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by Laurie Naumann
Much has happened in Scotland since I was invited early in 1999 by Sam Galbraith, then the Minister for Health and the Arts in The Scottish Office, to chair the Scottish Giving Age Working Group. We have seen the election of the Scottish Parliament and the creation of the Scottish Executive. A Minister for Communities has been appointed to the Scottish Cabinet. The Group's name has been updated and there was a complete turnover in the secretariat staff. Despite these changes, the committed and hard working team appointed by Sam Galbraith has not been deflected from addressing the original wide-ranging programme of work he set. We commend the draft strategy we have produced to Scottish Ministers.
It has been an enjoyable and challenging experience working with the very busy experts on the Group. We have tried hard to bring together all the pertinent expertise from each of the enthusiastic members, representing the country's voluntary, public and private sector interests.
Especially challenging for all of us has been steering a Scottish line within an important UK policy context. We feel that we have drafted proposals that are complementary to those produced by Lord Norman Warner's UK Working Group. We would, however, particularly wish to endorse his recommendations on the giving of money, which we have not addressed separately for Scotland.
Our proposals take account of all the relevant policy developments and the existing infrastructure north of the Border. Under each of our four key objectives, a series of action points has been proposed. These can now be debated in the forthcoming and crucial public consultation to which Scottish Ministers have already committed themselves.
I very much hope that what we are offering will be welcomed and appreciated as a tool to help achieve an even more active community in Scotland. At the same time, Working Group members are looking forward to hearing how the proposed strategy can be further improved to be of practical assistance in meeting the Government's overall objective for an inclusive society.
In addition to thanking Jackie Baillie, the Deputy Minister for Communities, for her continuing support, and each of the Working Group members for their individual and collective contributions, I would like to thank all the staff in the Voluntary Issues Unit of the Scottish Executive, and especially Stephen Marwick, for all their hard work and forbearance of the demands we have made upon them over the past nine months.
Laurie M Naumann
Chair
4th January 2000
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