Latest Updates

Everything is breaking. It’s easy to feel despondent but, if you want to fix anything, it’s much better to be calm, think about the good that can and is being done, and have some positivity. Scope tags along to the Imagine Festival.

There has been one piece of very good news for Northern Ireland in an otherwise gloomy, Brexit dominated week.

A new democratic movement is gaining traction in Northern Ireland. From Rathlin Island to Newry and the Clogher Valley local people are deciding for themselves how money in their communities should be spent.

Efforts are underway to change transport habits in Northern Ireland – but they might not be working. Scope looks at the annual school transport figures.

The Department of Health has announced that it is to commission a new cancer strategy for Northern Ireland.

The links between trust in charities and the level of donations are not clear cut – but they are there. Fostering goodwill is vital for fundraising and generating other support.

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 proves services have significant shortcomings. Officials have planned sweeping changes - which they want 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.