Two more Inquiry reports are released today. ‘Lenin’s Useful Idiots? Voluntary Action and Public Service Reform in Northern Ireland, from Nick Acheson of the University of Ulster, reviews recent developments in relations between voluntary agencies and the devolved administration. It summarises the main similarities and differences between Northern Ireland and the other jurisdictions in the UK paying particular attention to the political context, the nature of society here and the scope and size of voluntary action. It shows how the familiar pressures of cuts, privatisation, reliance on state funding, fashions for impact measurement and self censorship have played out against the background of the province’s distinctive history. It reveals “a profound sense both of discomfort and disempowerment among many, reflecting a loss of belief in their capacity to effect change in line with mission…. It is difficult to identify sources of potential resistance.”

In Scotland the uncertainty associated with the forthcoming referendum on independence makes it impossible to construct a clear picture of the near future. Again many of the issues are the same – cuts, the future of public services, changes in health and social care, the role and involvement of VSGs – but how these will develop will be significantly shaped by the referendum outcome. In What is happening in Scotland Nicola Gunn offers a brief review of the current context on which future decisions and directions will be built.