This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Concordat to add civic voice to policy development
11/10/2001
The Finance Minister Angus MacKay will sign a Concordat
this evening with Campbell Christie, the Convenor of the
Scottish Civic Forum, designed to encourage accountable and
inclusive policy making between the Forum and the
Executive.
MacKay will then take part in a meeting of the Scottish
Civic Forum Council which is made up of a wide
cross-section of civic society in Scotland.
The Minister said:
"As the Concordat states, we have committed ourselves to
working towards accountable, inclusive policy making. We
have already made significant improvements to the ways we
consult but we are still not as good as we could be at
reaching the less well represented sections of society.
"The Civic Forum plays an important role in providing
innovative ways for all relevant voices to contribute to
the policy making process. I hope that the Executive's
continued commitment to the work of the Civic Forum will
enable it to build on existing achievements and contribute
to our objective of creating an open government for
Scotland."
Welcoming the Concordat with the Scottish Executive,
Scottish Civic Forum Director, Donald Reid, commented:
"I am very pleased that we have agreed the Concordat.
This makes it clear that both the Executive and the Forum
are keen to put participative policy development at the
heart of our working practices. It also demonstrates the
new spirit of active engagement and open discussion between
the Executive and the Forum on developing policy and
longer-term strategic policy objectives."
BACKGROUND
1. The Scottish Civic Forum has been established to
facilitate greater civic involvement in public policy
development. It is an independent membership organisation
with a current membership list of around 400. The
Consultative Steering Group envisaged that the Civic Forum
would be a key mechanism for articulating civic views,
particularly those that are often unheard. The Forum
facilitates a wide range of activities for civic
organisations to participate in and comment on policy
development.