A government-commissioned assembly of 104 randomly selected residents that met from October 2019 to December 2020 on what kind of country Scotland should be. Boycotted by unionist parties as a perceived independence vehicle, it produced 60 recommendations; the government answered in November 2021.
The Citizens' Assembly of Scotland was announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on 24 April 2019, in a statement about Brexit and Scotland's constitutional future. It was presented as one of three strands of the government's approach, alongside legislation on referendum rules and cross-party talks. That framing shaped everything that followed: for supporters of the union, an assembly announced in the same breath as preparations for a possible second independence referendum looked like a partisan device; for the government and organisers, it was an attempt to copy Ireland's assemblies and "do politics differently".
The Scottish Government funded the assembly. Its response to the report states a final cost of £0.938 million over two financial years against an original budget of £1.37 million; most of the underspend came from cancelled in-person meetings and staff working from home during the pandemic. An earlier freedom-of-information release had given a provisional figure of about £764,000.
The final report, Doing Politics Differently, was published on 13 January 2021. It contained a ten-point vision and 60 recommendations grouped in eight themes, from how decisions are taken — including more use of citizens' assemblies and a permanent "house of citizens" to scrutinise legislation — to tax, incomes, climate and young people. The Scottish Parliament noted the report shortly before the May 2021 election and commended it to its successor.
The government responded on 23 November 2021, mapping existing policies onto the recommendations. It committed to further citizens' assemblies, which it said were "here to stay", including one for under-16s, and to deliberative engagement on local government funding developed with the Scottish Green Party. On recommendations requiring powers reserved to Westminster, it pointed to a £10 million pilot fund for a four-day week and a proposed Migration Service for Scotland, while saying there was little realistic prospect of further tax devolution. Critics note that much of the response restated policies already announced.
The research report found that members found the experience rewarding and felt included and empowered; that politicians and journalists saw the assembly as an important prototype; and that moving online did not reduce the quality of collaboration. It recommended broader public engagement and a clearer mandate for future assemblies. Scotland went on to run a separate Climate Assembly from late 2020.
Report Doing Politics Differently (13 January 2021): a ten-point vision and 60 recommendations in eight themes. The government's November 2021 response committed to further assemblies, including one for under-16s; final cost £0.938 million against a £1.37 million budget.
A one-off advisory assembly. Its broad remit and the unionist parties' boycott limited its political traction; the government response largely mapped existing policy onto the recommendations, but it helped normalise assemblies in Scottish government practice.
The assembly's report Doing Politics Differently, published on 13 January 2021, set out a ten-point vision and 60 recommendations across eight topic areas; the government responded on 23 November 2021 and committed to further citizens' assemblies, including one for under-16s.[1][2]
The Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Liberal Democrats and the campaign group Scotland in Union called for a boycott of the assembly, which critics linked to the government's independence plans.[1][2]
The official research report found that members felt included and empowered and that moving online did not reduce collaboration, but that the breadth of the remit made it hard to supply expertise and produced recommendations that may be difficult to turn into policy.[1][2]