Confirmed speakers
LINDA DUNION (CONFERENCE CHAIR)DirectorSee~Change Consultancy | Linda Dunion is a well-known figure in the Scottish voluntary sector. She set up her own independent consultancy, See~Change in 2007 after over twenty years of working for Scottish charities. Through See~Change, Linda uses her expertise in campaigning, communications and participatory social marketing to help improve the effectiveness of voluntary and public sector organisations working to achieve social change. She recently developed ‘Give me a chance’, Who Cares? Scotland’s campaign to improve attitudes towards children and young people in care. Linda has held a number of posts in the course of her career, including Assistant Director of Age Concern Scotland, Director of SEAD (Scottish Education and Action for Development) and Director of the Scottish Down’s Syndrome Association. Her move into consultancy followed a successful five years as the first Campaign Director of ‘see me’, the award-winning national campaign against the stigma of mental ill health in Scotland. She is non-executive member of the boards of the Care Commission and of NHS Tayside and a lead consultant with the Social Marketing Gateway. |
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PAUL BRADSHAWResearch DirectorScottish Centre for Social Research | Paul Bradshaw is a Research Director at the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen). Having also worked as a researcher for the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration and the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime in the School of Law at Edinburgh University, Paul has been involved in a range of research studies in Scotland particularly in the areas of families, children and young people. Since joining ScotCen in early 2005, Paul has managed the Growing Up in Scotland study, a large-scale longitudinal birth and child cohort study of 8000 Scottish families with a specific focus on early years issues. Paul is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day running of the project as well as undertaking key survey activities for each wave of data collection including questionnaire design, fieldwork management and analysis and reporting of findings. As part of their 2010 research papers, the Centre published details on the circumstances of persistently poor children looking at how many children experience persistent poverty, which children are most likely to experience this and what the outcomes for these children and their families were. For more details of the Growing up in Scotland study, please see http://www.growingupinscotland.org.uk |
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MARTIN JOHNSTONThe Poverty Truth Commission | Martin Johnstone is the Church of Scotland’s Priority Areas Secretary, responsible for the development and coordination of the Church’s work within its poorest 58 parishes across the country. He combines this role with that of voluntary Chief Executive of Faith in Community Scotland – an anti-poverty organisation that supports local faith communities to tackle the causes and symptoms of poverty in Scotland – and is also secretary to Scotland’s first Poverty Truth Commission. He is passionate about the need for people with a direct experience of poverty to help to shape a better future for all. The Poverty Truth Commission brings together two groups of people: 'testifiers', those who know personally and understand the struggle against poverty and 'commissioners', those who have the power and influence to change Scotland for the better. Meeting on a regular basis, the testifiers bring an expertise and perspective that is otherwise missing around the table when policy is made and together everyone is learning to overcome the yawning gap and, working together, overcome the boundaries that have restricted all. |
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DONALD HIRSCHSocial Policy Consultant | As poverty advisor to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (1998-2008), Donald played a leading role in developing the Foundation’s analysis of child poverty. In 2008 he conducted an analysis of the cost of child poverty in Scotland for the Scottish Government and last year published papers including ‘Ending child poverty in a changing environment’ and ‘A minimum income standard for Britain’. Donald is also currently Head of Income Studies at the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University where he continues his analysis of what incomes people in Britain need in order to fully participate in society and what policies are needed for this to come about In his career, Donald has also worked as an Education official at OECD (1990-94), Britain writer and education correspondent with The Economist (1986-90), Assistant editor and then editor of Inside Housing (1984-86) and Editor of Youthaid Bulletin (1984-84). |
