Consultation vs 'Going Through the Motions'

An excellent thread from Lucy Hunter Blackburn explaining how government consultations ought to work - via the Gunning Principles.

Meanwhile Nicola Sturgeon's SNP government refuses to explain how they arrived at their support for the hotly disputed policy that Trans Women Are Women (TWAW). 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has now stepped in and will hopefully bring some much needed clarity to what happens next.

Scottish Ministers - No Notes, No Records on TWAW (January 05, 2022)

Evidence-Based Policymaking: The Ultimate Test Of What Works - Troy Singleton

A reminder from the blog archive that Scottish Ministers refuse to explain when, where and by whom - the decision was made to adopt the controversial policy that Trans Women Are Women (TWAW).

And despite their claims about openness and transparency Scottish Ministers also refuse to share the evidence they took into account before agreeing to this policy. 

So I think the public is entitled to know how collective cabinet responsibility can exist - if there's no hard evidence of a collective decision ever being made by the Scottish Government.

Who knows, maybe Nicola Sturgeon just announced the new policy at cabinet and instead of doing their jobs other ministers and senior civil servants just nodded it through?   

Should public policy be guided by research? Evidently

Scottish Ministers - No Notes, No Records, No Minutes (July 05, 2021)

Here's a remarkable response to an FoI question asking the Scottish Government to confirm:

1) whether ministers have adopted the policy that "trans women are women"

2) where in Scottish or UK legislation this policy is stated

3) when the policy was first introduced

4) who took the decision 

5) where the policy was first stated  

The answer on behalf of ministers is that this information does not exist which means there are no notes, no records and no minutes to explain where, when and by whom such a controversial policy was decided.

In other words ministers are just making it up as they go along an no one is taking any responsibility. 

In relation to Point 2) the ScotGov response concedes that the policy is not supported by reference to any Scottish or UK legislation.

   

Popular posts from this blog

LGB Rights - Hijacked By Intolerant Zealots!

Image
Now that we're a month away from the month formerly known as June, we can think about what's happened. Given the new events being rolled out in London, Manchester and across the States, I think this sums up the *erm* transition of Pride. H/T @LGBNOW pic.twitter.com/HL87yIXXHg — Fred Sargeant (@FredSargeant) August 2, 2023 No doubt about it - the once proud campaign in support of lesbian and gay rights has been hijacked by intolerant trans zealots!     
Read more

SNP - Conspiracy of Silence

Image
So here's the issue - two Glasgow MSPs (Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf) have been asked a reasonable question about their use of public money to employ two SNP councillors who already have full-time, salaried jobs as senior elected members of Glasgow City Council.   But these two public servants (both long-serving ministers) refuse to answer, so what to do next? One regular reader suggests raising the matter on the floor of the Scottish Parliament which is a good idea, but requires an MSP who's prepared to put down a written question for Scottish Ministers to answer. So here's a list of activities which will help shine a light on what has been going on because as Lord Nolan once said apropos driving up standards in public life - 'daylight is the best disinfectant'. Write to the leader of Glasgow City Council Write to the Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council Write to all elected members in Glasgow City Council Write to the party leaders in Glasgow City Council W
Read more