
Cathy Peattie
Chair of Growth for Scotland

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

CLP Representatives

Ann Henderson

Kyle Bellamy

Edinburgh Central/Edinburgh Southern/Edinburgh


Northern & Leith/Edinburgh Eastern

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
5

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

Scottish Policy Forum

Siobhan McCready

Lorna Ward

Greenock & Inverclyde/Renfrewshire North & West/


Renfrewshire South/Paisley

Angus North & Mearns/Angus South/Dundee City


East/Dundee City West

Margaret McCulloch

Kenneth Watt

Dunfermline/Clackmannanshire & Dunblane/


Cowdenbeath/Kirkcaldy

Aberdeen Central/Aberdeen Donside/Aberdeen


South & Kincardine/Aberdeen West

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

Young Labour Representatives


Billy McCauley
Robin Murphy
Kevin ODonnell

Socialist Societies & Trade Union Representatives

Oliver Milne

Sandy Cameron

SERA

Glasgow Pollok/Glasgow Southside/Glasgow


Anniesland/Glasgow Kelvin

Brenda Carson

GMB

David Conway

SHA

Jackson Cullinane

UNITE

Anne Dean

GMB

Paul OKane

Harry Donaldson

GMB

Greenock & Inverclyde/Renfrewshire North & West/


Renfrewshire South/Paisley

Tracy Gilbert

USDAW

Lorna Redford

Vicky Grandon

UNITE

Mid Fife & Glenrothes/North East Fife/Perhthshire


North/Perthshire South & Kinross-shire

Liz-Anne Handibode

UNISON

Duncan Hothersall

FABIANS

Kevin Lindsay

ASLEF

Eilidh MacDonald

COMMUNITY

Kathryn Russell

Sandra Macdonald

Co-op

Aberdeen Central/Aberdeen Donside/Aberdeen


South & Kincardine/Aberdeen West

Richard McCready

Co-op

Gordon McKay

UNISON

John McKenzie

GMB

William Menzies

NUM

Tam Mitchell

UNITE

Angela Moohan

Co-op

Martin Murray
Cumbernauld & Kilsyth/Falkirk East/Falkirk West/
Stirling

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

Stephen Slessor
Glasgow Shettleston/Rutherglen/Glasgow Provan/
Glasgow Maryhill & Springburn
Phil Spencer
Clydesdale/Kilmarnock & Irvine Valley/Dumfriesshire/
Galloway & West Dumfries
6

Scottish Policy Forum

Paul Mooney

UCATT

Ken Macintosh MSP

Cathy Murphy

GMB

Hanzala Malik MSP

Katrina Murray

UNISON

Michael McMahon MSP

Cathy Peattie

CWU

Anne McTaggart MSP

Alan Robertson

CWU

Elaine Murray MSP

Pat Rowland

UNISON

Graeme Pearson MSP

Agnes Tolmie

UNITE

John Tonner

USDAW

Scottish Executive Committee Representatives

Scot Walker

UNITE

Cathie Craigie

Dave Watson

UNISON

Harry Frew

Karen Whitefield

USDAW

Jamie Glackin
Richard Leonard

Local Government Representatives

Jackie Martin

Johanna Boyd

Erin Mulhatton

Bill Cook

Linda Stewart

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
7

Scottish Policy Forum

External organisations who have taken part in


the SPF engagement process
Action For Children
Age Scotland
Alzheimers 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 Womens 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

Scottish Policy Forum

GROWTH FOR
SCOTLAND

Scottish Policy Forum

GROWTH FOR SCOTLAND

Introduction
Amendments from CLPs and Affiliates are highlighted

Our economy isnt working for people in Scotland.


We are told by the Tories and the SNP that the
economy is recovering but people arent feeling
the benefits. The link between the wealth of the
country and finances of ordinary Scots is broken.
We are working hard but dont feel we are being
rewarded. Parents worry that the next generation
wont 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 isnt a choice to
be made and that there isnt 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

10

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 Scotlands 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 Scotlands
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.

Scottish Policy Forum

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 Scotlands 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.
11

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 Commissions 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 selfemployed 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).

Scottish Policy Forum

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 Cooperative 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 cooperatives 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 Scotlands 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.

12

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 Andrews House. We will reverse the
SNPs 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
Scotlands 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 SNPs 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

Scottish Policy Forum

in times of crisis for some of Scotlands 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

fully implement and fund the recommendations of


the Commission for Developing Scotlands 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.

Employment and Training

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.

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 Jobseekers 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.

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.

The Living Wage should become the minimum wage


and fair pay should be promoted through trade
union recognition and collective bargaining, including
sectoral bargaining.

