Policy review of activities in 2019

Read about the ALLIANCE's policy work in 2019.

With the Westminster Parliament seemingly spending 2019 in a deadlocked battle over the UK’s European Union leaving date, the ALLIANCE continued to support our members to express concerns that changes to employment law, rights and medicines supply lines as a result of Brexit would have an unintended impact on the lives of disabled people, people with long term conditions and unpaid carers across the country. We worked closely with SCVO and Camphill Scotland to pursue an independent evaluation of the impact of Brexit on health and social across the UK, through a Private Members Bill care (this link will take you away from our website) moved by Argyll and Bute MP Brendan O’Hara. In February, we jointly hosted a drop-in session in London for MPs to highlight these concerns and supported a Westminster Hall debate. Our policy team briefed people from across the UK about our post-Brexit concerns at a civil society Brexit event in Belfast in May and again in October, we brought people from across the UK together in Glasgow to relaunch a Private Members Bill on the issue and discuss their concerns with Mike Russell MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations.

The General Election provided another opportunity to highlight these concerns, among others, to politicians and candidates. In December we published a General Election manifesto, focused on the urgent need for a new vision for listening to diverse voices and protecting their rights. The manifesto was shared with all Scottish candidates and we partnered in a disability related hustings in Edinburgh, with representation from across the political spectrum, highlighting our calls for action.

Food insecurity and its connection to long term conditions has been a major theme of our work this year. Throughout the year we supported the progress of the Scottish Food Coalition (SFC) and its aims for a Good Food Nation Bill (this link will take you away from our website), which was highlighted as an action point for the forthcoming Scottish Parliament session in the Scottish Government’s 2019-20 Programme for Government. Alongside other SFC partners we continue to call for the right to food to be implemented through Scots Law and a statutory food commission which can monitor the impact of food policy across policy changes.

The policy team also worked closely with our members on a range of practice-based health and social care issues this year. In early 2019 we spoke to pharmacists at a range of events designed to support new standards for their profession. We also organised two events with the General Medical Council (GMC), to raise awareness of their role in regulating doctors practice among our members, and also to support our members response to the GMC’s consultation on consent and decision making guidance.

As always, we worked closely with members of the Scottish Parliament, responding to a range of inquiries including on the future of primary care, and the realisation of social prescribing in Scotland, reflecting on the experiences of our organisation in developing the Community Links Practitioner role. Our views were noted in various Committee reports (this link will take you away from our website).

Throughout the year we were also delighted to support other organisation’s policy work, for instance working closely with Energy Action Scotland on amendments to the Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and Strategy) (Scotland) Bill (this link will take you away from our website) and hosting a session on campaigning and navigating the Scottish Parliament addressed by Mark Ballard and Robert McGeachy.

We would like to extend the invitation to other organisations to get in touch if you’d be interested in finding out how we could support your policy work.

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