Prezentācija (angļu val.) seminārā Valsts pārvaldes, nevalstisko organizāciju un plašsaziņas līdzekļu loma sabiedrības iesaistīšanā lēmumu pieņemšanā 2003. gada 12. februārī
Any political party or government or Parliament which takes participation seriously will reap great rewards
goodwill
effective policy development and implementation
Any political party or government or Parliament which does NOT take participation seriously will sow failure for itself and for its society
disengagement and ill will
ineffective policy development and frustrated implementation
Listening : not just appearing to listen
Participation at elections and between elections
Sharing power
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Political and constitutional background
- Referendum in 1997 after election of Labour Government
- Scottish Parliament
- Scottish Executive
- competing views of sovereignty
re-established in 1999 (after 292 years)
(foreign affairs, defence, economic policy reserved to London)
appointment of government:
First Minister and cabinet of 22 ministers for Scotland
civil service in Scotland
Scotland: ‘sovereignty resides in the People’ (historical view)
United Kingdom: ‘sovereignty resides in the monarch or (now) ‘the Queen-in-Parliament’
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Civic society background
- broad movement for home rule leading to failed referendum in 1970s
- gathering civic campaign
- Scottish Constitutional Convention
- Scottish Civic Assembly
- Consultative Steering Group (post-referendum)
continuous vigil outside government offices in Edinburgh
various campaign groups (eg ‘People and Parliament’ )
called by civic society (churches, unions)
unions, churches, universities, voluntary sector
a joint civic / political group which agreed principles for Parliamentary procedures
four key principles of participation
recommended establishment of Scottish Civic Forum
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So what’s different?
- law making nearer to people (addressing the ‘democratic deficit’)
- Scottish Parliament elected by proportional electoral system
- legislation can be tabled by
- axiom: “the Executive is accountable to the Parliament and BOTH are accountable to ‘the people’ “
(agreed in Scottish Constitutional Convention)
fixed terms
no party likely to have majority (present government is a coalition)
presence of ‘minority parties’ (Greens etc)
government
Parliament (MSPs or a committee)
the ‘people’ (through Petitions Committee)
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The four ‘CSG’ principles
- agreed by the Consultative Steering Group
- often mistakenly referred to as the ‘Constitutional’ Steering Group’ !!
accessibility
accountability
sharing of power
equal opportunity
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The emergence of the Scottish Civic Forum
- recommended by the Consultative Steering Group
- agreed at final meetings of the Scottish Civic Assembly
- government funding agreed in early 2000
- established in April 2000 (one year late ! )
- a network of civic organisations (non-political, non-statutory, not for profit)
Social partners (churches, unions, business, voluntary sector)
Other partners – at present about 350 (national / local )
Governed by an elected Council
Staff – 5 in Edinburgh (full time); 8 local-co-ordinators (working one day a week)
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The working principles of the Scottish Civic Forum
- Not a ‘one stop shop’ – a ‘gateway NOT a gatekeeper’
- Independent and complementary
- A ‘guardian’ of ‘the CSG principles’: a commentator on processes of government
- A ‘neutral convener’, enabling dialogue across sectors – by the creation of a ‘safe space’
- A concordat agreed with the Scottish Executive in 2000
- No concordat (yet) with the Scottish Parliament (but in 2003?)
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What do we do?
- Facilitate ‘Legislative Participation’ ( reactive )
- Promote Civic Priorities ( proactive )
- Auditing Democratic Participation (monitoring)
summary information about all current government proposals and ‘consultations’
a few key issues:
– Reform of Family Law (controversial)
– GM crops
– tackling discrimination
Future Scotland (sustainable development)
rural development
role of the media
the only independent assessment of implementation of CSG principles by the government and the Parliament (published in November 2002)
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What do we do (by category of subject):
- Governance issues (Civic Forum ‘comments’)
- Cross cutting issues (Civic Forum ‘facilitates’)
- ‘Wicked issues’ (Civic Forum creates dialogue)
Freedom of Information
Reform of local government
Future of Europe
rural participation
equal opportunity
Future Scotland (sustainable development)
Education
occasional socially divisive proposals (eg reform of Scottish family law)
genetically modified crops
in future: policy on drug use?
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Case study: Parents and Children White Paper
(a government discussion paper on reform of Scottish family law)
- Controversial because
- Legislation postponed until after the election in May 2003
makes divorce easier
gives legal status to couples ‘living together’ but not married (for the sake of the children)
is likely to create possibility of ‘civil partnerships’
which would include ‘same sex’ relationships under human rights requirements
Scottish Civic Forum
- creates an opportunity for dialogue in ‘safe space’
- invites all interested / affected to meet (!)
- designs and manages ‘safe space’
- agrees report with all participants and convey to government
– churches, civil rights groups, lone parent groups,
– lesbian/gay.bisexual/transgender groups, childrens groups, individuals
‘who will be affected’ ?
‘who are the dissidents’
recording ALL views
mapping consensus if any
mapping dissensus
Key elements of process
- enables constructive dialogue (alternative: competitove lobbying of government)
- building of relationships
dispelling misconceptions
identifying of common ground
identifying real areas of disagreement
trust in government
sharing of responsibility for discourse
assent even to disagreeable outcomes
Key policy outcome in this case:
unanimous agreement on three key recommendations
The Civic Forum could convene this meeting because we are independent and have neutral
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From consultation to participation
- At what stage is civic society involved in policy development ?
problem identification
analysis of issues
identification of possible ‘solutions’
analysis of options
assessment of options
publication of proposals
- call for responses (the consultation period)
short response time
competitive lobbying (some can’t compete)
analysis and assessment of responses
adaptation of proposals?
inadequate feedback about weighting of responses
publication of legislation
political friction
passing of legislation
implementation
frustrated by ‘lack of ownership’?
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Key issues
- Status of the commitment to participation
- Resources to enable it
is there political commitment to participation?
is there legal expression of that commitment?
is there recognition (political / legal) of independent mechanisms to enable participation and monitor it?
how is participation / communication resourced within government
what resourcing is there of independent bodies enabling genuine participation
(what understanding is there of these different roles?)
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Donald Reid
Director
Scottish Civic Forum
21 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JX, Scotland