Scottish Community Land Network

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This site is for people interested in the management and ownership of land-based assets by communities in Scotland. A Scottish Community Land Network, you might say... As you know the internet is a big 'place' with everything about anything so we aim to bring you relevant news and events, and provide opportunities to share ideas with other people interested in this subject. So far there are over 800 members, and more than 500 articles in our archive.

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Policy & Politics

The coalition - good or bad news for the community land world?

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Details: Friday, 21 May 2010 14:18 Tamsin Morris Hits: 454

So the nation has voted and said...well, it seems we're not quite sure. And so, after all the 'will they, won't they' shenanigans, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have formed a coalition UK government. And whilst much of what happens in Scotland is decided at Holyrood, a change in the Westminster government is bound to have an impact up here too......

Looking through the coalition agreement, the 'Big Society' is the theme at the heart of many of their proposals. To reflect that, the office of the third sector has been renamed the Office of Civil Society and it'll have Nick Hurd as its minister.

But there's going to be pressure on the Big Lottery Fund to reduce the percentage of income which they spend on administration - currently around 8% but expected to be under 5% by the new UK government. Some people are suggesting that might force them into awarding fewer small grants. The new government also wants to reduce the percentage of National Lottery income which goes to Big from 50% to 40%, although they suggest that there'll still be more money available after the Olympics.

There's also a rather vaguely worded commitment in the coalition agreement to 'encouraging' community owned renewable energy schemes. Whilst that probably won't apply to Scotland, it'll be interesting to see what transpires.

As for the rest, I guess the only thing we can be certain of for now, is uncertainty!