The Scottish Government laid out its programme for the year 2008-09, comprising 15 Bills. The programme included proposals for the abolition of council tax, and its replacement by a 3 pence addition to income tax.
Source: Moving Scotland Forward: The government's programme for Scotland 2008-09, Scottish Government, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Report | Statement | SG press release | BMA press release | LTS press release | Telegraph report | BBC report (1) | BBC report (2) | Guardian report | Inside Housing report | FT report
Date: 2008-Sep
A new book examined policing, crime control, and community safety policies in the context of urban restructuring in old-industrial cities, drawing on a study of the making and remaking of urban spaces in the city of Glasgow (Scotland).
Source: Gesa Helms, Towards Safe City Centres? Remaking the spaces of an old-industrial city, Ashgate Publications (01235 827730)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-May
A report (based on a study of neighbourhoods in a Scottish town) said that the identity of a neighbourhood was established at a very early stage in its life and was underpinned by social class and status – making it extremely resistant to change through regeneration projects.
Source: Douglas Robertson, James Smyth and Ian McIntosh, Neighbourhood Identity: Effects of time, location and social class, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings | JRF press release
Date: 2008-Mar
A report used data from the 'Growing up in Scotland' study to explore what was distinctive about growing up in rural, remote, and small-town Scotland in comparison with urban Scotland. Children in rural areas were somewhat more likely to be born into relatively more advantaged situations.
Source: Lynn Jamieson with Paul Bradshaw and Rachel Ormston, Growing up in Rural Scotland, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Mar
The Scottish Government began consultation on proposals to replace council tax with a local income tax. It said that more than 4 out of 5 households would be better off, or no worse off, under the plans.
Source: A Fairer Local Tax for Scotland, Scottish Government (0131 556 8400)
Links: Consultation document | SG press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
An independent report said that Scotland's approach to rural policy was 'innovative and rapidly evolving': but that it was still suffering from a sector-by-sector focus.
Source: OECD Rural Policy Reviews: Scotland, UK – Assessment and recommendations, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Links: Report | SG press release
Date: 2008-Feb
A report examined the local elections held in Scotland in May 2007. It said that the introduction of the 'single transferable vote' system had been a success – it had produced more representative councils, allowed voters to express their views on who they wanted to represent them in a more sophisticated way, and given most voters a councillor of their choice.
Source: Lewis Baston, Local Authority Elections in Scotland: Report and analysis, Electoral Reform Society (020 7928 1622)
Links: Report | ERS press release
Date: 2008-Feb
An audit report said that there had been a 'general improvement' in local services in Scotland in 2007: but there was also continuing pressure on resources.
Source: Overview of the Local Authority Audits 2007, Audit Scotland for Accounts Commission and Auditor General (0131 477 1234)
Links: Report | Audit Scotland press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Feb
