Archive for the ‘People’ Category
Brown caught misleading people again with wrong immigration data UK
The figures Gordon Brown gave in a podcast about immigration were wrong, the statistics watchdog has told the Prime Minister in an open letter.
The PM’s speech was correct but his podcast was not, the letter says
Mr Brown “did not use comparable” sets of data when he discussed the number of people who had come to Britain in recent years, the note the chair of the UK Statistics Authority said.
A statement from Downing Street said it accepted some of the numbers used were unclear and not strictly comparable.
The Prime Minister used the podcast to talk about his points system and reassure working families that the system is fair.
“Some people talk as if net inward migration is rising. In fact, it is falling – down from 237,000 in 2007, to 163,000 in 2008, to provisional figures of 147,000 last year,” he said.
“Some people talk as if all immigrants stay here forever. In fact, most come for short periods and then return to their own country.”
But the chair of the statistics authority, Sir Michael Scholar, said the figure for 2007 should have been lower – the official number was 233,000, not 237,000.
It means the scale of the fall is less dramatic than Mr Brown implied.
There is an urgent need for immediate steps to properly control immigration instead of the free for all flood of migrants some with no skills and many who cant even speak English.
Labour systematically ignored the warnings just to rub the rights nose in it and in the hope of getting more votes. They betrayed the interests of Britain and the British people and now growing pressure mounts on all major frontline services with education, healthcare and the prisons bursting under the strain of an endless flood of people invited into the UK by Labour.
Labour lied to us all.
Jim Ferguson
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Gordon Brown’s record – Conservative “Vote for Me” campaign
Michael Gove has launched a new poster campaign putting Gordon Brown’s record at the heart of the election campaign.
These posters arrive alongside a new analysis of Labour’s time in power, and you can view both by clicking the links below.
Speaking at the launch, Shadow Education Secretary Michael Gove said:
“Gordon Brown is asking people to vote him in for another five years but he and his tired Government will just make things worse.”
“He has doubled our national debt and squandered billions of pounds selling off Britain’s gold at rock bottom prices. He has taken billions out of our pensions system and doubled the tax rate for the poorest workers. He has let down our young people by causing record youth unemployment, and overseen an increase in the gap between the rich and poor. And he has let 80,000 criminals out of prison early, leading to 1,500 crimes being committed by people who should have been behind bars.”
“We can’t go on like this. The choice at this election is five more years of Gordon Brown’s tired government making things worse or David Cameron and the Conservatives with the energy, leadership and values to get the country moving.”
… and here are some other things Gordon Brown did…
Cut the Defence Budget at a time of war – and got caught out denying it!
Gordon Brown misled the Chilcot Inquiry, Parliament and the public when he claimed that ‘the defence budget has been rising every year since 1997’
(Hansard, 10 March 2010, Col. 291).
He was later forced to admit that ‘I do accept that in one or two years defence expenditure did not rise in real terms’
(Hansard, 17 March 2010).
Figures from the Ministry of Defence show that the defence budget actually fell year-on-year in real terms on four occasions since 1997 – in 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2007.
(Channel 4 News Factcheck, 10 March 2010).
Taxed jobs as we were emerging from recession.
Last December, Gordon Brown’s Government announced a tax on jobs – a 0.5 per cent rise in the rate of National Insurance Contributions for both employees and employers. This comes on top of the
rise in NICs announced in the 2008 PBR, meaning a total planned rise of 1 per cent. This is a tax on all businesses and on every person earning over £20,000.
The Federation of Small Businesses has estimated that this could mean up to 57,000 jobs are lost. (FSB,
Press Release, 24 March 2010)
Increased spending on quangos by £10 billion.
The cost of unelected and poorly accountable government bodies has soared by almost £10 billion under Gordon Brown. In his first year as Prime Minister, total expenditure on so-called
“executive non-departmental public bodies” rose from £37.0 billion to £43.0 billion in 2007-08 – a 16 per cent rise
(Cabinet Office, Public Bodies 2007, p.10; Public Bodies 2008, p.10).
Figures for 2008-09 revealed quango expenditure rose by another £3.5 billion to £46.5 billion – a 7 per cent rise
(Cabinet Office, Public Bodies 2009, p.6) making a mockery of his claims to deliver a new politics.
Brought boom and bust to the NHS – which led to NHS cuts.
