The Scottish Government

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning

Friday, November 30, 2007

In May of this year the people of Scotland voted for a new approach and better future for Scotland. Now we are asking you to take part in a National Conversation on whether more powers would be beneficial for our country.

For example, skills for work is a devolved area, but the UK Government often leads in the design of employment and skills policies. UK Government employment and benefit-related policies generally address the wider skills needs of the UK but don't always take account of what's best for Scotland.

We recently launched the first ever skills strategy for Scotland 'Skills for Scotland' to address Scotland's skills issues, some of which are different from those in the rest of the UK. Further transfer of powers in the area of employment services could provide greater coherence and accountability for delivery of employment and skills development policy.

We just have to look to small independent countries across the water to see that further powers could help Scotland become smarter.

We could deliver a more comprehensive early years strategy if we had more say over reserved areas. The ability to set maternity and paternity leave, for example, would allow us to support parents in those crucial early years. We need only look to Iceland to see the benefits. It can set maternity and paternity rules which currently give fathers three months leave when mothers decide to return to work. This not only makes the return to work easier for mothers but also ensures fathers take more interest in their child's upbringing.

Our National Conversation is the first step to exploring what extra powers could do for Scotland - I for one am convinced we would thrive and compete on the world stage, providing a better standard of living and quality of life for families.

This blog is now closed to further comments.

Comments

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• 91. Real Scots? - Kelty

  Wednesday, November 28, 2007 14:16

  #90 Alasdair
  
  So who are the REAL people?
  
  Is Sir Sean a real person? Or any of the other contributors from outside the border. If ex-patriot scots want to promote Independence let them come and live HERE, not bleat about how they have more oppotunities living elsewhere in the world.
  
  Stagecoach, B&Q, BoS, Kwikfit.... all successful businesses developed by Scots in Scotland!!! Where did their confidence come from? Blood sweat and sheer hard graft. All true Scottish traits, not whinging malcontents.
  
  I live within the border and amd one of the REAL people you have to convince to vote for your loopy idea that becoming a citizen of an INDEPENDENT wee nation will suddenly make me and others so brimful of confidence that we will take on all comers and be the most successful nation on the planet.
  
  I and most of my freinds do not need AS to make us any more successful than we already are. In fact by making us an inward looking, insular bunch of gaelic speaking right wingers, we are liable to be LESS successful than we are right now!!!
  
  The nations of the world recognise Scotland as an independent free thinking society that has contributed to the global society in more ways than YOU could imagine.
  
  

• 92. Real Scots2 - Fife

  Wednesday, November 28, 2007 23:57

  #91
  
  PS for 'wingers' read 'whingers'.
  
  

• 93. Alasdair Martin - Leadhills

  Thursday, November 29, 2007 09:59

  #91.
  
  "Real Scots?"? is that your real name? Real people generally have real names. It's too easy for people to hide behind silly names when posting comments. Often, although not in all cases, people with silly names are trolls (as opposed to green cartoon ogres?!).
  
  "In fact by making us an inward looking, insular bunch of gaelic speaking right wingers, we are liable to be LESS successful than we are right now!!!" - why does an independant Scotland have to be any of the things you suggest? On what do you base these assumptions?
  
  The nations of the world may well consider Scotland to be a "free thinking society", yet the idea that we are independent would be misguided given that we are patently and inextricabley not!

• 94. Real Scots 3 - Fife

  Thursday, November 29, 2007 20:12

  #93
  
  Real names would be used if the responses to reasonable arguments came from respondents who used theirs!! e.g. Livilion.
  
  If the response to staying in the Union and arguments supporting the same elicit invective suggesting that supporters of this point of view have no right to contribute to this forum, as in 'Leave it to REAL PEOPLE'
  
  #90
  
  Or perhaps you could explain what YOU meant.

• 95. cally - edinburgh

  Friday, November 30, 2007 01:04

  I want to decide what's best for me. Not you. At least one party is humble enough to deliver a democracy that will let this happen. Thank you.
  The ignorant remarks towards certain native groupings are most offensive - easy to see who is inward looking and insular. To insult those you do not know or understand....free thinking indeed!

