The Scottish Government has opened the debate about local government reform in Scotland with a bold initial proposition to replace the current 32 councils with 6-10 regional authorities and 120-160 community authorities. In this briefing, we examine… Read More »Local Government Reform
The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2026-31 includes a plan to reduce the current 14 territorial health boards to two. This briefing examines the proposal and its consequences. The driver is efficiency savings, and we explain that… Read More »Cutting Health Boards
The growth and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rarely out of the news, with a debate over its merits and consequences. More recently, there has been an increase in proposals for huge data centres… Read More »Artificial Intelligence and Data Centres
The interim report of the Milburn review into young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) has highlighted the growing number of young people falling into this category. In this briefing, we review the… Read More »Young People and Work
Local authorities in Scotland are responsible for enforcing health and safety legislation in 45 per cent of workplaces, while the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the remainder. In this briefing, we examine… Read More »Council Health & Safety Enforcement
Water and sewage systems often operate unnoticed in Scotland because of the belief that we don’t face the main problems confronting the industry in England – water scarcity and privatisation. However, this belief is mistaken.… Read More »Scottish Water – The Case for Change
Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is a government-owned company established in 2008 to improve the planning, funding, and delivery of public infrastructure across Scotland. This briefing examines the SFT today in the context of renewed interest… Read More »Scottish Futures Trust & Private Finance
The UK Budget was published on 26 November 2025, with implications for next year’s Scottish Budget, which is expected on 13 January 2026. In this briefing, we examine the impact of the UK Budget and… Read More »UK to Scottish Budget 2026/27
The UK Government has announced that it will introduce a new digital ID scheme, which it claims will help combat illegal working while making it easier for the vast majority of people to use vital… Read More »Digital ID Scheme
Katy Clark MSP’s Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill will deliver transparency by design, strengthen accountability and increase informed scrutiny across 10,000+ public bodies in Scotland. The Jimmy Reid Foundation supports legal reform too and… Read More »Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill