There’s always something to complain about
Since March 2010 Kids not Suits has been making a rammy about something or other…
Whistleblowing Hotline established at Edinburgh Council
Learn about the petition to the Petitions Committee that started it all here with older stuff here.
Argument that Regional delivery is better than Unitary Council Education Authorities
Scotland is over-governed. In comparison to England, our Local Education Authorities (LEAs) serve half as many people pro-rata. If LEAs were merged or abolished, there would be more money for schools to reduce class sizes and for Councils to improve public services. More here
Early Years Education
In a false economy, Edinburgh Council is discouraging parents from deferring entry for their kids to P1 (ie keeping them back until they are age 6). And for P2 and P3 smaller class sizes really make a difference – Find out about Scottish local authorities and how Scotland compares with other countries here.
Edinburgh Schools Deserve Better
The Children & Families Dept at Edinburgh Council needs to change its ways. It needs to take staff out of the back office and into the front line. It needs to stop closing schools and make better use of the underused ones. More here
Petition for Whistleblower Hotlines at all Scottish Councils
Learn about the petition to the Scottish Parliament calling for every Scottish Council to have a whistleblower hotline to report mismanagement, with reports overseen by councillors from each party. More here.
Campaign to get Gangster’s Cash out of Scottish Rugby coffers and into the poor communities where it was Intended for.
This campaign against the misuse of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) Funding observed that cash seized from gangsters and distributed by the Scottish Government wasn’t all going to the purposes for which it was intended. Pete was successful in campaigning to see more of it being spent on playparks and kickpitches in the poorest communities. More here.
Call for an NHS Whistleblower hotline
The NHS in Scotland for years had hopeless whistleblowing arrangements which meant staff that saw dangerous practices were being bullied out of their jobs. Pete lodged a parliamentary petition calling for a whistleblower hotline similar to what was in place at Edinburgh Council. The Scottish NHS has now gone some way towards addressing the problem, with the creation of the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer position (see https://inwo.spso.org.uk/ ) within the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s office. More here
Free Chelsea Manning
Chelsea was pardoned by Barack Obama as a result of protests from all around the world in his last act as president. Kids not Suits petitioned Hilary Clinton (yes, we all thought she would win!). More info here.
Campaign to Save Castlebrae High School
Kids not Suits congratulated the Council for not closing Castlebrae High School in Craigmillar. To learn more, see the Castlebrae High School Has Been Saved page. You can learn even more about the campaign that kept the school open on the Save the Brae Facebook page
West Coates Cycle Track: Petition to Council & The Roseburn Vision
Kids not Suits campaigned for better use of Council and Sustrans cash for Edinburgh cyclists than the £5.6M protected cycle track. The Council plan for a protected cycle track on the A8 from Roseburn to Haymarket led to a petition with almost 6,000 signatures. Campaigners developed the Roseburn Vision as an alternative, but the Council is pressing ahead. More info here
