Development In Scotland Research Articles

Welfare conditionality and people with severe and multiple disadvantages: time to rebalance the social security system?

The author of this Alternatives paper reflects on the findings of the Welfare Conditionality project (2013-2018) to consider the impact of intensifying welfare conditionality on people with severe and multiple disadvantages. The research shows that such groups are often sanctioned and denied the support they need to cease problematic behaviour and/or move off social security benefits. The author argues for a fundamental rebalancing of the social security system and highlights some promising policy developments in Scotland and New Zealand.

The Evolution of Sustainable Development in Scotland—A Case Study of Community Right-to-Buy Law and Policy 2003–2018

Effective ownership, management and access to land are central for sustainable development and can impact significantly on the opportunities for local enterprise. In 1998, Scotland’s Land Reform Policy Group concluded that ‘Land reform is needed on the grounds of fairness and to secure the public good’ Consequently, Scotland has introduced various schemes that facilitate or compel the transfer of land from an existing landowner to a community body. Sustainable development is a primary objective of all these regimes making them exceptional both in UK and global terms and worthy of in depth examination. This article critically explores how the laws and policies relating to sustainable development within these community right-to-buy regimes have matured and evolved from their introduction in 2003 to the present. It reveals the beginning of a fourth era in sustainable development policy in Scotland which moves away from a single ‘one size fits all’ approach to one where both sustainable development itself and wider sustainable development equations are tailored to land-use in Scotland and to the needs of each of the different community right-to-buy regimes. These developments evidence a significant maturity in the implementation and delivery of sustainable development in Scotland.

Building Scotland, Building Solidarity: A Scottish Architect's Knowledge of Nation

AbstractThis article examines the work of Robert Hurd (1905–1963), a Scottish nationalist architect, planner, and admirer of Scottish civic traditions, in order to query and enrich current anthropological approaches to “material politics” with their focus on material assemblies, infrastructures, and interactions that operate across scales and beyond discourse. Hurd was both an expert and planner and also an “artisan of nationalism” who sought to restore Scotland's built environment as at once a civic heritage and a material resource for a future of independence and self-determination. Hurd's attention to distinctively Scottish architectural forms and to historic centers and their development over time is significant as an idiom of nationalist thought, while his architectural work highlights the formal manipulation of scale and centrality to express political aspirations. He was an expert not only of infrastructure, plans, or populations and their needs, but also of the mediation of such material facts into architectural form and, in a broader sense, forms of life. Finally, Hurd's writing on “burgh” civic and architectural traditions, and his work as a conservation architect, together allow a better understanding of the role played by a conservative, tradition-minded modernism, and of narratives of tradition and national evolution, in the twentieth-century history and present development of Scotland's national and constitutional politics.

Renewable energy and transition-periphery dynamics in Scotland

Scotland is being transformed as renewable energy resources are being exploited through new developments and infrastructure as part of an energy transition. Scotland has a significant amount of potential onshore and offshore renewable energy available for capture largely located in rural and remote regions. This paper extends the ‘transition-periphery’ approach developed by Murphy and Smith (2013) and applies it to a set of case study sites in Scotland. This empirical analysis highlights the geographical dynamics being created by the renewable energy transition in Scotland. The results suggest that complex transition-periphery dynamics are being created by renewable energy development in Scotland in which infrastructure, ownership, and scale have particularly important roles in shaping the transition. This study highlights the need for further research that focuses on resource peripheries in sociotechnical transitions.