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COUNCILLOR HARRY MCGUIGANCOSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing and Safety | Harry McGuigan is the COSLA spokesperson for the Community Wellbeing and Safety Executive Group. As an Elected Member to both Motherwell District and North Lanarkshire Councils, Cllr McGuigan has held positions of responsibility and leadership ranging across Economic Development, Education, European Affairs, Housing and Social Work. He played a prominent role in the Lanarkshire regeneration initiatives following the closure of Ravenscraig and other steel plants in North Lanarkshire, and, as Leader, in the setting up of the new North Lanarkshire Council. A Maths and Physics teacher by profession, he is motivated by the desire to enable young people to achieve their potential and established the Motherwell Education/Industry Compact initiative as an exemplar of the two sectors working in a complementary way to improve opportunities for our young people. He also served on the Board of the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration. He played a leadership role in discussions culminating in the establishment of Community Justice Authorities and takes an active interest in their progress and effectiveness, and related Criminal Justice matters. In both his role with COSLA and with North Lanarkshire Council, Harry is driving forward improvement in local government in tackling child poverty. |
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DR. LINDA DE CAESTECKERJoint Director of Public Health at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and Glasgow City Council and ChairGlasgow Child Poverty Group | Linda de Caestecker is Director of Public Health with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Joint Director of Public Health with Glasgow City Council covering some of the most deprived areas in the country. She was previously a consultant in public health and, with a special interest in maternal and child public health, has also held the post of Head of the Child and Maternal Health Unit of the then Scottish Executive’s Health Department. Her clinical background in obstetrics and gynaecology and she has held a variety of posts in this speciality in the UK as well as in West Africa. Linda’s research interests are in early childhood interventions and in the management of change in large organisations. She is an Honorary Professor of the University of Glasgow. Linda is also Chair of the multi-agency Child Poverty Group in Glasgow |
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DR PAULINE CRAIGPublic Health Programme ManagerGlasgow Centre for Population Health | Dr Pauline Craig is a public health specialist working in the Glasgow Centre for Population Health where she manages a programme of research and development on health-related services and health inequalities. Most recently, Pauline has been working on the Healthier, Wealthier Children project. A collaboration between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Glasgow City Council and the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, this project is designed to “support the development of expertise for addressing child poverty within financial inclusion services and within health and other early years’ service structures”. To be officially launched in October, the project will run for a duration of 15 months with GCPH carrying out the evaluation and disseminating findings from the project across Scotland. She has a background in nursing and health visiting and her current research interests are early years and inequalities. |
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JIM STEPHENHeadPositive Futures Division, The Scottish Government | Jim Stephen heads the Scottish Government’s early years team within the Education Directorate. His main responsibilities include supporting implementation of the Early Years Framework, working across government to ensure that early years/early intervention is given priority and that policies for the early years, health inequalities and poverty are well integrated. Jim and his team work with COSLA, ADES, CPPS, individual councils and across the NHS to support local implementation. The team also has policy oversight of pre-school education, play, nurseries, family support and parenting – key areas which underpin the early years framework. Jim also has the lead on the Children, Young People and Families Unified Voluntary Sector Fund. Jim’s previous posts within government include: drafting Scotland’s first Rural Development Plan, leading a drugs policy team specialising on treatment and rehabilitation and integrated children’s services planning and inputs to the Concordat.Jim was seconded to COSLA to help build the post-Concordat relationship and to strengthen liaison with the Scottish Government. |
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GEMMA BULLFAST Programme Strategy ManagerSave the Children | Gemma Bull is the FAST Programme Strategy Manager for Save the Children. FAST (Families and Schools Together) is an award winning, U.N endorsed, prevention and early intervention programme designed to enable parents to better support their children’s education inside and outside the school gates, and play a greater role in their local community. FAST has an established track record for high retention rates with socially marginalized parents and Save the Children is working in partnership with FAST to role out a pre-school to primary FAST programme in the most deprived areas across the UK. In Scotland, the programme has been piloted in West Dunbartonshire. Gemma has helped to develop the partnership between Save the Children, FAST and P4C and now manages the strategic implementation and advocacy relating to the FAST programme across the UK. She has previously worked on education policy at Save the Children and on wider social and economic policy issues for other charities and not for profir organizations, including The Council for Europe. She has a Masters in Human Rights. |
