City Council Rejects Recommendations from Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland

At the City Council meeting last night I was pleased to support the motion brought forward by the leader of the Administration, Councillor Ken Guild. His motion instructed the Chief Executive to write to the Minister for Local Government in the Scottish Parliament and urge him to reject proposals to increase Councillor numbers and change ward boundaries in Dundee. These discredited proposals are contained in the report to Scottish Government Ministers from the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland.

Here is the statement of support I made to the Council:

"Lord Provost since we last discussed this issue, as we all know, the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland has reported to Scottish Government Ministers. Very disappointingly they appear to have completely disregarded the most recent communication from the City Council about retaining the existing number of Councillors and Ward Boundaries in the City.

In fact, it would appear by the date recorded in the Boundary Commissioners' Report that this was in advance of the meeting of the City Council’s Policy and Resources Committee when we considered and responded almost immediately to their enquiry to the Council. A significant number of my constituents are aggrieved that their representations, like those of the Council at our last meeting, have been brushed aside.

Clearly however, the decision is now with Ministers in the Scottish Government and by law they are able to adopt, reject or amend the recommendations from the Local Government Boundary Commission as well as instruct the Commission to undertake a local inquiry.

Accordingly, I am supportive of the Motion to communicate to the Minister for Local Government in the Scottish Government in the strongest possible terms that he should reject the recommendations from the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland that apply to our City  and retain the status quo in relation to the number of Elected Members on the Council and the current Ward Boundaries. The huge number of objections from residents in the Ferry Ward especially in the West Ferry sector demonstrate how important community identity in Broughty Ferry is and should be respected."

The motion was supported unanimously. It is good that the Council is now speaking with one voice on this issue.


My constituents in West Ferry who are determined they want to stay in Ward 8 The Ferry should not however assume that the Council's letter will do the trick on its own. I recommend that they also communicate their point of view to the Minister for Local Government and Housing in the Scottish Government, Kevin Stewart MSP, and copy in Shona Robison the MSP for Dundee City East and also a member of the Cabinet. 

Any comments on the report or the recommendations must be submitted to the Kevin Stewart by 7th July, 2016. 

Kevin Stewart MSP
Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
Tel: 0300 244 4000
Email: scottish.ministers@gov.scot

Shona Robison MSP
Constituency Office
8 Old Glamis Road
Dundee 
DD3 8HP
Phone: 01382 903210
Email: dundee@shona.robison.scot

Better Budget Management by SNP Government Ministers Could Have Avoided Cuts in Schools Last Year

Click on image to enlarge

SNP Ministers at Holyrood underspent by almost half a billion pounds in 2013-14, according to a final out-turn report lodged at the Scottish Parliament the day after MSPs left for their Christmas holidays.

The government had £444 million left over from its £34.5bn budget last year, or 1.3 per cent of the total. This was the first time that an underspend had exceeded £350 million since the SNP came to power in 2007.

The underspend is usually less than one per cent. To get this into perspective, the projected underspend in the 20014/15 accounts for Dundee City Council is £45,000 (Dundee City Council, Policy and Resources Committee, 12 January 2014 - Revenue Monitoring Report). According to the Director of Corporate Services this represents 0.01% of the Council's net Revenue Budget for 2014/15. At a national level, the underspend by SNP ministers was proportionately 130 times larger. 

What a pity that these government ministers could not be as vigilant in deploying the cash that is available? 

Although the £444m will still be available for use this financial year, it means public services missed out unnecessarily on better funding in the last financial year.

The table above shows that, £165 million of the £444 million underspend by the Scottish Government in financial year 2013/14 was within the education budget. These were resources that could have poured into schools.

Across Scotland there are 4,000 fewer teachers in Scotland since the Nationalists took over and, in breach of their promise, primary school class sizes are bigger now not smaller. 

That £165m underspend on education was enough to employ 4,459 teachers, so they could have cancelled out their education cuts.

Commenting on Ministerial Visit to New Harris Academy Building Site Thursday 27 March 2014

I am disappointed to learn that Alasdair Allan the Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages only scheduled hinself for a half hour visit to a Dundee secondary school yesterday. Clearly he was not likely to meet many pupils and teachers going to visit the building site of the new Harris Academy for what appeared to be little more than a photo opportunity. 