Building performance and end-user interaction in passive solar and low energy housing developments in Scotland

ABSTRACTIn the UK housing sector, changes to building regulations have raised standards for fabric performance, bringing about a demand for affordable, low energy housing. Housing Associations have been at the forefront of adopting these measures, but as owners of long term rented stock it is important for them to understand and evaluate the performance of both ‘as-built’ and ‘as-occupied’ dwellings. This paper describes a detailed evaluation of three new-build social housing demonstration projects located in Glasgow (Scotland). The study included occupant surveys in each scheme, fabric testing and detailed monitoring of environmental conditions, energy consumption, and evaluation of occupancy behaviours in eight dwellings. A particular focus of this paper is the ventilation performance as the homes are ventilated differently using natural, mechanical extract and mechanical heat recovery methods. The results showed a wide discrepancy of energy consumption and poor levels of ventilation, particularly in bedrooms. Causes of this included the design and installation of the ventilation provision but occupant interaction with the systems was also a significant factor. Two sites included sun-spaces that, despite having good potential for preheat ventilation and drying spaces, were underperforming. The study highlights significant impacts of the complex interactions between heating and ventilation systems, and the apparent need for more effective ventilation strategies and systems in bedroom spaces, but also improved strategies for end-user understanding of, and interaction with, both mechanical systems and natural ventilation opportunities. The papers aims to provide robust and credible evidence on which to base critical regulatory and design decisions on the most effective means of ventilating low carbon social housing in Britain.

The ecosystem approach in ecological impact assessment: Lessons learned from windfarm developments on peatlands in Scotland

The Ecosystem Approach introduced in 1994 through the Convention on Biological Diversity, together with related Ecosystem-based Management and Landscape Approaches, are frequently called upon to improve ecological impact assessment. Current practice typically does not have such a systems focus and we explore the potential for explicitly adopting an Ecosystem Approach in the Environmental Impact Assessment process using wind energy development on peatland, in Scotland, as a case study. Based on a review of 21 windfarm projects (>50 MW) approved by the Scottish Government we provide an overview of current practice and identify and discuss how the 12 principles of the Ecosystem Approach can help identify options for more appropriate impact assessment. These include defining functional units of analysis that reflect the spatial and temporal linkages of peatland elements through hydrological connections, rather than a focus on individual vegetation types and simple distance buffers. Our conclusions are not limited to peatland and are relevant wherever meaningful functional management units can be defined, including in marine environments. Our results also show that environmental statements for wind energy development in Scotland largely ignore ecosystem services and the people that benefit from them. As for threatened species and other biodiversity features, an Ecosystem Approach is a prerequisite to the meaningful inclusion of ecosystem services in impact assessment.

Police Scotland: challenging the current democratic deficit in police governance and public accountability

This article considers the recent creation of Police Scotland and the substitution of local police forces for a national police service ‘Police Scotland’ in 2013. It assesses the drivers for change and the arguments presented by both politicians and police professionals in favour of the eradication of all 8 local Scottish forces and the creation of a single police force. It contrasts developments in Scotland with those in England and Wales where there has been a recommitment to local delivery of police services in which local police boundaries have been retained with the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners. It considers the police boundaries and coterminosity with local authorities and highlights the absence of shared boundaries within Police Scotland. It reflects on the removal of local accountability in Scotland with the abolition of Police Boards and the creation of a national and unelected Scottish Police Authority. It highlights the significance of police planning led by senior officers from Strathclyde Police and the impact of this on Police Scotland. It raises legitimate questions as to the overall efficacy of a national force made answerable to a nationally appointed body, the Scottish Police Authority. Finally, it makes a number of recommendations which might go towards someway to re-establishing a degree of local accountability to communities and local governments in Scotland which is now so clearly absent.

The role of public and private natural space in children's social, emotional and behavioural development in Scotland: A longitudinal study

IntroductionPoor mental health in childhood has implications for health and wellbeing in later life. Natural space may benefit children's social, emotional and behavioural development. We investigated whether neighbourhood natural space and private garden access were related to children's developmental change over time. We asked whether relationships differed between boys and girls, or by household educational status. MethodsWe analysed longitudinal data for 2909 urban-dwelling children (aged 4 at 2008/9 baseline) from the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) survey. The survey provided social, emotional and behavioural difficulty scores (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)), and private garden access. Area (%) of total natural space and parks within 500m of the child's home was quantified using Scotland's Greenspace Map. Interactions for park area, total natural space area, and private garden access with age and age2 were modelled to quantify their independent contributions to SDQ score change over time. ResultsPrivate garden access was strongly related to most SDQ domains, while neighbourhood natural space was related to better social outcomes. We found little evidence that neighbourhood natural space or garden access influenced the trajectory of developmental change between 4 and 6 years, suggesting that any beneficial influences had occurred at younger ages. Stratified models showed the importance of parks for boys, and private gardens for the early development of children from low-education households. ConclusionWe conclude that neighbourhood natural space may reduce social, emotional and behavioural difficulties for 4–6 year olds, although private garden access may be most beneficial.