Despite massively increasing spending, Gordon Brown has been guilty of a ‘boom and bust’ approach to the NHS finances, forcing NHS Trusts into cuts and wasteful short-term spending. Between 2005 and 2007, 14,500 jobs were cut from the NHS as Trusts struggled to recover from deficits
(NHS Information Centre, NHS Staff 1998-2008, 25 March 2009).
And since 2004, the number of beds in the NHS has been cut by 21,500 – the equivalent of 12 per cent
(Department of Health, Bed availability and occupancy 2008-09, 30 September 2009).
Accident and Emergency departments and maternity units up and down the country have faced or are facing cuts and closures. And things are only set to get worse, as one of Gordon Brown’s own health advisers said that ‘the days of the District General Hospital are over’
(Professor Sir Ara Darzi, NHS London, A Framework for Action, 11 July 2007).
Let truancy rise to record levels.
In 1998, Gordon Brown’s Treasury set a target to reduce truancy rates to 0.5 per cent
(HM Treasury, Comprehensive Spending Review, Public Service Agreements 1999-2000, December 1998).
But the figure now stands at 1.05 per cent – up 44 per cent since 1996/7, well in excess of the Government’s target, and at a record high. 67,000 pupils skip school without permission every day
(DCSF, Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2008/09, 25 March 2010).
Paid couples more to live apart than together.
The tax credit system penalises parents who live together, giving families a financial incentive to split up.
The IFS has highlighted the fact that a couple with children earning £20,000 between them could be more than £5,000 better off in terms of benefits and tax credits if they split up.
(The Sunday Times, 4 March 2007).
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Labour will kill the recovery with their tax on jobs UK
We will stop Labour’s damaging NIC increase
Monday, March 29 2010
The Conservatives have announced that a Conservative Government will stop Labour’s tax rise on jobs by cutting waste.
Stopping the planned increases in National Insurance Contributions will result in 7 out of 10 working people being better off.
A Conservative Government will take immediate action to start cutting Government waste, in order to spend £6 billion less in 2010-11 than Labour’s plans.
“The re-election of a Labour Government under Gordon Brown – with more debt, waste and taxes – will bring us a new recession”, George Osborne said, speaking alongside Ken Clarke and Phillip Hammond.
“Labour will kill the recovery with their tax on jobs. We will cut Labour waste to stop it.”
Former Government advisers Sir Peter Gershon and Dr Martin Read, now members of the Conservatives’ Public Sector Productivity Advisory Board, advise that savings of £12 billion across all departmental spending are possible in-year without affecting the quality of front line services.
Having identified these savings the Conservatives can now commit to stop Labour’s tax rise on working people and jobs at the same time as reducing the deficit faster:
Labour are planning to raise Employees National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for everyone earning over £20,000. We will stop this increase altogether for everyone earning under £35,000 by raising the primary threshold at which people start paying NICs by £24 a week, and raising the Upper Earnings Limit by £29 a week.
Relative to Labour’s plans everyone liable for Employees NICs earning between £7,100 and £45,400 – which is 7 out of 10 working people – will be up to £150 better off a year under the Conservatives. Lower earners will get the greatest benefit as a percentage of their earnings. Nobody will be worse off.
Labour are also planning to raise Employers NICs for everyone earning over £5,700. This is a tax on jobs that will undermine the recovery. We will raise the secondary threshold at which employers start paying NICs by £21 a week, saving employers up to £150 for every person they employ relative to Labour’s plans. This will reduce the cost of Labour’s tax rise on employers by more than half.
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MP’s and sleaze – more scrutiny for candidates required – Scotland UK
Gordon Brown now leads a discredited Government.
The latest revelations regarding the three Labour MP’s who were caught in a sting operation offering to influence Government policy for money is sickening. Confidence in the members of Parliament is at an all time low as people form the opinion that none can be trusted with even the basic decency of someone expected in such high office.
I find it quite embarrasing to see the greed of people surface like this and ofcourse as a political candidate I feel uncomfortable with the fact that as a political candidate people are looking at me and asking if I am the same. Would I also conduct my self in this greedy dishonest way ?
The answer is no. I am horrified at how far those we trusted to run the country have fallen but perhaps we are also to blame !
Thats right we as in the electorate are also to blame. Let me explain.
Its not political parties who elect MP’s to parliament. Yes they select the candidates but its the people who vote and give those people they elect the mandate to enter parliament.
Perhaps we need to look at what we base our decisions on not only on party policy but to look with a far more critical eye at those we are preparing to vote for.
I believe that the general public need to be very certain that they know exactly where the political candidates stand on the fundamental issues of importance to them and to the good of the country.
