A report by a committee of MPs said that it was 'not clear' how the Postal Services Bill would protect consumers in deprived urban, rural, and remote areas of Scotland. It expressed concern that the Bill neither made provision for the number of post offices nor set out the access criteria.
Source: Postal Services in Scotland, First Report (Session 2010-11), HC 669, House of Commons Scottish Affairs Select Committee/TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Dec
A report examined the factors influencing rural migration decisions in Scotland, and the implications for policy. It focused on factors related to age and/or life-stage.
Source: Helena Crow, Factors Influencing Rural Migration Decisions in Scotland: An analysis of the evidence, Scottish Government
Date: 2010-Sep
An article examined the use of tenure mix as a regeneration strategy in Scotland.
Source: Kim Mckee, 'Promoting homeownership at the margins: the experience of low-cost homeownership purchasers in regeneration areas', People, Place & Policy, Volume 4 Issue 2
Links: Article
Date: 2010-Jul
A study examined whether and how housing, planning, and regeneration policies in Scotland were contributing to 'mixed communities'. In particular, it investigated the ways in which these policies were fostering neighbourhoods that had a mix of housing tenures, and were therefore likely to attract households with a range of incomes.
Source: Alex Fenton, The Contribution of Housing, Planning and Regeneration Policies to Mixed Communities in Scotland, Scottish Government
Links: Report
Date: 2010-May
A report by a committee of MSPs said that urgent action was needed to resolve serious shortcomings in the provision of out-of-hours healthcare in rural areas.
Source: Report on Out-of-Hours Healthcare Provision in Rural Areas, 4th Report 2010, SP Paper 421, Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release | Nursing Times report
Date: 2010-Apr
A report said that many local authorities in Scotland were putting price above quality when commissioning public services from the voluntary sector.
Source: Government and the Third Sector: Relationships at Local Level, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations/Voluntary Action Scotland
Links: Report | SCVO press release
Date: 2010-Mar
An article examined efforts to evaluate the performance of a community planning partnership in the east of Scotland. Research suggested that the partnership was working satisfactorily: but outcome evaluation based on focus groups from residents' associations suggested serious difficulties, and perceptions that services had not improved.
Source: Joan Lamie and Rob Ball, 'Evaluation of partnership working within a community planning context', Local Government Studies, Volume 36 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Feb
An audit report in Scotland said that local councils and services were improving. But the scale of the budget challenge they faced made it essential that they continued to think radically about service design and delivery.
Source: An Overview of Local Government in Scotland 2009, Audit Scotland for Accounts Commission and Auditor General
Links: Report | Audit Scotland press release | COSLA press release | Local Government Chronicle report | BBC report
Date: 2010-Feb
A report by a committee of MSPs said that there needed to be a 'full and open' debate about what services local councils provided in the future, in the light of financial pressures.
Source: Report on Local Government Finance Inquiry, 2nd Report 2010, SP Paper 377, Scottish Parliament Local Government and Communities Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2010-Jan
An article examined the mechanisms in Scotland underlying the disproportionate siting of undesirable land uses (such as landfill schemes) in or near areas of economic deprivation.
Source: Elizabeth Richardson, Niamh Khortt and Richard Mitchell, 'The mechanism behind environmental inequality in Scotland: which came first, the deprivation or the landfill?', Environment and Planning A, Volume 42 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Jan