Far from patting himself on the back for eventually allocating funding towards the much delayed rebuilding of Harris Academy, I think he should have been taking more time in Dundee to meet teachers from our Secondary Schools and parents and carers whose children in S4 classes are soon to sit their examinations. I think they would want to know how he and his government is responding to the mounting concerns about the flawed introduction of the new National 4 and 5 examinations. 

In addition, many parents and carers remain opposed to the extension of the Broad General Education to S3 and through this leaving only one year for preparation for the new examinations. This narrows the curriculum in S4 by limiting pupils' choices to six subjects.

Dundee expects more than this from a Government Education Minister.

Pollution Warning as Cedar Road Flooding Returns

Flooding at the southern end on Cedar Road returned after the rainfall on Monday 23 December. 

As you can see the flooding is quite extensive lapping over the footways and right across the road extending to a length of 30 metres.

In addition to the hazard the flood creates, especially for pedestrians, the murky water contains an unhealthy mixture of sewage and rainwater. When the water level eventually subsides, there is a disgusting residue of sewage. I have received complaints on behalf of the owners of properties on both sides of this section of Cedar Road. These include penetrating damp into the stonework of a house built into the boundary wall, water damage to a driveway and sewage residues deposited on garden ground. 

While Scottish Water organise a clean up of the mess when notified, they have no current plans to increase the capacity of the drainage system to cope with heavy downpours. They lamely say that their current investment plans rigidly focus on other priorities set by Ministers in the Scottish Government. I think it's time that Shona Robison, our MSP for Dundee City East and a Minister in the Scottish Government, used her influence to get these investment plans modified. There must be many other locations in other parts of the city and elsewhere which have similar problems that need a long term fix.

Acknowledgment that the photograph above was taken by David Hewick, a Broughty Ferry Community Councillor.

Planned Merger of Dundee and Angus Colleges Can't Distract from SNP Cuts in Further Education

Saving money by merging colleges like Dundee College with Angus College in November this year may sound fine on paper, but we know Audit Scotland is doubtful whether the estimated savings from college mergers will actually materialise. I hope for the sake of students that they do, otherwise our college students will continue to pay the price for the sector being the poor cousin to the Universities under the SNP.

These mergers have been rushed through by the SNP in a desperate attempt to try to reduce the impact of their £50 million cut to the budgets of the Further Education Colleges throughout Scotland.

The name of a college and it’s management structure are minor issues when compared to how our colleges serve their communities. They now have far fewer places for adult learners and adults over 25 wanting to retrain full or part time. College staffing numbers have been reduced along with courses, leaving many young Scots on waiting lists unable to get a place.

It is therefore understandable that Mike Russell MSP, the SNP's Cabinet Secretary for Education, wants to divert attention away from his college cuts. Shiny new name plates and logos can’t disguise the dramatic cuts our further education sector has suffered. Unfortunately, for many prospective students, a Further Education College is less likely now to provide the place to go to learn new skills and retrain.

Rising Demand for Renewable Energy in Dundee Could Drive More Land Grabs in Developing Countries

Wood pellets for fuel

Rising demand for wood fuel worldwide, including in the UK, is helping to increase the number of foreign-owned plantations in developing countries, at the cost of food security, according to a new report from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

According to the report, projected demand for wood chips and pellets in the UK is likely to exceed - by five or six times - the indigenous supply of ten million tonnes a year.

This adds weight to the arguments against the proposed biomass power station in the Dundee Docks. The developers of that plant claim they will source their supplies from the Baltic and North America. The map below shows that already the growing demand for biomass supplies from countries in the north is extending to sourcing from countries in the south; encroaching on agricultural land and reducing food supplies where there is already food insecurity. 

Land areas under known tree plantations wholly or partly for biomass energy in the global South.

I hope SNP ministers in the Scottish Government will bear this in mind when they come to make the final decision about whether to approve this power station or not. While we already know about the health risks of those that will live downwind of this plant, this report from IIED makes it clear that the health risks will also be borne in developing countries through increased food prices and food scarcity.

A biomass power station in Dundee is neither healthy or sustainable for Scotland nor for countries where we will eventually end up sourcing the wood pellet supply.