Why vote for someone who has never experianced the real working world for example. ? A Career politician who knows noting of the pressures or issues of everday life ? Some career politicians are perfectly capable ofcourse but the question remains valid.
Scrutiny of the candidates views is fundamental to ensuring that only candidates of good character and trustworthiness should enter parliament. If there had been more scrutiny of the candidates themselves and a hard look at what they may have already achieved in life instead of a blind vote cast purely on party lines then I believe we could have avoided a lot of the problems that we have seen.
Patricia Hewitt, Geoff Hoon and Stephen Byers are now disgraced former Labour cabinet ministers who have shown their true nature. What appals me is that these people were involved and sat at the most senior positions in Government. The question is did they conduct themselves in this way while in those positions of power and influence.
Are there more Government ministers on the take ?
As for myself I will stand with the people of the Highlands in this region and give every support and assistance in a truthful and honest way. If I am elected to Parliament then the trust that has been invested in me will not be wasted but I will lead this region with strength and integrity.
I have been involved in business and hold positions of the highest order in other organisations where truth and honesty are beyond doubt.
There would be no distinction made as far as my views on parliamentary affairs are concerned.
The people require politicians who can be trusted and who will assist the country to go forward with honesty, hard work and above all who they can trust.
Jim Ferguson
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Military chiefs savage Gordon Brown over incorrect evidence Iraq enquiry – Humiliation for British Government
This is a serious blow for Brown and his discredited Labour Government. Even the very top brass of the British armed forces cannot stomach his outright dishonesty and disrespect for our armed forces.
The sooner our brave men and woman of the United Kingdom’s armed forces have a Conservative Government they can trust the better.
Jim Ferguson
PM Admits Iraq Inquiry Defence Spending Error
6:54pm UK, Wednesday March 17, 2010
Miranda Richardson, Sky News Online
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has admitted giving incorrect evidence to the Iraq Inquiry on defence spending.
Mr Brown told Sir John Chilcot’s panel that the defence budget had risen “in real terms every year”.
But House of Commons reseach shows Mr Brown’s claim was wrong, and he has now written to Sir John to correct it.
The PM said that the Treasury had agreed spending with the MoD for 2002, 2004 and 2007.
“The Iraqi expenditure was being met, but at the same time the defence budget was rising in real terms every year,” he said.
Repeating his claim, he told them: “The spending review of 2004 gave the Ministry of Defence a rising level of real spending, moving from 1.2% to 1.4% in real terms each year.”
But a research note prepared by the House of Commons Library in October last year showed defence expenditure had fallen in real terms in four financial years since Labour came to power in 1997: 1997/98 (-2.2%); 1999/2000 (-0.4%); 2004/5 (-0.7%); and 2006/7 (-0.1%).
In real terms it is 12% higher, but I do accept that in one or two years defence expenditure did not rise in real terms.
Gordon Brown
The average annual increase between 1997 and 2009 was 2.7%, it said, but noted that “this figure is likely to have been distorted by current operations”.
Asked at Prime Minister’s Questions whether he would correct the record, Mr Brown said: “Yes. I am already writing to Sir John Chilcot about this issue.
“Because of operational fluctuations in the way the money is spent, expenditure has risen in cash terms every year, in real terms it is 12% higher, but I do accept that in one or two years defence expenditure did not rise in real terms.”
The Prime Minister’s evidence to the Inquiry sparked condemnation from senior military figures.
Lord Boyce – who was the head of the military at the time of the invasion – called him “disingenuous” and insisted the MoD was starved of funds.
“He’s dissembling, he’s being disingenuous,” Admiral Boyce told The Times newspaper.
“It’s just not the case that the Ministry of Defence was given everything it needed
“There may have been a 1.5% increase in the defence budget but the MoD was starved of funds.”
Lord Boyce’s predecessor Lord Guthrie accused Mr Brown of costing soldiers their lives by failing to fund the army properly.
The Tories described Mr Brown’s admission as a “humiliating climbdown”.
Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said: “He has made repeated and fundamentally false claims, misleading Parliament, the public and worst of all the Armed Forces and their families.”
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Brown had “taken the first opportunity” to tell MPs about the mistake.
<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=2001437c67″>Prime Minister’s Questions</a>
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Highland Council cutbacks will take away front line services Scotland UK
The national percentage for those who are over 60 in scotland is 19%. That percentage increases to 34% for the Highlands and Islands. This percentage for the Highlands will increase by 10% every 5 years so its imperative that proper planning and a full strategic review is carried out in order to ensure adequate health care provision accross the Highlands and islands.
