SCOTLAND’S first Citizens’ Assembly will hold its final meeting today, where members will vote on recommendations as to how best to overcome the challenges facing Scotland.
The broadly representative group of 100 citizens is tasked with considering what kind of country we are seeking to build and how best to tackle key challenges.
The Assembly will report to the Scottish Government and Parliament. The full report setting out members’ vision and recommendations for Scotland will be published in January and laid in Parliament for debate.
The Assembly, which is independent of government, published its agreed vision for the future of the country in October. The vision encompasses topics including citizen involvement in decision-making, the living wage, education, and reforms to the tax system. It includes 10 statements that achieved overwhelming support from Assembly members.
The process was put on hold in March due to Covid-19, having already met four times in person. The Assembly’s remit remains unchanged.
Convener Kate Wimpress said: “Our meeting this weekend marks the completion of a remarkable collective undertaking. People from all walks of life across the country have come together to agree recommendations for Scotland’s future. Members have shown what can be done when citizens are trusted to work together in a spirit of co-operation to tackle tough political questions.”
Mel, a member who works as a teacher, said: “I want this Citizens’ Assembly to help bring positive change for my own child and for the children I teach. It was really important that everyone’s ideas were put forward from across this ‘mini-Scotland’ and narrowed down to what we thought Scotland needed as a whole.”
Another member, Dawid, said, “When I was approached at first I thought ‘do I really want to waste my weekends?’ I thought ‘why not, I’ll give it a try’ and from then on I really fell in love with the process.”
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