Spatial smoothing of onshore wind: Implications for strategic development in Scotland

High levels of wind penetration is widely accepted as presenting problems for energy security. With increasing wind deployment this issue is well recognised in Scotland. Spatial smoothing of generation is seen as one method to enhance energy security in a high wind penetration system. This requires wind farms to be developed in a way to take advantage of this smoothing; however, this is not part of the UK/Scottish government wind deployment strategy – which is instead developer led.This research seeks to contribute to a strategic approach to wind development in Scotland, taking into account spatial smoothing – which is shown in this study to be statistically significant within Scotland. Providing quantification of which pre-existing areas of large-scale wind development in Scotland should be the focus of further development and which are of least benefit. Wind farms in southern Scotland offer least in terms of energy security, due to over-concentration of deployment in this area, further development here should be in part considered in terms of export value, rather than utilization within Scotland. The two island areas modelled are shown to have high spatial smoothing value. This work should help inform current political discourse over grid connections to these areas.

Linking routinely collected social work, education and health data to enable monitoring of the health and health care of school-aged children in state care (‘looked after children’) in Scotland: a national demonstration project

Background and objectivesChildren in state care (‘looked after children’) have poorer health than children who are not looked after. Recent developments in Scotland and elsewhere have aimed to improve services and outcomes for looked after children. Routine monitoring of the health outcomes of looked after children compared to those of their non-looked after peers is currently lacking. Developing capacity for comparative monitoring of population-based outcomes based on linkage of routinely collected administrative data has been identified as a priority. To our knowledge there are no existing population-based data linkage studies providing data on the health of looked after and non-looked after children at national level. Smaller scale studies that are available generally provide very limited information on linkage methods and hence do not allow scrutiny of bias that may be introduced through the linkage process. Study design and methodsNational demonstration project testing the feasibility of linking routinely collected looked after children, education and health data. ParticipantsAll children in publicly funded school in Scotland in 2011/12. ResultsLinkage between looked after children data and the national pupil census classified 10,009 (1.5%) and 1757 (0.3%) of 670,952 children as, respectively, currently and previously looked after. Recording of the unique pupil identifier (Scottish Candidate Number, SCN) on looked after children returns is incomplete, with 66% of looked after records for 2011/12 for children of possible school age containing a valid SCN. This will have resulted in some under-ascertainment of currently and, particularly, previously looked after children within the general pupil population. Further linkage of the pupil census to the National Health Service Scotland master patient index demonstrated that a safe link to the child's unique health service (Community Health Index) number could be obtained for a very high proportion of children in each group (94%, 95% and 95% of children classified as currently, previously, and non-looked after, respectively). In general, linkage rates were higher for older children and those living in more affluent areas. Within the looked after group, linkage rates were highest for children with the fewest placements and for those in permanent fostering. ConclusionsThis novel data linkage demonstrates the feasibility of monitoring population-based health outcomes of school-aged looked after and non-looked after children using linked routine administrative data. Improved recording of the unique pupil identifier number on looked after data returns would be beneficial. Extending the range of personal identifiers on looked after children returns would enable linkage to health data for looked after children who are not in publicly funded schooling (i.e. those who are preschool or postschool, home schooled or in independent schooling).