I am disapointed to see that the Highland Council who now have to make £12 million pounds of savings are cutting front line services in areas such as care workers who are a lifeline to many families across this region.
The SNP, Labour and LibDems have all had an opportunity at running the Highland Council but have failed to achieve the outcomes that the people need. Their in-fighting and petty politics have caused inaction and a failure to properly provide for the elderly community which is growing at an incredible rate.
There really does have to be some common sense introduced so that we don’t end up with a situation where we simply dont have the resources to cope.
Add to this the fact that we have had huge numbers of Eastern Europeans migrating to the Highlands who have not being paying contributions to the country but who quickly claim all their entitlements and we see a recipe for disaster due to not having the care provision and infrastructure to cope. The Labour Government were warned that this would happen but neither they nor the LibDems were prepared to listen and simply used political correctness as a weapon to silence their critics.
The SNP are faring no better and despite thousands of Scottish jobs being lost on a weekly basis they still adopt an insane policy of trying to bring huge numbers of immigrants to Scotland when there is simply no jobs for them.
An already overburdoned NHS is now creaking at the seams and the recent case of having 54 beds at Raigmore hospital blocked is tragic. Almost an entire floor is now taken up with people who have no other place to go because the Highland Council did not make the proper provision when they had the opportunity to do so. The bed blocking situation at Raigmore hospital has seen a 50% increase in just one year and may increase further next year unless a soloution can be found.
Local people who require hospital treatment will likely find that waiting lists will grow and with cutbacks in funding this will conspire to bring greater pressure to bear on local people.
Our elderly deserve better and after a lifetime of paying contributions into the NHS and their taxes they should not be worrying about healthcare provision at a time of life when they should be able to relax and take life at a slower pace.
I hope that people across the Highlands quickly wake up to the failures of those we trusted to lead and prepare this region for the future.
Immediate action must now be taken before it really is too late.
Jim Ferguson
Thought you should see (if you have not already seen), the areas that Highland Council are looking to achieve budget cuts and reduce level of service delivery at front end.
Looks to me as if everything possible is being done to protect the non-performing layers of management earning salaries in excess of £40,000 per annum.
One example detailed below demonstrates how management level salaries have got completely out of control:
“Schools General Reduce the number of Quality Improvement Officers by 2″ – Saving 0.140 = £140,000 simply staggering, given the average level of earnings across the Highlands of those employed outside of the Public Sector
The areas that appear to be under the knife are the very areas community leaders feel should be strengthened. particularly in relation to Education and Care of the Elderly!
Please click the link to download the Highland Council document concerned:
http://www.highland.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/FD04B6BA-B0E6-4CC5-B3D6-A10FCA5CE352/0/Item9HC4809.pdf
This is the document listing the potential cutbacks for the next two or three financial years within Highland Council and highlights the years of gross mis-management of public finances by successive political parties and elected councillors
Large sums of money have been wasted on flights of fancy, such as the Kessock Bridge fireworks display, with no thought as to how the mooey could have been better utilised for public benefit.
The huge external debt running into hundreds of £Millions, run up by successive administrations has never rung any alarm bells, whilst job protectionism has always been exhibited at the highest level of management – this simply cannot be allowed to continue.
Best wishes
Barrie Haycock
Chair Planning Watch UK
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Documentation extract (NOT Edited):
Highland Council Agenda
Item – 4 March 2010 Report
Budget Consultation
Report by Depute Chief Executive & Director of Finance
Summary
Highland Council, on 11 February, noted that budget consultation proposals would be considered by the Council in March. This report sets out the proposed approach to the
budget consultation exercise.
1. Introduction
1.1 The revenue budget for 2010/11 was agreed by the Council on 11 February. While that report set out a range of savings now agreed for 2011/12 and 2012/13, it
highlighted a considerable budget gap remained across those two years, estimated at £36m.
1.2 Recent comments by the Accounts Commission on the 2009 Audit Overview Report, sets in context the challenges faced by Council’s in the wake of the
economic downturn.
“…the scale of the budget challenge they face means councils need to take urgent
action. It is essential that they continue to develop and implement plans to cope
with the tough times ahead, including thinking radically about service design and
delivery.”
1.3 Given the difficult financial prospects for local government over the next few years, and the level of savings the Council is likely to be faced with, the Council agreed to
consult on budget proposals for 2011/12 and 2012/13, prior to the proposals being considered by the Council in the Autumn of 2010.
