Ideas 91 -100

91. Single Public Authorities for our island areas.

We need Single Public Authorities for our island areas that embed local democracy, deliver efficient and transparent service delivery and promote community coherence.

Click here to read our report that was commissioned by the island councils.

92. Change building design and regulations to encourage better use of 'garage' space from start.

93. Implement SPP immediately, regardless of status of local Development Plan.

94. Develop links with policy teams in other legislatures.

95. Develop a public sector student sponsorship programme.

We’ve been banging on about the need for (much) more employment routes into the public sector for Scotland’s talented graduates. Local government, in particular, has a lot of ground to make up.

Another solution, and perhaps a different way to fund some student’s education, is to develop a sponsorship programme.

For example, councils run a recruitment drive targeting students who have completed the first year of their degree. The candidates they like the look of - i.e. their application and interview performance - undertake one week of work experience.

The successful candidates get the remaining 2-3 years of their degree paid for; receive work related learning during the summer months; and after graduating (contingent on good exam performance, say minimum 2:1) join the council’s graduate programme for 2 years.

96. Designate a zone around polling stations for election posters.

Instead of plastering posters everywhere!

97. Create a cross-party position in the Scottish Government’s cabinet.

The next Parliament will likely contain five parties and one independent. Each party has different strengths, different personalities. Watching the often acrimonious TV debates you could be forgiven for thinking that the ideological divides between the parties (particularly between Labour and the SNP) are unbridgeable.

Yet, for all their differences they also share a lot in common - all parties are broadly social democratic. So here’s an idea. Why don’t we create a cross-party position in the Scottish Government’s cabinet that rewards the performance of a certain candidate during the election? It could be, for example, Patrick Harvie as Environment Minister or Annabel Goldie as the Minister for Public Service Reform

The position would be elected by MSPs as a free vote with the one proviso: they have to vote for a candidate from a different party.

98. Introduce workplace car parking levies in major towns to help fund town centre improvements.

99. Encourage co-operative competition between election teams (e.g. by sharing leaflets.

100. Implement CSPP Reshaping Scotland jigsaw puzzle.

After the election our PSR work takes a different direction. We are going to produce a jigsaw puzzle to describe our vision for Scotland’s public services.
Stay tuned for more.