Race Equality in Scotland: Challenges and Opportunities
This IPPI Policy Brief sets out why race equality matters in Scotland and highlights examples from which the rest of the UK could learn in the aspiration for race equality and a successful approach to citizenship. It identifies two ways through which Scotland can better improve public policy on race equality. The first is a more systematic approach to data collection on ethnic monitoring across the public sector. (Ethnic monitoring is currently common practice in some areas but entirely absent in others; a best practice approach would level this upwards). Secondly, how existing statutory commitments could be more consistently put into practice, especially in terms of the Equality Duty, by making fully operational use of existing instruments, rather than calling for new legislation.
Who do you say you are?
Members of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association and guests, it is an honor to stand before you this morning. I am grateful for the kind introduction by Erle Austin. He has been generous in purposefully overlooking most of my faults and shortcomings. I am reminded of the words of Winston Churchill, who, when speaking of another person, could well have been speaking of me when he described “a modest little person, with much to be modest about.” It has been a wonderful and meaningful experience to serve as your President. I wish to give special thanks to the current staff, Council, committee members, and others who have been so helpful to me and have been instrumental in moving the agenda of this special organization forward. I also remind you of the remarkable contributions of former members of our support staff, especially those of Nancy
Analysis: The Agenda 2007 Proposals: Evolution or Revolution?
On 10 February 2004 the Commission published its proposal for the financial perspective 2007-2013. A week later it adopted the third report on economic and social cohesion. These two documents form the basis of the so-called ‘Agenda 2007 reforms’. They will be the greatest challenge for the enlarged EU after the intergovernmental conference, since they will determine the financial basis for EU policy-making until the middle of the next decade. The Agenda 2007 proposals certainly hint at courageous reforms, because they place a previously unheard-of emphasis on performance and quality. Under the proposals, structural operations should generate value for money, and the funds should focus on projects which generate added value at a European level. Overall the Commission’s proposals point in the right direction, because they balance, on the one hand, solidarity for the new Member States and weak regions in the old Member States with, on the other hand, investments in future tasks. Moreover, they constitute a paradigm shift. For the first time, the Common Agricultural Policy will not be the dominant expenditure category. Now it is up to the Member States to examine the proposals politically and find a compromise between sometimes very divergent interests. It is to be hoped that, during the debate over expenditure limits and division of funds, national interests do not outweigh European interests.