1.4 This report sets out the proposed approach to the budget consultation exercise.
1.5 This report is produced in support of the Council’s corporate governance process, which in turn is designed to support/augment the Council’s overall/corporate
delivery of all of its obligations in terms of the Single Outcome Agreement.
2. Purpose of Consultation
2.1 The purpose of the budget consultation exercise will be to:-
? Seeks views from the public and other stakeholders, on a range of specific budget proposals the Council may be asked to consider in Autumn 2010.
? Seek views on the more strategic matters the Council is considering in relation to the budget, for example the education provision/school estate review and the
waste collection strategy.
? Ask the consultees for any areas where they feel budget savings could or should be made.
? Raise awareness of the financial challenges facing the Council and actions that may be necessary to address that.
3. Format of Consultation
3.1 A consultation document will be produced to support the exercise. This document will set out:-
? The financial context facing the Council, including the level of savings the Council thinks will have to be made over the next two years.
? Information on what the Council currently spends its budget on.
? The types of strategic review the Council is conducting or considering in major service areas e.g.
? Corporate Improvement Programme to improve efficiency and effectiveness (including procurement, asset management and business support along with other projects).
? Review of management costs.
? Reduction in travel and subsistence costs.
? Business case review for 5 new care homes.
? Review of education provision/school estate.
? Review of waste collection strategy.
? A range of specific saving proposals the Council may be asked to consider in Autumn 2010.
? Any other relevant supporting information.
? The format of response sought, including questions to be asked of consultees.
3.2 As a working draft, the enclosed annex 1 sets out a list of saving proposals that may feature in the consultation document. This list represents those savings identified by Services as part of the 2010/11 budget exercise, over and above those agreed by the Council to date. Some further refinement to proposals, and incorporate of further information where appropriate, will take place before finalised.
3.3 The consultation document will be hosted on the Council website, with consideration given to availability/distribution through other mediums where appropriate. It is not intended to print mass copies of the document, or utilise newspaper advertising or supplements, to minimise the costs of the consultation.
3.4 Consultees will be asked to provide comments via email, or in writing. Consideration will be given to a dedicated email address for responses. Ward
Forum meetings will also be used to discuss the consultation and receive feedback.
3.5 The Council has agreed that a Citizen Panel be established to support consultation on a range of matters, including the budget. Given the time necessary to recruit
and establish the panel, it will not be possible to use the panel for this initial budget consultation. It is expected that once up and running, the panel will be used for
future budget consultations.
4. Questions to be asked
4.1 While the Council could use a ‘blank sheet’ approach, i.e. leave the consultees to determine the format and content of their response, there are benefits in providing
a structure to the expected response, to aid analysis and collation.
4.2 A range of questions could be considered, to provide a structure to the response, while still leaving the consultee as much freedom as possible to give their views.
The questions could also provide a useful structure for discussion at Ward Forum meetings.
4.3 Some example questions that could be included are set out below.
(1) Are there any other areas of the Council, not reflected in the enclosed proposals, where you feel the Council could or should make savings? If so please provide details.
(2) Are there any comments you wish to make about the strategic reviews the Council is conducting.
4.4 The final structure of the document and questions will be prepared over the coming weeks, prior to formal launch of the consultation.
5. Next Steps and Timetable
5.1 Following the Council meeting, the consultation document will be prepared and incorporated on the Council website. The target date for this task is mid to end March.
5.2 The Council will then arrange for a press release, media coverage, posters in Service Points, etc as a means of promoting the consultation.
5.3 The first Ward Forum to be asked for views on the consultation will be the North West and Central Sutherland Ward Forum on 27th March.
5.4 Discussion at further Ward Forum meetings during April and May will also take place, with the consultation exercise estimated to conclude June 2010.
Recommendation
Members are asked to consider this report and agree the budget consultation approach and timetable.