“Original and Best”? How Barr’s Irn-Bru Became a Scottish Icon

Building on theories of banal nationalism developed by Michael Billig (1995) and Tim Edensor (2002), this paper focuses on how a major 20th century icon of popular Scottishness, the carbonated drink Irn-Bru, has depended on the question of origins in its positioning. From the start, the manufacturers, Barr’s, keenly defended their product amidst strong competition by promoting authenticity over imitation. While today the firm AG BARR plc does not claim to have been the historical inventor of Iron Brew drinks (the original name for Irn-Bru) it still uses the strapline “Original & Best” which first appeared in 1904. In the second half of the 20th century the drink became widely perceived as a marker of Scottish identity. However, as recommended by Holt (2006), a more complete study of its historical trajectory as a brand shows that Iron Brew did not originate in Scotland at all. Indeed, rather than springing from a single source, the drink’s development in Scotland is the result of a confluence of other earlier elements. These will be studied to illustrate the mechanisms of appropriation and rewriting underlying this popular manifestation of “commercial nationalism” (Kania-Lundholm, 2014).

Spatio-temporal challenges in representing wildlife disturbance within a GIS

Assessing the potential environmental impacts of disturbance on protected species during and after the development process is a legislative requirement in most nations. However, the restrictions that this legislation places on developers are often based on limited ecological understanding, over-simplified methodologies, less-than-robust data and the subjective interpretations of field ecologists. Consequently, constraints may be imposed with no transparent methodology behind them to the frustration of, and occasionally large expense to, developers. Additionally, protected species numbers continue to decline and biodiversity continues to be threatened. This paper describes a GIS conceptual model for assessing ecological disturbance vulnerability, based upon a case study development in Scotland. First, uncertainties in traditional methods of recording and representing ecological features with GIS are reviewed such that they may be better accounted for in the disturbance model. Second, by incorporating temporal fluctuations in ecological behaviour into the disturbance susceptibility concept, it is argued that it is possible to synchronise development with conservation requirements. Finally, a method is presented to account for disturbance tolerances at the scale of the individual animal. It is anticipated that this model will enable environmental impact assessors to produce more robust analyses of wildlife disturbance risk and facilitate synchronisation between development and wildlife vulnerability to minimise disturbance and better avoid delays to the works programme.

What is this thing called workforce development? A Scottish perspective

With the development and implementation of a National Workforce Development Statement (2010) for the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) workforce in Scotland, workforce development has become a growing interest for related professionals and sectors over the past 6 years. The Workforce Development Programme (WDP) at Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) receives core funding from the Scottish Government Drugs Policy Unit (DPU) and has a remit to provide workforce development support for the AOD workforce at both a national and local level. This paper discusses the history of workforce development and provides a number of samples of our work in the area of workforce development in Scotland. The paper also discusses the challenges for workforce development within the AOD field in Scotland.

Developing teachers’ capacities in assessment through career-long professional learning

In a context of increasing demand for quality and equity in education and a sharp focus on accountability, classroom teachers are also expected to support and improve learning outcomes for pupils in response to their individual needs. This paper explores three issues: how teachers understand assessment in relation to their students’ learning, the curriculum and their pedagogical choices; how teachers’ capacity to use assessment to improve students’ learning can be developed through career-long professional learning (CLPL); and how teachers’ learning can be implemented and sustained in schools, both locally and nationally. In considering these issues, recent thinking about learning and assessment and CLPL are considered alongside empirical evidence from the development and implementation of assessment processes and approaches to professional development in Scotland. The paper emphasises the importance of a dynamic framework of CLPL that recognises the individuality of teachers’ learning needs and the consequent need for tailored professional learning opportunities with different combinations of support and challenge at school, local and national levels.

Exploring the merits of the recovery model for mental health nursing in Scotland

Recovery-focused mental health nursing care has been at the forefront of mental health strategic development in Scotland since the 2006 Scottish Government report on mental health nursing services. The introduction of recovery-focused training for mental health nurses has to some extent helped shift the culture of mental health care away from being paternalistic and towards being more appropriately rights-focused and person-centred. This article explores the development of recovery-focused training in Scotland, with a focus on dementia care, and the attempts that have been made to measure recovery-focused training and its effect on patient care.

