SCoSS Charter Sub-Committee Meeting
Date: 21 November 2024
Time: 13:00
Venue: Microsoft Teams
Minutes
Present—
- Dr Mark Simpson (Chair)
- Dr Marilyn Howard (Member)
- Ed Pybus (Member)
Apologies: None
In attendance (SCoSS Secretariat)—
- Andrew Strong, Head of Policy and Scrutiny
- Christopher Galloway, Analysis and Participation Support Officer
1. Welcome and declaration of interests
The Chair, Mark Simpson, welcomed the attendees to the fifth meeting of the Charter Sub-Committee. It was noted that this was Ed’s first meeting attending as a member of the Sub-Committee.
There were no apologies and no interests were declared.
2. Matters arising from previous meeting
Andrew confirmed that, as agreed in the previous meeting, the Secretariat conducted a further interview with an individual who uses the VoiceAbility advocacy service to contribute additional findings for the final report.
3. Update on report drafting
Andrew presented the initial draft of the final report, prompting a discussion on its structure and content.
Members agreed it would be important to include a clearer explanation of the charter’s role and purpose in the report, while also noting that a new version of the charter has been published. It was also suggested mentioning that another charter measurement report has been issued since the research was conducted.
Members recommended adjusting the colour scheme in the report to create a clear visual distinction between charter research reports and reports on draft regulations.
The Secretariat agreed to sharing the next iteration of the draft report with Members on 6 December based on this feedback.
Action: The Secretariat will continue to develop the report, applying the suggested changes to the next iteration, and share it with Sub-committee Members by 6 December
4. Social Security Scotland update meeting
The Secretariat provided an update on a follow-up meeting with Social Security Scotland, confirming that a final date is still to be confirmed.
Members considered potential questions and themes for discussion with Social Security Scotland. It was agreed that the Secretariat would liaise with Members to finalise the list before sharing with Social Security Scotland.
Action: The Secretariat will compile a list of key themes and points to address during the upcoming follow-up meeting with Social Security Scotland officials.
5. Any other business
Members agreed that a verbal update would be presented at the next Board meeting.
Meeting closed at 14:17
Date of next meeting: Wednesday 11th December (12:00 – 13:15)