Signature:
Designation: Depute Chief Executive & Director of Finance
Date: 24 February 2010
Ref:
Background Papers
Author: Brian Porter, Finance Manager
Author’s Telephone No.: 01463 702424
Savings Proposals for Consultation 2011/12 – 2012/13 Annex 1
Education, Culture & Sport
Ref. Activity Heading Savings Proposal
Indicative Savings £m
1 & 3 Devolved budgets – schools Review Secondary timetabling methods, curriculum delivery methods and review teacher entitlement formulae 1.791
8 Schools General Review delivery of music tuition and region-wide music support 0.559
9 Schools General Reduce the number of Quality Improvement Officers by 2 – 0.140
12 Schools General Reduction in teaching absence cover funding 0.047
13 Schools General Discontinue the peripatetic janitorial function 0.287
14 Schools General Clothing Grant Allowance – Reduce level of award and change to “voucher” system 0.080
19 Additional Support Needs 20% reduction across Psychological Services, a 5% reduction across other specialist ASL budgets held centrally, at area level and in schools, including some reorganisation of management and administrative structures. 1.000
20 School Residences Income generation opportunities in School Residences 0.060
22 Grants to Voluntary Organisations
Further review of support for Voluntary Organisations 0.312
23 Youth Work Reduction in Youth Work 0.573
24 Community Learning Further reduction in Adult Education 0.050
25 Community Facilities,
Inverness and Nairn
Reduce number of Community Centres in Inverness 0.133
26 Archives Focus provision on new Highland Archive Centre 0.183
27 Culture Removal of the Out of Eden drama provision including the Highland wide Higher Drama course 0.195
29 Museums Reduce museum provision by two thirds through closures or alternative provision 0.400
30 Highland Culture Fund Removal of Highland Culture Fund and Lochaber Events budget 0.509
31 Integrated Library Service Reduction in library provision, including ceasing the Bookstart service 0.394
32 Integrated Library Service Library Support Unit – Reduce logistical support for libraries 0.100
33 Integrated Library Service Cease all development of the Am Baile gaelic heritage web resources, and seek alternative resources 0.172
34 Leisure, recreation and sports development
Reduce number of swimming pools 0.380
35 Sports Development and Play
Reduce support for sports development and play through review of Council and Partner provision 0.138
36 Floral Hall, Inverness Floral Hall – Close or find a social enterprise model to continue the operation 0.115
Total 7.618
ECS
Savings Proposals for Consultation 2011/12 – 2012/13 Annex 1
JCCYP
Ref. Activity Heading Savings Proposal
Indicative Savings £m
9 Review of Teacher input to nurseries
Reduce in line with service rationalisation 0.100
11 Workforce Qualification Standard
Reduction in expenditure to support early years staff qualification standard, as this will largely have been met. 0.050
Total 0.150
JCCYP
Savings Proposals for Consultation 2011/12 – 2012/13 Annex 1
Social Work
Ref. Activity Heading Savings Proposal
Indicative Savings £m
15 Establish Community Health & Social Care Partnerships with NHS Highland
Move towards integrated management of health and care 0.250
16 Community Care Learning
Disability Support Work provision
Review in – house support services for learning disabilities at Cradlehall, Inverness 0.035
18 Learning Disability Day Care Review of day care facility at Beachview, Brora. 0.069
19 Learning Disability Day Care Review learning disability day care service provision at Tigh na Drochaidh 0.020
20 Community Care Establishments
Review Raasay Day Centre 0.014
22 Care at Home Consider tender for all home care (public sector process involving comparator – phased approach) 1.000
23 Orchard Cease providing residential care at Orchard and downsize provision. Restrict the service to short breaks. 0.150
24 Top slice of fostering & adoption budget
Top slice of fostering & adoption budget 0.100
28 Children & Families Overnight provision in Children’s Units 0.100
31 Care Homes Review of all LA care home provision, to ensure best value tbc
35 Day Care Review Older People’s Day Care at Tigh na Drochaid, Portree 0.065
36 Childrens Services Review Staffin respite unit 0.130
Total 1.933
SW
Savings Proposals for Consultation 2011/12 – 2012/13 Annex 1
TECS
Ref. Activity Heading Savings Proposal
Indicative Savings £m
16 Service Review of overall staffing structure 0.075
18 Service Review all income streams. 0.300
20 Roads & Community Works Review standards of cyclic road maintenance. 0.400
21 Roads & Community Works Review standards of grounds maintenance. 0.500
22 Roads & Community Works Use contractors to replace seasonal staff employed on grounds maintenance. 0.050
23 Roads & Community Works Bught Nursery – examine option to procure plant material from external providers. 0.100
24 Roads & Community Works Review standards of street cleaning. 0.500
25 Roads & Community Works Review provision (numbers) of public toilets. 0.200
26 Roads & Community Works Review Pest Control function 0.095
27 Roads & Community Works Remove budget for unadopted roads. 0.050
28 Roads & Community Works
Business Support
Review the burial administration function for Inverness,
Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey Area. 0.020
32 Waste Management Review level of grant to Social Enterprise Groups. 0.050
33 Transport & Infrastructure Review level of service for street lighting. 0.500
34 Transport & Infrastructure Replace external contractors with internal staff (internal transfer from Roads and Community Works to Street Lighting). 0.050
35 Transport & Infrastructure Review levels of subsidies for public transport. 0.500
36 Transport & Infrastructure Review level of grants to Community Transport Schemes 0.050
37 Transport & Infrastructure Review long term arrangements for the Corran Ferry. 0.150
38 Transport & Infrastructure Review Materials Testing Laboratory. 0.050
39 Transport & Infrastructure Review airstrips. 0.026
40A Environmental Health Review staffing level for Environmental Health. 0.060
40B Trading Standards Review staffing level for Trading Standards. 0.060
42 Business Support Review provision of vehicle workshops including options for amalgamation. 0.050
43 Business Support Review provision of materials stores including options for external provision. 0.075
44 Business Support Review business processes. 0.040
TECS
Ref. Activity Heading Savings Proposal
Indicative Savings £m
45 Roads & Community Works Review temporary mortuary facilities at Glen Nevis, Fort William. 0.005
Total 3.956
TECS
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LibDems and other parties defeat Conservative motion to help Highland people – Scotland
I was totally shocked to hear that a Conservative motion was defeated by the LibDems and other parties to a motion put forward by Conservative MSP Mary Scanlon to use badly needed funds to assist local people in the Highlands and Islands.
