Pairc wind farm

Two interesting pieces of news about renewable energy come the week before the Comhairle holds a special meeting to consider the Pairc application.

Firstly, the BBC reports that "Wind farms 'not in windy places'" which basically criticises the building of wind farms in the relative clam calm of England, and criticises the failure to connect the windiest bits to the grid. Regardless of your particular view on wind farms, it is clear that there is a major failure to have a coherent energy policy, and the Government are blaming the 'market', when they should be taking control of the situation and making decisions.

Secondly, Hebrides News reports that the Pairc community is to oppose the plans, on the back of a surprising low turnout in a local ballot. Whether this is because of the impact of recent Court decision on interposed leases turning the community against the scheme, as they won't get their share, or if it is an underlying opposition is impossible to tell. I guess the former, as the community wind farm seemed to have community support.

I'll restate my position on this application, which is that it should be recommended for approval subject to two vitally important considerations:
* A proper and acceptable level of community benefit, and
* The cumulative impact of the three applications is such that no more than two of them should be approved.

As I have also said previously, the expectation/threat/promise from the Scottish Executive and their sock-puppets that there will be a PLI on this application gives the applicant absolutely no incentive to negotiate with the community, meaning a worse result for everyone.

Tax planning

Tax avoidance is legal; tax evasion is illegal.

Anyone who is self-employed or has other sources of income knows just how much grief the small taxpayer can get from the Inland Revenue.

It will bring joy and glad to your heart to hear that according to the National Audit Office report almost 1/3 of the largest business in the UK pay no tax.

That's right. Nothing. Not a penny.

And more than that, the Inland Revenue seem content with the situation....
The taxman was quick to rubbish claims that large companies were not playing fair.

‘It is ridiculous to suggest that business does not pay its fair share of tax. Businesses are using the capital allowances and deductions that government has put in place. ‘These are not loopholes ­ but are properly policed business reliefs,’ an HMRC spokesman said.

How can this happen? I've previously explained how New International pay no tax in the UK, and it seems that Labour's fawning approach to large business has allowed the multi-nationals to write the legislation is such a way that they can exploit the loopholes they author and avoid a UK tax liability.

Clearly the balance has shifted too far, and it's about time that Labour remember their redistributionist and socialist heritage and stop pandering to the global financiers.

House prices

We are told that the Western Isles is the most affordable place in which to buy a house, with average house prices of £110,015 or 4.3 times income.

Nice, but meaningless.

And wrong.

According to HIE, average earnings in the Highland and Islands are £304.60 per week or £15,839.20 per annum, and as that includes Inverness, the average earnings in the Western Isles will be much lower and have been estimated at around £12,000. That implies a ratio of at least 9 times earnings, which makes us one of the most expensive places in the UK.

But the scandal in this is not that house prices are high, but that earnings are low. I have repeatedly argued that we should be aspiring to earning AT LEAST the Scottish average of over £18,000, or 50% higher than it is at present. If politicians want to make a difference to the islands, their success (or failure) can be measured by average incomes, and it requires a seismic shift to bring us close to what we should expect.

Share your ideas with us, boys?

Schools latest

A copy of Fiona Hyslop's letter to the Comhairle is here and here.

One Councillor described the intervention of the Minister as "inept", and reading through the letter I can see what he means.

The frosty letter implies that there may be grounds for rationalisation of the schools on the grounds of falling rolls, the PPP project and deteriorating schools, but none arise from the Curriculum for Excellence.

Er, yes, and?

Does that mean the schools should be kept open or not? We'll never know as, somewhat inconveniently, Ms Hyslop doesn't let us know what her view is. Last Thursday Mr Allan said, "There's strong support in the Western Isles for junior secondaries, and I'll be making the case for their retention." Can anyone tell us just how he made this case, as both himself and Mr MacNeil have both disappeared without trace on this issue.

