-
Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Social Housing in Scotland
Reading time: 6 minutes
Asylum seekers are not entitled to homeless assistance; and refugees do not get special priority for homelessness assistance or social housing in Scotland. The recent…
-
SPICe Hub: draft Climate Change Plan
Reading time: 2 minutes
The Scottish Government published a draft Climate Change Plan (CCP) on 6 November 2025, marking the start of 120 days of its parliamentary scrutiny (until…
-
An update on how the Scottish and UK assisted dying bills compare
Reading time: 16 minutes
Compares how the Scottish assisted dying bill (as introduced) compares with the UK assisted dying bill (as amended. Also sets out key stage 2 amendments…
-
The Final Countdown to election 2026: Programme for Government 2025-26 – Building the Best Future for Scotland
Reading time: 26 minutes
This extended, long-read blogpost provides a summary of the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2025-26 and highlights areas that are likely to be of particular…
-
Navigating complaints: A Guide to Ombudsmen and Commissioners
Reading time: 3 minutes
List of ombudsmen and commissioners to help navigate complaints.
-
How do the Scottish and UK assisted dying bills compare?
Reading time: 10 minutes
This coming Friday (29th November 2024), the House of Commons will debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The introduction of the Bill…
-
The Human Rights Bill – why has the Scottish Government not legislated and what happens next?
Reading time: 5 minutes
The 2024-25 Programme for Government didn’t include the Scottish Government’s flagship Human Rights Bill. Like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child…
-
How can an understanding of agency be helpful in alleviating suffering?
Reading time: 5 minutes
As part of the Scottish Parliament’s academic engagement work, SPICe welcomes academics to apply to carry out a fellowship in a particular policy area, as…
-
Scottish Child Payment – who gets it?
Reading time: 5 minutes
While Scottish Child Payment reaches almost every child in poverty, there are even more children above the poverty line who also receive this benefit.
-
Is Scotland going to meet its child poverty targets?
Reading time: 4 minutes
The latest statistics show that Scotland is far from achieving its child poverty targets.
-
Suicide deaths in Scotland
Reading time: 6 minutes
The Equalities Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee is currently running an inquiry looking at the Scottish Government and COSLA’s Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022-2032. The…
-
Below Average Resources – new poverty measure
Reading time: 9 minutes
The UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is developing a new poverty measure called Below Average Resources (BAR) that closely reproduces the Social Metrics…
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre provides impartial, factual, accurate information and analysis to Members in support of Scottish Parliament parliamentary business.
Visit the Scottish Parliament SPICe website