The rate of registrations for Highlands and Islands NHS is a mere 50.7% which is a shockingly low rate of registrations and this money could have been put to good use for local people across the area.
If this is the sheer contempt that the SNP, Labour and LibDems have for the Highlands then I would urge people to remember this betrayal of their health interests at the coming General Election.
Jim Ferguson
Conservative move to treat 27,000 new dental patients and scrap SNP dental propaganda is defeated
A Conservative motion aimed at annulling the £2.4m annual cost of allowing patients to remain registered with a dentist forever, regardless of whether they have ever been treated, has been rejected by other parties at Health Committee.
£2.4m would be enough to fund at least 20 more dentists, which means an extra 27,000 patients could have been treated
Mary Scanlon MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing, says:
“At a cost of two and half million pounds every year, the SNP Government wants to allow the names of patients to remain registered with a dentist for ever – even if that patient hasn’t turned up for years or hasn’t turned up at all. By contrast, if my annulment had been accepted this morning, at least 20 new dentists could have been funded and 27,000 extra patients treated.
“This £2.4 million a year is there just to make the SNP Government look better. It allows the SNP to trumpet that more and more patients are being registered with dentists – but it doesn’t mean any more patients are being treated by dentists.
“NHS dentists in Scotland warn that this change will undermine the importance of regular check ups, and most alarmingly of all, they warn this change will increase the chances of serious conditions such as mouth cancer going undetected.
“I am astonished that the other opposition parties have also voted to put SNP propaganda ahead of patient care. We need to scrap this pointless and costly measure as soon as we can.”
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Fuel prices set to rocket – Highland business at serious risk Scotland UK
Business and hard pressed people across the Highlands face even greater hardship due to fuel prices that are set to soar. Some estimates suggest that the more rural parts of scotland will face prices of around £1.30 per litre.
This is totally unacceptable and as if we wern’t facing enough problems this latest bombshell may see more and more people struggling to cope. How will penshioners manage to heat their homes ? The fact that the vast majority of the cost is tax that goes straight into the Labour Governments pockets is scandalous when they can see the pressure that people are already under thanks to Labours recession.
And what of the LibDem MP Danny Alexander. What will he do ? Not much. Not much a minority party MP like him can do anyway.
This general election will give the people of the Highlands an opportunity to elect an MP who will be able to deliver.
If the country is fortunate enough to elect a Conservative Government then I as the MP for this region will be in a far stronger position to bring real help and support to the people of the Highlands of Scotland instead of the empty weak words of the Liberals who can only whine and wring their hands in helplessness.
Jim Ferguson
Petrol Price Woe For Drivers As Costs Soar
4:28pm UK, Tuesday March 16, 2010
James Jordan, Sky News Online
Petrol prices could reach an eye-watering 120p per litre later this year, the AA is warning.
The organisation is claiming that unleaded fuel could even top the price, equivalent to £5.41 a gallon, and Alistair Darling is being urged to delay the introduction of a planned 3p increase in petrol duty due to come in on April 1.
AA president Edmund King said: “The UK is barely out of recession, yet petrol prices threaten to rise to record prices seen during the boom of 2008 – shortly before the collapse into recession.