The second page adds nothing to the party, with the repeated promise to find potential cost reductions (ie. cuts in the amenities in the new schools) as previously promised by John Swinney on 13 August was a bit more helpful and explicit, viz;

The Cabinet Secretary reiterated his view that the Comhairle’s hybrid model was at a stage too advanced to abandon at present, and that the Comhairle’s SPV model was very close to the Government’s proposals for “independent but still public sector” bodies such as the Scottish Futures Trust. The Comhairle has been promised intense support by the Cabinet Secretary’s officials regarding reducing the costs and complexity of the SPV, and he gave a commitment to allow re-profiling of the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) which would give a potential benefit to the Comhairle of £2m. He considers, with some justification, that the SPV model will be of service to the Comhairle in other, non-education, developments in future.

Although I'm not sure how this ties in with suggestion (since withdrawn?) by our MSP that all the plans for schools should be looked at again.

As for the last paragraph of the letter, I am unable to understand her tortuous English. Ms Hyslop seems to imply that the new build needs to go ahead regardless of anything else, and that she is surprised that the (closure?) plans have been under consideration since 2002. Perhaps if Mr Allan and Mr MacNeil had any kind of working relationship with the Comhairle, she might have had some answers rather than have to flaunt her ignorance.

School (non) closures

Update 28/8 9am: The decision was overturned by the full Council, and I am awaiting some more inside information to update the posting. One correction, the letter referred to below came from Fiona Hyslop and not Alasdair Allan.

-----

So the Councillors ducked the decision to close schools, and sought further meetings with the Scottish Executive.

Was this the triumph of electoral self-interest over rational decision making?

Or are there more facts about the decision that came late and affected the domain?

Just what was in the letter from our MSP to the Councillors?

And where are the cuts to be made to pay for this decision?

Answers to all these questions and more to follow.....

School closures

The final version of the report that is going to the Comhairle this week is now available here.

I think that it clearly lays out the difficult options in front of the department, as just how they have come to the decision, which is largely about the inability to deliver the new curriculum for Secondary 1-3 in the existing buildings.

For me the key element was given in paragraph 16.1, which I reproduce below:

Although a small number of Headteachers were positive about a possible move to an S1-3 structure provided the additional resource was made available, some Headteachers had broader educational concerns about a whole scale move to S1-3 provision in the current S1-2 schools. These included:

• The feasibility of providing meaningful choice with such small rolls.

• The lack of social interaction and group dynamics in small groupings.

• Insufficient personal challenge for the more able pupils.

• The adequacy of preparation for certification from S4.

• The view that while many parents have been supportive of their children remaining within their own communities for S1-2, there were doubts that parents and pupils would wish to continue in the school for a further year.

Although the report by itself doesn't have all the information, and I have the benefit of some knowledge gained from my eight years in the Council, I think the recommendations make sense
as the way forward. However, I still think that the schools PPP is going to prove to be a millstone around the neck in years to come.

I was reminded that I have previously commented on school rolls, and the threat to schools unless there was a miraculous growth in population, and that I specifically made comments on this when we were discussing the windfarms which featured in the Gazette and Grampian TV IIRC. I was told I was scaremongering, and the schools were safe.

Little did any of us know....

The constituency under threat

Some 'news' in the Stornoway Gazette about this issue.

As regular readers will know, I raised this issue in early July.

The game is already a bogey on this one, simply because as soon as the Boundary Commission were instructed to start work the framework became unchangeable. In a spectacular piece of incomprehension, Alasdair Allan said, "It would be impossible to merge the Western Isles with another seat". It's not about merging! The seats are going to be cut up and rebundled to 'balance' up the voter numbers.

The game was probably up in 1998 when the legislation mentioned Orkney and Shetland by name, and this was compounded when the 2004 Act went through, omitting the Western Isles.

In the 1970's when this was last raised, the Western Isles SNP and the Skye SNP joined together to oppose the proposals, successfully. This time the only escape is going to be if the Secretary of State for Scotland (Douglas Alexander) vetos the plans. As this gives him the chance to hurt the person who started the "Cash for Honours" fiasco, what do you think he will do?

Angus MacNeil seeks to blame those who were in Parliament in 1998 for not doing more. Perhaps someone can find any reference by any political party to the Western Isles constituency when this was being debated. I can't, at present, but I do vaguely remember it being raised at the time. Perhaps Angus MacNeil should have done something to remedy this omission over the past two years, rather than rely on the unlikely goodwill of the Labour Party.

