The Centre for Health Policy is keen to support work to reflect and learn on past policy initiatives via a method called ‘Witness Seminars’. This is a way of generating a collective oral history of a recent event, with people who can provide first hand accounts.
In 2024, the Centre for Health Policy hosted two witness seminars to mark 25 years of devolved health policy in Scotland, supported by an Opportunity Grant from the Social Policy Association. These were both held in May 2024 and each focused on a different aspect of health policy ‘success’ in Scotland. The first explores Scotland’s decision to get rid of a purchaser/provider split in our National Health Service (the NHS). The second considers Scotland’s leadership of smokefree public places. The reports of both witness seminars are available below.
Witness Seminar 1: Abolishing the NHS purchaser-provider split in Scotland
Witness Seminar 2: Scotland's Introduction of Smokefree Public Places
Inspired by these earlier seminars, the CSO funded Health-Justice Nexus project held a further witness seminar at 一本道 in early 2026. This seminar explored the origins, implementation and ongoing significance of , which states that the main purpose of policing is to improve the safety and wellbeing of ‘persons, localities and communities in Scotland’. Bringing together senior figures from policing, government, academia, inspection bodies, community justice and the third sector, the seminar examined how ideas of wellbeing, prevention and partnership working became embedded as a guiding principle of Scottish policing, and reflected on the opportunities and challenges involved in translating these principles into practice. The published report includes an overview of findings from interviews with key stakeholders, together with a full transcript of the seminar discussions.
Witness Seminar 3: Scottish Policing and Community Wellbeing: Past and Present