Emma Congreve

Jan 24, 2025 | fraserofallander.org | Mairi Spowage |Emma Congreve |Ben Cooper

Yesterday the Scottish government confirmed that plans for a National Care Service (NCS) in Scotland have been scrapped in favour of an advisory board and smaller, more targeted reforms. The decision came after months of declining support from key organizations and stakeholders including COSLA, key trade unions and representative bodies for social care providers in Scotland.

Dec 6, 2024 | fraserofallander.org | Hannah Randolph |Emma Congreve

FAI Deputy Directors Emma Congreve and João Sousa join economist Hannah Randolph to discuss the Scottish Budget for 2025-26. We discuss the surprise announcement about mitigation of the two-child limit, spending on housing, and hospitality relief. We conclude by talking through the implications of omitting employers National Insurance rises from the forecasts on public sector pay, including potential issues for local councils in setting their budgets for next year.

Dec 4, 2024 | fraserofallander.org | Mairi Spowage |Emma Congreve |Brodie Gillan |Hannah Randolph

It was a Scottish Budget where what was left unsaid was just as consequential as what Shona Robison mentioned in her 30-minute statement to the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government will be hoping for many of the headlines to focus on the mitigation of the effect of the two-child limit from 2026-27. The Finance Secretary left this until last in the order to ensure maximum impact.

Dec 20, 2023 | fraserofallander.org | Mairi Spowage |Emma Congreve

After a few weeks of build-up, and a lot of work on our Budget Report ahead of it, we had the main event of the Scottish Budget yesterday. We published our initial reaction, but we have now had a bit more time to digest more of the information that the Scottish Government and Scottish Fiscal Commission have put out. In the new year, we will be taking a step back and looking at the how this Budget fits with the long term ambitions of the Scottish Government.

Jul 14, 2023 | heraldscotland.com | Emma Congreve

By Emma Congreve The recent report from the Scottish Government’s New Deal for Business Group highlighted the need for business to be given more of a voice into the early stages of policy development. But what about those of us that spend our days pulling together evidence to support, and sometimes influence, policy making?