Forum enters political arena

The forum is seeking a broad range of views

A new body designed to get more Scots involved in political decision making has held its first formal meeting.

The Scottish Civic Forum has been set out to bring together groups from all over the country.

Its representatives include members of churches, unions and voluntary groups committed to discussing key issues and then feeding their ideas back to the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Executive has promised to help the forum cast its net even wider to include people from all walks of life.

It said the aim was to give a voice to people from all walks of life, ethnic backgrounds and age groups.

Forum member and former STUC general secretary, Campbell Christie, said: "We've now got everything in place. We've elected a council, we have a board and we have staff appointed.

"Now we're gearing up for action to provide an opportunity for people's voices that haven't been head before to be heard by parliament and the executive."