• 96. kevin - Edinburgh

  Tuesday, December 4, 2007 17:00

  "Real Scots?"? is that your real name? Real people generally have real names. It's too easy for people to hide behind silly names when posting comments. Often, although not in all cases, people with silly names are trolls (as opposed to green cartoon ogres?"
  
  lol agree, is this forum not moderated?
  If not perhaps it would be best just to ignore the rather childish rant of this one individual.
  
  I don't think by anyone's imagination that Scotland in becoming independent that we would not get on with our neighbours, my wife's English :-)
  
  

• 97. ruth - west lothian

  Tuesday, December 4, 2007 19:33

  Growing up in Scotland in the 1970's i was not taught ANY Scottish history - we were taught English history. Now, i have nothing against English people, infact some of my dearest friends are English, but their country is NOT mine, nor is their history. So i welcome the plans to include Scottish history into exams - about time too! This Government is doing a fantastic job so far and it is great to finally see our wee ones encouraged to partake in St Andrew's day celebrations and celebrating Scotland in all her many and varied forms over the coming months of the Winter Festival. Hopefully they will grow up immersed in the knowlege of Scottish history and culture that we never were.

• 98. wasted time - Scotland

  Friday, December 7, 2007 18:39

  it seems we can just blah blah blah. is any of this which is here going to make a differences?

• 99. livilion - livingston

  Sunday, December 9, 2007 18:38

  #94. GFN - Fife
  Thursday, November 29, 2007 20:12
  
  What difference does it make what we call ourselves so long as we do not seek to deceive but identify who we are and stick with that?
  If I'd said my name was Andrew Windsor or Chukay Edinburgh would you be any the wiser?
  
  In my line of work I constantly deal with the public and would not wish my views to be attributed to my employer by my customers.
  
  What is more, in the past I have had my identity abused by others unknown, to express their views and to repond to online polls.
  
  
  As for your multiple, varied identities and your lack of an original thought;
  The former I feel is basically dishonest and for the latter it is the easiest trick in the book, to say:
  "whatever you're for I'm against"
  
  Far harder to defend your own position and at the same time to suggest positive notions to carry the situation forward.
  
  As I understand it, this forum is not intended as a vehicle for the converted to simply endorse government policy.
  I would again respectfully suggest that you might want to try making a positive contribution yourself sometime.
  
  btw I know that MSPs are reading our contributions because I read my nom de plume checked on the intro to the deputy First Minister's blog.
  
  See me Maw? I'm famous!

• 100. Les - Findochty

  Thursday, December 13, 2007 16:12

  Interesting blog even though it seems to have taken a shift from transfer of more powers from the Uk Gov to the Scottish executive + skills and education, to pros and cons for complete independance. Not that I'm against this, just open minded on the issue.
  However to get back to Fiona Hyslop's statement 'Our National Conversation is the first step to exploring what extra powers could do for Scotland' I feel somewhat disapointed that the best example that could be made was that of 'The ability to set maternity and paternity leave'. Really if that's the best we can come up with forget it now!!
  I entirely agree however with the first comment from ‘Louise – Inverclyde’ we are in a mess and a major overhaul with clear thinking for the future benefit of the country is needed.
  It has been staring the working man and women in the face for years that the UK Governments devastation of heavy industry was a turning point in our nation, the way this was handled has led us directly to where we are now. No apprenticeship schemes, lack of fruitful employment for the non academic among us, universities offering courses for just about anything and it goes on. We can’t even get primary education correct, we start to teach kids German in P7 then transfer them to French in S1 or vice versa…
  Worst of all we have not learned from our mistakes – we means test via Gross salary the ability of parents to pay for further education, with taking no account of any other factors. Yet if you are a single parent or just plain don’t work then you can get it all paid for you (is this a fair system?) I know this is somewhat controversial and is not the full picture but I’m trying to be brief on a huge topic..
  
  So then, paternity and maternity leave? I think not!!!
  

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