UofG Spotlight University of Glasgow, College of Social Sciences

On this week's episode we focus on The Promise - the term used for the work required to deliver the findings of a review published in 2020 into the care system and what it would take to ensure  every child in Scotland could grow up loved, safe and respected.
We speak to Fraser McKinley, Chief Executive of The Promise Scotland, the organisation set up to support and drive the change to deliver on the promise.
We also talk to Sarah Davidson, Chief Executive of Carnegie UK, about wider challenges around delivering on The Promise in the context of wider public sector reform.

On this special episode focussing on minority government, we speak to Geoff Aberdein, former FM chief of staff to Alex Salmond, and Professor Nicola McEwen, Director of the UofG Centre for Public Policy.
They discuss what minority government might mean for Scotland, from day-to-day practicalities to potential implications longer term for the political process and public policy. 
Produced by Fresh Air Studios for The University of Glasgow.

We are delighted to bring you this special episode on Minimum Unit Pricing, ahead of an anticipated rise by the Scottish Government later this spring.
Professor Nicola McEwen talks to Dr Peter Rice, a former addiction psychiatrist and President of the European Alcohol Policy Alliance. He is also Chair of the Institute of Alcohol Studies.
Dr Rice was one of the founders, and a former Chair, of the Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), which was set up in 2006. He was part of the SHAAP group that developed the proposal for Minimum Unit Pricing in 2007, which was adopted by the Scottish Government, became law in 2012 and introduced in 2018. 

This special episode focusses on the UK Budget detailed last week by the UK Chancellor.   

Joining us for analysis are three of our UofG experts: Graeme Roy, Dean of external engagement here at the University of Glasgow, he also serves as Chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission.  Nicola McEwen is the Director of the Centre for Public Policy and Claire Macrae is a Senior Lecturer with research expertise on equality and risk distribution.   
Together they’ll be looking at the fiscal choices the Chancellor made, what they mean for Scotland’s balance sheet and their impact on the UK public services more generally.  

 
 

On this episode, we are joined by Dr Marianne Sensier, from the University of Manchester and The Productivity Institute, and Neil Lee, Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics.  

Marianne and Neil recently took part in a workshop at the University of Glasgow discussing the priorities for the Glasgow City region, as part of the University’s ‘policy lab’ with the Glasgow City Region Intelligence Hub.  

The concept of these policy labs is to provide a way for policy makers to engage with the academic community, as well as key stakeholders - all with the aim of finding new solutions and ideas to 'wicked problems'. 

After the workshop Marian and Neil joined Graeme Roy and David Waite, lead of the Glasgow Economic Development Policy Lab and Lecturer in Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow, to discuss regional inequalities and inclusive growth. 

This episode investigates the relationship between traumatic brain injuries resulting from sporting activities and the link to dementia.  

We talk to Dr Willie Stewart, Consultant Neuropathologist at the Queen Elizabeth and Honorary Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience, about the pioneering work being done at the University to demonstrate a link between sporting head injuries and dementia.  

We also speak to Michael Marra, North East of Scotland Labour MSP, about his campaign Injury Time, and the current work to include footballing injuries in the scope of the proposed Industrial Injuries bill.