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

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 cooperatives.
We will invest in skills diversification and support
career changes that meet economic need. We will
13

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

Scottish Policy Forum

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 peoples ScotRail -using powers
devolved through the Smith Agreement. This
approach will see prots 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
14

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 Scotlands 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

Scottish Policy Forum

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 triplelock system to halt any onshore fracking taking
place in Scotland until environmental and health
safeguards are in place. Scottish Labour will
15

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.

Scottish Policy Forum

CARE FOR
SCOTLAND

16

Scottish Policy Forum

CARE FOR SCOTLAND

Introduction
Amendments from CLPs and Affiliates are highlighted

The NHS is Labours 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 Scotlands 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.

17

Scottish Labour is opposed to further privatisation


within our NHS and public services.
As we all know, Scotlands 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. Its 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. Thats 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 Labours vision is of a country where every
individuals 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 womens rights, including with regard
to their reproductive health, opposing cuts in health
and public services which restrict womens rights in
practice.

Scottish Policy Forum

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 ones data
should be accessed or shared without their consent.

18

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 Governments
cancer waiting time targets are regularly missed.
More than half of Scotlands 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 Alzheimers 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

Scottish Policy Forum

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 Labours 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.

19

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 peoples
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.

Scottish Policy Forum

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 childrens 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.
Scotlands relationship with alcohol has a detrimental
impact on our health, wellbeing and capacity for
work. Scottish Labour will bring forward evidencebased 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 dont 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. Whats 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.

20

A Scottish Labour Government will adopt the


provisions of UNISONs 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 carers allowance using
the powers of the Smith Commission.
We will support Carers 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 carers 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

Scottish Policy Forum

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.

21

Scottish Policy Forum

PROSPER FOR
SCOTLAND

22

Scottish Policy Forum

PROSPER FOR SCOTLAND

Introduction
Amendments from CLPs and Affiliates are highlighted

Scottish Labour believes in building strong


communities, supporting families and ensuring
access to high quality public services for all.

We will focus on reducing crime, reducing


reoffending and supporting access to justice for
victims.

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.

The SNPs creation of Police Scotland has drastically


reduced local accountability of police; Scottish
Labour will work to redress that.

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
Andrews House.
The current SNP Governments 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.
23

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

Scottish Policy Forum

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
24

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 Scotlands 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 womens 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.

Scottish Policy Forum

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 recognises the vital work of the


Childrens Hearing System and Childrens 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 Labours 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.

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.

We recognise the special requirements of all island


communities and will work with island councils to
develop and extend their powers.

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.

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 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.

25

We will consider how co-operative models can


empower people in our communities to influence the
decisions in their area.

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.

Scottish Policy Forum

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 groundbreaking 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
26

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

Scottish Policy Forum

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.

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.

Scottish Labour aims to reduce the gap between rich


and poor.

We will offer those in the private rented sector some


of the protection enjoyed by those in social rented
properties by:

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 Scotlands 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 Scotlands housing crisis
will be a priority of a Scottish Labour Government in
Holyrood.
27

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 Labours 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

Scottish Policy Forum

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 costeffective energy-efficiency actions and also by bulkbuying 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

28

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.

Scottish Policy Forum

ACHIEVE FOR
SCOTLAND

29

Scottish Policy Forum

ACHIEVE FOR SCOTLAND

Introduction
Amendments from CLPs and Affiliates are highlighted
We believe that it is through education that all
Scots will reach their full potential.
This has always been central to Scottish Labours
belief in a fairer society, but in todays global
economy unlocking young peoples 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 Scotlands 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 Scotlands schools.
We want schools that provide broader educational
opportunities for Scotlands 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
parents 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.
30

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 cooperative 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 Scotlands
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. Barnardos, 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

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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 SNPs cuts in student bursaries,
we will make sure that students in the most need
get the essential support they need throughout
31

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 preschool 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
Scotlands culture and artistic community, being the

Scottish Policy Forum

audience, the performer, the artist. There should


be no barriers to cultural experience. Children and
young people should have high quality experiences.

developing community links accountability, we will


support and promote local community media and
reporting.

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.

Scotland in Europe and Beyond

Scottish Labour is committed to ensuring that


Scotlands 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 Scotlands 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 Scotlands 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

32

Labour is the party of Europe; our MSPs and MEPs


work together for Scotland to have a Europewide reach. Labours 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 doesnt 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 dont 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.

Scottish Policy Forum

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 20142020. 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.

33

Scottish Policy Forum

NOTES

34

Scottish Policy Forum

NOTES

35

Scottish Policy Forum

36

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

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