Latest Updates

Newspapers are dying. This is not just a tragedy for journalism, it is also a threat to democracy. There is a need for a public policy response before it is too late.

The European Social Fund has committed £200m to NI for employability schemes – including Start360’s Switch onto Employment. The organisation tells Scope that ESF’s post-Brexit replacement cannot be half hearted.

It has been one of those weeks when everyone has been talking about the weather.

How justice agencies and the law tackle online child sexual exploitation is evolving. Common availability of the internet is only about 20 years old – while the reach and nature of usage has changed massively in the last decade.

The Department of Health is currently working through its response to the Inquiry into Hyponatraemia-related Deaths.

A new report from the Stroke Association prove significant shortcomings in service. Officials want their planned sweeping changes to show how our entire Health and Social Care system can be reformed.

Last month, Employers for Childcare released their ninth annual NI Childcare Cost Survey. The burden on families is enormous - but providers are also under huge strain. Reform (financial assistance and restructuring) is required.

Medicine is at the dawn of a new era. A whole range of new digital technologies, significant steps in developing artificial intelligence and rapid developments on genomics will together transform healthcare forever.

Power to People, the expert panel review of adult social care in Northern Ireland called for the authorities to start a public conversation about how services should be structured and funded.

Reform is possible in NI, even without a government. Officials last week published a paper seeking to understand what is meant by “quality of life” – with the ultimate aim of improving the lot of adults and children with disabilities.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of Northern Ireland’s first cancer charity. Scope looks back and examines the future of cancer treatments and asks if there will ever be a cure.

People love the NHS and attempts at reform are often met with public resistance. However, its adaptability has been one of its greatest strengths. The response to the hyponatraemia inquiry highlights this.

This week the great and the good gathered at Davos for the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting.

An Audit Office report has highlighted huge Welfare Reform underspend. Several NI organisations say bigger problems are coming. With no Assembly, we are rudderless – but Stormont struggled to deal with this first time round.

The European Social Fund represents a small amount of EU money – but supports a huge proportion of the schemes in its sector. Westminster’s delay on developing a replacement is worrying.

Health was a key issue in the Brexit referendum. Leavers promised us £350 million per week for the NHS, money it said we were currently paying to the EU.   

Experts from Northern Ireland have helped write a landmark paper which could help to build a more peaceful world.

Partnership doesn’t have to mean joint projects – it can just be about regularly sharing ideas. The response of several youth groups brought together by the Urban Villages Initiative shows the value of strategic co-operation.

Last year was a terrible one for those of us who care about the environment. There were apocalyptic reports about climate change, extreme weather conditions and species extermination.

If we continue to chase some short-term economic growth at the expense of inclusive growth we not only make things harder for the majority of people, we are creating growth that will not be sustained.