Deafening Silence from Director of Social Work, Social Work Convener and Older People's Champion in the City on Southern Cross Care Home Crisis

On Wednesday Southern Cross Healthcare Group, who run four care homes in Dundee, announced 3000 compulsory redundancies to be spread throughout their UK operations. On Thursday there was speculation that some of these care homes may shut down or be taken over by other private care home companies. As the crisis in the Southern Cross Healthcare Group deepens, many families will be worried about the future of their loved ones who are residents at the four care homes Southern Cross run in Dundee.

I have already been approached by one of my constituents who is concerned about the adequacy of care at the Pitkerro Road Care Centre, because it is hard not to believe that staff redundancies will mean there are fewer staff and therefore reduced levels of care. Not only will all these homes be coping with fewer staff, but doubts about a potential change of ownership and loss of employment may also undermine staff morale. 

The residents of these homes are some of the most vulnerable in the city and it's because they need care and protection they are in such establishments. In the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, Labour's Jackie Baillie called for the appointment of an national champion for older people to promote the rights of older people and to help sort out this mess. She also called for the SNP's cut to be reversed in the budgets of the new organisations that inspect care home establishments. But here is Dundee we already have an Older People's Champion for the City - Councillor Ken Lynn, and a Convener of Social Work - Councillor Jim Barrie and a Director of Social Work. Why has there been a deafening silence from them? I think it is time they publicly acknowledged this potential crisis in care and let us know their contingency plans if the Southern Cross Healthcare Group collapses.

V &A Exhibition of Cecil Beaton Royal Portraits at McManus Galleries from 30 September

This autumn visitors to the McManus Galleries will be able to enjoy a unique preview of an exhibition of photographic portraits, many previously unpublished, of the Queen by Cecil Beaton. This exhibition, curated by the V&A as part of the celebrations to mark the Monarch's Diamond Jubilee, will run from September 30 to January 8 in Dundee before transferring to the V&A in London. This is the first in a series of partnership projects between the McManus and the V&A as part of the run-up to the establishment of the V&A in Dundee.

Footpath Upgrading in Broughty Ferry

I am delighted that the Council's programme of adopting footpaths is continuing this year and that the following pavements in The Ferry will be upgraded:

Belsize Road

Albany Road - North footway between Fairfield Road and Grove Road

Deepdale Place

Ferndale Drive

Invermark Terrace

Navarre Street

I have been informed by the City Development Department of the Council that,

'it is expected that the work will commence on these schemes on a phased basis starting approximately one month from now once the actual programming of the works has been discussed and agreed with Tayside Contracts as part of the Roads Maintenance Partnership.'

I know that the residents in these streets will be particularly pleased when their pavements are brought up to standard. This will not only improve the underfoot conditions on the pavements concerned but also mean pedestrians are not tempted to walk in the road when the pavements are like a quagmire.

Councillor Expenses Published

Earlier today, Dundee City Council published details of all Councillors' salaries and expenses during financial year April 2010 - March 2011. You can look at the table of expenses and salary costs here.

You will see that I have taken the basic nationally agreed salary for Councillors of £16,233.96. In addition the council has paid £150.39 for my mobile phone and £10 per month towards the cost of my home land line and internet. I have also been reimbursed £173.60 mileage costs in connection with attending several training events put on by the local government Improvement Service. I do not claim travel expenses for attending any community or council meetings in Dundee. My mobile phone bill has increased this year because Councillors are now provided with smart phones which have higher costs.

If you have any questions about my expenses please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

New Road Temporary Closure for Gas Supply Works 23 - 25 May

THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of new gas supply works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in New Road, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.

This notice comes into effect on Monday 23 May 2011 for 3 working days.

Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

Access for residents will be maintained where possible.

Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Brook Street/St Vincent Street/King Street.

For further information contact (01382) 433168.

Mike P Galloway
Director of City Development
Dundee City Council

Dundee Road East Bound (from Ralston Road to Ellieslea Road)Temporary Closure for Resurfacing - From Tuesday 10 May

THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of carriageway surface dressing works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in an eastbound direction in Dundee Road (from Ralston Road to Ellieslea Road), Dundee.

This notice comes into effect on Tuesday 10 May 2011 for 5 working days.

Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Craigie Place/Craigie Drive/Strathern Road/Ellieslea Road.

For further information contact (01382) 433168.

Mike P Galloway
Director of City Development
Dundee City Council

Step Out - It's National Walk to Work Week 9-13 May

Next week, 

from 9-13 May, 
is 

National Walk to Work Week 

- the ideal time to give walking a go. 

An easy form of exercise requiring no special equipment, walking can be fitted in on your way to or from work, at lunchtime or throughout the day.

Walking will:

• tone you up
• trim you down
• help keep your heart healthy
• save on petrol or bus fares
• help the environment

More information on Walk to Work Week 

BERA 30th Annual General Meeting

Last night I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Broughty Ferry Educational and Recreation Association (BERA). 

The Chairperson of BERA, Ron Moodie, reported on the programme of evening classes in the Ferry which the association has run over the past year. BERA have in fact been running a evening classes in the Ferry for 30 years. Their longevity as a organisation indicates both enduring community support for their classes as well as the determination and persistence of a relatively small group of volunteers to keep their organisation going. Their close association with Grove Academy, where they run most of their classes, was emphasised last night when their AGM was held in the staff room, and Head Teacher, John Hunter, attended to say his farewells as he is retiring at the end of the Summer Term.

Looking forward, BERA anticipates making use of the sports hall at the old Grove which will be available for community use from the Autumn as part of the 'new' Eastern Primary School. They are also reviewing their approach to enrolment.

Well done BERA.

Future Organisiation of Policing in Scotland - Response from Tayside Joint Police Board

At the continued meeting of the Tayside Police Board on Monday, the SNP group of Councillors had promised to flesh out their arguments for opting for four police boards instead of the current eight. This was an integral part of their proposed response  to the Scottish Government's 'A Consultation on The Future Organisation of Policing in Scotland'. 

Unfortunately, their sketchy proposal attracted most votes. As a consequence the board's response to the Scottish Government will feature a viewpoint that is neither fish nor fowl. This is because a reduction of eight forces to four police forces in Scotland will neither produce the back office savings required to save front line policing nor will its stretched geographical boundaries be capable of keeping the police close to communities and elected members. It was also unfortunate that these Councillors were so lacking in argument and evidence in putting forward their motion. Perhaps this was why they wanted the press and public excluded from the meeting.

Constituents in Dundee should be reassured that the Dundee Labour Councillors on the Joint Police Board will be vigilant in the months ahead when the next Scottish Government legislates for the reorganization of policing in Scotland. We will continue to advocate for a single police force in Scotland in the belief that this will deliver administrative and management savings which will ensure that current levels of front line policing can be left unscathed despite cuts in policing budgets. Furthermore, we believe that local accountability can enhanced by the development of local authority wide so called 'blue light' committees to cover police and fire services.

SNP Report Card - 5 Major Broken Promises from their 2007 Manifesto

Five headline promises broken by the SNP in government 2007-11

• cutting class sizes to 18 for P1-P3 pupils
  - no progress made in Broughty Ferry primary schools
• replacing council tax with a local income tax
  - dropped but making a come back in their 2011 manifesto
• writing off student debt
  - no help for students who had already completed their degrees
• providing a £3000 grant for first time buyers
  - quietly dropped
• matching Labour's PPP school building brick for brick
  - SNP led Holyrood government did not fund a single brick to be laid at any new schools in Dundee and then claimed credit for schools built with local government funding

Dundee Education Convener Confirms that the SNP have no Plans for New Schools in the City Beyond Labour's Blueprint

In an article in the Dundee Courier on Wednesday,  Education Convener Liz Fordyce confirmed that the SNP have no plans for new schools in the City beyond the plans that Labour initiated during 2007/9 when they they led the coalition running the council.

During my time as Education Convener, I brought forward plans for a Council funded programme of school building which comprised six new schools. This included a replacement Kingspark School, a replacement Primary School in Whitfield and replacement joint campus Primary Schools in the West End and Lochee - Charleston. During this time, a feasibility study was also carried out on the refurbishment or the replacement of Harris Academy. 

This followed Labour's Scottish Government funded Public Private Partnership (PPP) school building programme that built 2 secondary schools (Grove and St Paul's) and six primary schools and nurseries (Claypotts Castle, Downfield, Craigowl, Rowantree, Fintry and St Andrew's). 