Calling in

Word reaches me that the Comhairle are appalled at our MP and MSP campaigning against the school restructuring.

I understand that senior Councillors and Officers are disgusted that they have attacked the Council discussion on the future of education in the Western Isles, instead of working with the Comhairle to campaign for increased resources to keep the schools open. "They ignore the Council, and work for the their party", said a very senior individual.

This comes on top of repeated failures of the representatives to keep in touch with the Comhairle. When I was there, Mr MacNeil repeatedly refused to meet with the Convener, Vice-Convener and Chief Executive to be appraised of the plans for renewable energy, and it took over six months and a threat before he deigned to come in. Even then, he sneaked in at short notice, and the relevant Chairmen were not told and able to hear what he had to say. I understand it has got worse since then.

I'd welcome details of the discussions in due course.

Letter to Fiona Hyslop

Dear Ms Hyslop

MAXIMISING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES IN THE WESTERN ISLES

Congratulations on your new position which although challenging provides you with a major opportunity to make a real difference to people's lives.

I represent an area of the Western Isles that has waited for too long to have our educational facilities brought into the 21st Century.

Bayble School was identified as a priority for the site of a new community school under the previous administration. Our community accepted that the "quid pro quo" for this would be substantial rationalisation involving the closure of two local primary schools. We did this in the knowledge that this was the only way we could move education provision in the Point area forward . The initiative was supported by all the school boards and the local community council.

Since the turn of the year the Western Isles Schools initiative has been in a state of flux until the commitments of the new administration were confirmed. We welcomed your commitment to continue the financial commitment of over £50 million to the Western Isles Schools initiative .

IT WAS THEREFORE WITH A SENSE OF COMPLETE INCREDULITY I LISTENED TO YOUR LOCAL SNP MSP ANNOUNCE THAT WE WERE BACK TO "SQUARE ONE" AND THAT HE WANTED TO REVIEW THE SCHOOLS RATIONALISATION PROGRAMME IN THE WESTERN ISLES AND WOULD WORK TO KEEP ALL SCHOOLS OPEN.

Over the years many of us have grown cynical about national politicians promising anything to get elected but Mr Allan takes the biscuit!

How can you square your departments policy that rationalisation and improvement of Educational Resources must be accompanied by closure of schools whose school rolls have declined to a point that the quality of the continued provision of education there is questionable?

Also, Mr Allan's cynical attempt to raise expectations with some parents in the full knowledge that he can turn round and deny any implication - if closures go ahead - is the action of the worst kind of political opportunist who is not worthy of the status of MSP.

Many of us have been impressed with the professional way in which the new ministers have gone about their first 100 days . This favourable impression has been destroyed by your party's representative in the Western Isles failing to check the rationale and facts behind the local authority's approach to improving the resources and effectiveness of schools provision in the Western Isles to bring them into the 21st Century . Also he does not appear to have given any thought to your departments policy of improving utilisation , effectiveness and efficiency.

I would be grateful if you would confirm, as a matter of urgency, that you do not share Mr Allan's views on this issue.

Regards

Councillor DJ MacSween,

Sgire an Rubha.

It could have been handled better...

Said Fiona Hyslop about the fact that the Comhairle are having to make tough decisions to find the funds to line the pockets of lawyers, accountants and construction companies - as instructed last week by Finance Minister, John Swinney.

Perhaps the intrusion of reality into a photo-opportunity was too much to bear.

As for handling it better --- I am reliably informed that Ms Hyslop failed to handle it very well as she traipsed around some of the schools.

Accompanied by Morag Munro, Chair of Education, and Murdo MacLeod, Director of Education, she was described as being like "A bear with a sore head", and stormed around.

I understand that when she visited some of the schools, Morag and Murdo were forced to sit outside - so as not to impinge on the photoshoot - whilst Ms Hyslop and Mr Allan spoke to pupils, teachers and staff. How to win friends and influence people!!

If that had been me who had been so insulted, I would have walked ... and let the press know why, but Morag and Murdo are exceptionally nice and polite individuals.

Did Ms Hyslop discuss the reasons for the debate on the possible closures with Mrs Munro
and Mr MacLeod? I understand not, yet John Swinney was happy to demand the financial framework for the schools PFI that necessitates those very closures.