Federalism in 3D: The Reimagination of Political Community in the European Union

In this paper, I consider the mixed virtue of the federal perspective in relation to certain key recent developments in the 3D (i.e. sub-state, state, supranational) territorial politics of the EU. I argue that, on account of its statist legacy, the invocation of federalism considered either as a technique of government or as a direct expression of an affective relationship between people and supranational polity is of limited or even negative value in the EU. Yet federalism, when drawing on its deeper historical roots and considered instead as a basis for imaginative reflection on the nature and proper trajectory of an unprecedented political configuration, fares rather better. Here, indeed, the federal imagination continues to provide a direct challenge to the sovereigntist perspective with its emphasis on the ultimate authority of either state or supranational levels, but does so with complex, unpredictable and as yet unresolved effects, given the still powerful drag of that sovereigntist perspective. In pursuing this point, I focus on a particularly topical and challenging part of the European federal puzzle. I concentrate on the third sub-state dimension of the EU’s 3D ‘federated’ structure, as evidenced in recent developments in Scotland and Catalonia in particular, and on how the development of the EU’s federal imaginative example should and can alter the spirit in which new sovereignty claims at this level are both made and received.

THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF JAMES V OF SCOTLAND, 1528–1542

ABSTRACTThe development of the Scottish privy, or secret, council has hitherto been located in the 1540s and attributed to the pressures on government brought about by royal minority. Concomitantly, scholarship exploring the personal rule of James V (1528–42) has focused on the king's relations with individual magnates and neglected the subject of institutional development during his reign. Through an examination of commentary on the council outwith the council register, ranging from acts of parliament to correspondence and reports by foreign observers, this article posits a significantly earlier date for conciliar development in Scotland than has hitherto been appreciated. The council is visible throughout the personal rule of James V, assuming a particularly significant role in Anglo-Scots diplomacy from 1540 until 1542, when it was delegated by James to respond to letters during his frequent absences from Edinburgh. This aspect of council activity provides an example of institutional development facilitating rather than hindering the continuation of a peripatetic royal court, an unusual combination in not only a Scottish but a wider European context. Reassessing the significance of James V's council thus has broader implications for understandings of his kingship and the expansion of crown power in sixteenth-century Scotland, whilst throwing light on questions of Anglo-Scots diplomacy.

Scotland: All Change?

Two years – 2014 and 2015 – saw remarkable and profound developments in Scotland's political history. This introduction to a Special Issue of Scottish Affairs that examines these developments outlines Scotland's tumultuous years, why they are inevitably puzzling, and why they are perhaps unresolvable. It then notes key and salient points from the various contributions in the volume.

Three Welsh Leaders in Search of a Constitutional Future for their Country

In the immediate wake of the 2015 general election Leanne Wood, leader of Plaid Cymru, Stephen Crabb, the Conservative Secretary of State for Wales, and Carwyn Jones, Labour's First Minister in the Welsh Government, all made interventions in the constitutional debate about the future of the United Kingdom. Leanne Wood recalibrated her party's position on independence to advocate a UK confederation. Carwyn Jones pressed the case for a federation. And Stephen Crabb said the present devolution arrangements should be extended and given greater coherence. In making their arguments all three underlined how strongly they were influenced by developments in Scotland. But all three will have to confront the realities of English governance if the changes they are supporting are to have any chance of being implemented.

Scottish community land initiatives: going beyond the locality to enable local empowerment

Summary This paper employs Gaventa's 'powercube' framework to examine how the Scottish community land movement has woven together different forms and sources of power in pursuit of local development. It finds that, while localism is a strong element in community land action, connections to institutions operating at wider spatial levels have been vital to the growth of the movement. It explores the Scottish Highlands and Islands context that has facilitated these connections. It also discusses the movement's relationship with states and markets, noting both its emergence in the context of their perceived failures, but also analysing its engagement with them. It draws on primary research carried out by the author in Scotland, including ethnographic research into the working of two community land initiatives at local level, and into the community land movement more widely. It concludes with some remarks about community-led development, states and austerity; and contemporary developments in Scotland.