Liz Fordyce said:

"It was impossible for the council to commit to building more new schools beyond those already programmed because of the difficult financial climate."

Significantly, she did not mention her party's broken promises on a largely government funded school building. In their May 2007 manifesto for the Holyrood elections, the SNP claimed that they would 'match Labour's PPP programme brick for brick'. While the financial crisis began in summer 2009, it doesn't explain the two wasted years while her party running the Holyrood government and not commissioning one new school.

I think Liz Fordyce's statement extinguishes hope for the those schools waiting their turn for refurbishment or replacement in Dundee. In my own constituency in the Ferry, I think this puts paid to any hope of the SNP bringing forward plans for a refurbishment and extension of Barhill Primary School.

Mayday March and Rally Friday 29 April Assemble 11:30 Hilltown Park

West End Schools' Progress - Slow, Quick-Quick Slow

At the Education Committee tonight, members will be asked to approve the tender for the building for the replacement West End Primary Schools. This will bring together St Joseph's Primary School and Park Place Primary School and Nursery School onto a shared campus on the former Logie Secondary School site on Blackness Road.

This is most welcome step in building new schools in the city. In two years time,

children in the catchment areas of both schools will enjoy state of the art school buildings and facilities that are fit for the 21st century. It also another important milestone in the Council financed school building programme which was initiated while Labour led the Council 2007/9. This was part of the capital plan which the Labour led administration bequeathed for the city. In the two years since the SNP have run the council, significantly they have not added any major school building projects to the Council's Capital Plan when it has been reviewed. Indeed, at the last meeting of the Education Committee, they refused to bring forward a feasibility study on extending and refurbishing Barnhill Primary School.

While progress has been significant with improving the West End primary schools, I wish we could see more progress with the replacement of Harris Academy. Unfortunately, this has been quagmired in the delays by the Scottish Government's Scottish Future's Trust. The SNP promised in May 2007 that they would match Labour's Public Private Partnership government funded school building programme 'brick for brick' and find a cheaper way to procure new schools. Unfortunately their recipe for cheaper procurement did not work. It seems that the Scottish Future's Trust is aptly named only ever talking about things that remain tantalisingly in the future. Readers may remember that Joe Fitzpatrick MSP Dundee West went on Newsnight Scotland and promised that Harris Academy would be rebuilt by the elections next month. Not only has this scheme not progressed even to a start on site, but the SNP's Scottish Future's Trust has yet to build even one school in Scotland let alone one in Dundee. If we are to avoid two tier set of school buildings in Dundee, we need a continuing programme of school building and school refurbishment in the city.

This is a time for parents and carers as well as teachers to distinguish between rhetoric and reality. They should be able to clearly see who is responsible for progress in school rebuilding in the West End; who is responsible for the quicks and who for the slows.

Scottish Labour's Pledge Card Holyrood Elections May 2011

Barnhill Primary School Extension and Refurbishment Blocked

At the Education Committee on Monday 28 March, Councillor Ken Guild Leader of the Council and also a Ferry Councillor, led moves to block the extension and refurbishment of Barnhill Primary School.

I had formally

asked the Education Committee to agree to the preparation of a feasibility study for the extension and refurbishment of Barnhill Primary School with a report back to Committee by November 2011. This was supported by evidence of rising numbers of parental requests for places in P1, accommodation in the school under pressure, a nursery accommodated in huts and many more planning permissions pending for new homes in the school's catchment area. There was also £5 million already earmarked for Barnhill Primary School in the Council's capital plan for future development.

Despite the support of three out of the four Ferry Councillors, the

Education Convener Councillor Fordyce amendment was voted through for the Director of Education "to carry out an extensive review of the whole Schools and Nurseries Estate in Dundee. This will include all schools and nurseries in the West End of the City, Central and Eastern areas, schools North and South of the Kingsway and all of Broughty Ferry, in order to achieve a complete picture of how we can provide the best possible educational facilities for the children of Dundee." This review, we were told, will be brought back to the Education Committee by the end of November.

I shall continue to advocate the development of public services in Broughty Ferry so that schools and other services have the capacity to meet the needs of our rising population arising from new housing developments.