“If families, drivers on fixed incomes and those on low pay were unable to cope with record prices then, they are even less likely now.”
AA research found an average family with two cars is paying £52 a month more to fill up now than a year ago.
Motorists are being legally mugged at the forecourt by petrol companies.
Lindsay Hoyle, Labour MP on the Commons business select committee
The average petrol price in the UK is 115.9p for a litre of unleaded and 116.6p for a litre of diesel.
Even if the 3p increase is withdrawn, the price paid by drivers could soon hit 120p a litre – £5.41 a gallon – according to the organisation.
This would overtake the previous high of 119.7p of July 2008.
The AA said the price increases were caused by the rise in the price of wholesale gasoline since the end of January.
Lindsay Hoyle, the senior Labour MP on the Commons business select committee, said it was “a complete disgrace”.
He told the Daily Telegraph: “Yes, crude oil has gone up this year, but nothing like the rise in petrol prices. Motorists are being legally mugged at the forecourt by petrol companies.”
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Unite Union has an unhealthy grip of Labour
Charlie Whelan’s new militant tendency
Tuesday, March 16 2010
Michael Gove has spoken about “Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency” in a speech setting out how dependent the Labour Party is on Unite – Britain’s biggest trade union.
His speech marked the launch of a new document that shines a light on how Unite has taken advantage of Labour’s near bankruptcy and the departure of Tony Blair to gain an unprecedented grip on the party.
Under the political direction of Charlie Whelan, Unite is using its financial and organisation muscle to drive government policy and build a Labour Party very different to the one that appealed to Middle England and won three general elections. Instead, with Gordon Brown as leader, there has been a reversal of much-needed public service reforms, a return to industrial militancy and a regression into atavistic class war rhetoric.
“There can be few more powerful forces of conservatism opposed to the flexibility, freedom and choice of the post-bureaucratic age than the Whelanist Tendency now in control of the Labour party”, Gove said.
“Labour’s re-unionisation has put them in bed with the past at a time when it is crucial that this country wakes up to the future.”
The document sets out in detail the way in which, in the three years since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, Unite has spent more than £11 million of its members’ money on buying influence within the Labour Party.
This extends from placing a key union operative inside 10 Downing Street to taking effective control of many cash-strapped constituency Labour parties and installing Unite activists and officials as prospective Parliamentary candidates.
Gove said that “the last thing we need is a political system where genuine participation in democracy is out-muscled by union power”.
“This election will decide the future of this country and Labour represents a move backwards, not forwards”, he added.
Read Michael Gove’s speech in full
You can read our dossier on “Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency” in the document reader below, or alternatively click here to download a copy in PDF format.
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For the sake of the British people we must get rid of this Labour Government UK
The biggest risk for Britain is five more years of Gordon Brown
Wednesday, March 10 2010
William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, has argued that the biggest risk for Britain is five more years of Gordon Brown.
Speaking to the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, he said that ”our ability to undertake economic modernisation will be critical to Britain’s future influence”.
“When capital, labour and technology are increasingly mobile we cannot stand still”, he said. “That is why James Dyson’s report about how we can give more weight to science and technology in our economy is so welcome”.
“That is why our proposals on business taxation are oriented towards attracting and maintaining investment, why our programme of education reform explicitly draws from best practice across the globe, from Alberta to Sweden to Singapore, to ensure we make the most of every young person’s talent in the future.”
Hague warned that the modernisation our economy needs is not guaranteed. “If our opponents’ mistaken arguments and mistaken principles prevailed Britain will move backwards towards a ’70s style model, with a bigger say for the trade unions who want to impose rigidity and unaffordable regulation across the public and private sector. The bridge will be drawn up against innovation and investment.”
He also warned that Labour is no longer “the outward-looking thinking of the late 1990s”, but that it’s taking “an explicitly old-fashioned Left approach” – particularly in selecting candidates who are ”hardened union activists with a track record in resisting modernisation”.
Hague said Gordon Brown was right to refer to the economy being “at a crossroads” in a speech he gave today. “We could continue with five more years of his debt, waste and taxes. We know where that would lead – just yesterday an international credit rating agency warned that Labour’s plans would result in the loss of our credit rating. ”
“That would be a catastrophe for our economy and for our reputation around the world”, he said.
“So the biggest risk for Britain is five more years of Gordon Brown. The alternative is to change direction, deal with our debts more quickly and restore confidence in our economy. A new Conservative Government will be a chance to send the signal far and wide that Britain is once again open for business.”
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