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PROFESSOR RONALD MCQUAIDDirectorEmployment Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University | Professor Ronald McQuaid is the Director of the Employment Research Institute at Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh. Ronald’s extensive research experience includes economic development, employment, employability, skills, entrepreneurship and related transport issues with over 80 academic journal papers, books etc. He has worked with many colleagues across the globe, including many European countries, China, South Africa, USA etc. Research and consultancy projects have been carried out for the European Commission, the UK and Scottish Governments, regional and local development agencies, local authorities, companies, and Third Sector organisations. Previously he was head of economic development at two local authorities. He is also a budget advisor to the Scottish Parliament. He led the evaluation of the Scottish Government’s £50 million Working for Families fund (2004-08). |
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VANESA FUERTESResearcherEmployment Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University | Vanesa Fuertes is a Researcher at the Employment Research Institute (ERI) at Edinburgh Napier University. Vanesa has an MSc from Edinburgh Napier University in Social Research and a degree in Sociology and Political Science from the Complutense University in Madrid. Prior to joining the Employment Research Institute, Vanesa was involved in the social sector working for a charity dealing with homelessness and, additionally, through various voluntary jobs. Vanesa joined the ERI as a Research Assistant in 2005 to work, primarily, on the evaluation of the Working for Families Fund, a project commissioned by the Scottish Government (2004-2008). For the past five years Vanesa has carried out a range of research studies particularly in the areas of disadvantaged families, employability and poverty. Details of research projects are available at: http://www.napier.ac.uk/randkt/rktcentres/eri/staff/Pages/Fuertes.aspx |
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JOHN DICKIEHeadChild Poverty Action Group in Scotland | John Dickie has been Head of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland since 2004. He is responsible for promoting and influencing policies that will contribute to eradicating child poverty in Scotland as well as the overall development of second tier welfare rights support services that ensure frontline workers are able to support families to receive the tax credits and benefits that they are entitled to. Previously he has held the post of Head of the Youth Unit at the Scottish Council for Single Homeless and has worked directly with young people experiencing homelessness, both as a volunteer and professional, primarily in roles that supported them to develop their own routes out of homelessness. He is a graduate from Aberdeen University in Sociology and Social Anthropology, and holds a postgraduate diploma in Housing Studies from Stirling University. |
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JESSIE CRAWFORDChildren's Service Policy and Practice Co-ordinatorShelter Scotland | Jessie is currently Children’s Service Policy and Practice Coordinator for Shelter Scotland where she is involved in a number of projects to address child poverty. These include working to embed the recently published statutory guidance on acting in the best interests of children facing homelessness; improving links between housing and education services to reduce the impact of homelessness on children’s learning; promoting alternatives to eviction for families with children and lobbying for better support for homeless households. Prior to joining Shelter Scotland in June 2008 Jessie held a variety of related posts, including working as a children’s rights officer for looked after children in Greater Manchester, as a youth specialist for the Serbian Poverty Reduction Strategy implementation team and running a mentoring service for young offenders in Cambridgeshire with Community Service Volunteers. She has an MA in Children Rights and the Sociology of Childhood and is particularly interested in promoting children and young people’s participation in decision-making and within research. |
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SAMANTHA COOPEHeadTackling Poverty Team, The Scottish Government | Sam has been head of the Tackling Poverty team in the Scottish Government, which advises on policies relating to poverty and deprivation including Achieving our potential since 2008. The team are also leading on the Scottish Child Poverty Strategy. Sam has a professional background in social policy analysis, research and management. She has worked in the Scottish Government for 9 years, including leading research programmes on Children, Young People and Social Care, and Substance Misuse. Prior to this, she worked as a consultant advising on research methodology and designing and delivering research on a wide range of social policy issues. |
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Speakers include
The Poverty Truth Commission
COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing and Safety
Director, See~Change Consultancy
Social Policy Consultant
Joint Director of Public Health at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and Glasgow City Council and
Chair, Glasgow Child Poverty Group