Talk about joined-up Government.

School closures

I hope Fiona Hyslop enjoys her visit to Lionel Secondary tomorrow, as the following is the recommendation going to a special meeting of the Education Committee on Monday:

SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Daliburgh	CLOSURE 2008
Bayble	CLOSURE 2008
Sgoil nan Loch	CLOSURE 2009
Paible	CLOSURE 2009
Shawbost	CLOSURE 2010
Lionel	CLOSURE 2012
Back	CLOSURE 2013

PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Cliasmol	CONSULT ON CLOSURE IN 2008
Craigston	CONSULT ON CLOSURE IN 2008
Stoneybridge	CONSULT ON CLOSURE IN 2008
Bragar	CONSULT ON CLOSURE IN 2008
Daliburgh	CONSULT ON CLOSURE IN 2008*

AND, as if that wasn't enough:

"That further reports be submitted to the Comhairle as further consideration for the closure of primary schools are proposed in accordance with the criteria that no primary pupil should be required to travel on home to school transport for more than 30 minutes to and from school; and that there is adequate capacity in the proposed receiving school"

The reasons being given are:

• The proposed new 3-18 curriculum and its implications
• The need to release and redirect the financial resources required to fund the proportion of the cost of the Western Isles Schools Project which falls to the Comhairle.
• The continuing decline in the school rolls. In 2006/07 the total P7 roll was 50% higher than the total P1 roll.
• The generally tightening financial settlements. As rolls fall total funding falls in proportion.

The full report is available here. Read it and weep for the future of our community.

* 23/8/07: A Council spokesman said, Daliburgh is not on the final list - I have an early draft of the report, and how the hell did I get my hands on it? This list seems to have been lifted and copied by all the media, keeping the unnamed Council spokesman (Nigel) quite busy.

Kallin Harbour

As everyone who has been to this harbour knows, it is a great success story, and the demand from fishermen far exceeds the capacity of the facility. Far from being under-specified at the beginning, it was a classic case of "Built it and they will come".

It need expansion a long time ago, but funding, design and demand issues all delayed the project, and at one stage it looked like not going ahead, ever.

Working with the Estate, the Comhairle and the fishermen, the Committee did a marvellous job in driving this project forward.

It nearly got dropped from the capital programme last year, but pressure from Donald MacLean and Archie Campbell meant that it remained. I spoke strongly for the project, as I know from my clients (an interest I declared) just how vital it is for the east side of the Uists.

The photo shows one of the three huge concrete boxes that is being brought across and dropped into place this week. When all three arrive and are fitted together, I am sure that this will be a huge improvement to the harbour.

I look forward to seeing the finished pier, and congratulations to all involved.

Arnish

It's good to see the yard at Arnish delivering it's first contract for 16 wind towers in Belgium.

It is also very good for the island to hear that there are many more contracts in the pipeline and that over 50 people are employed.

You can tell when Arnish is doing well, as the amount of cash wages injected into the local economy makes a substantial difference to the shop keepers, publicans and the domestic builders. When Arnish is facing an uncertain future, the spending dries up noticeably, as the employees sit on their cash, and at the present time we are still at that stage.

Hopefully the contracts will be won, and the local economy will prosper on the back of it.

(Photo from www.western-isles.info)

Schools policy

With the possible closure of schools ('rationalisation') back on the agenda following a seminar in the Comhairle last week, it is an appropriate time for the Education Minister to visit the islands.

Hopefully she will have some rational explanation for why the Comhairle is having to build the new schools on a 30-year HP scheme, when the population changes are quite substantial. There are fewer pupils and the different schools are barely able to accurately project school roles over the next 10 years, far less tie themselves into a 30-year scheme.

But the real questions has got to be, why are the Executive happy to fund £1 million in legal fees and an extra £50 million (?) in borrowing costs for the five schools, but cannot find the money for free school milk for children?

No milk: and the lawyers get the cream

Expectations and a new Government

The cynical politician (ie the most effective) knows that you introduce the harsh measures in the first years, so that the public have a chance to forget before the next election.

A look at Gordon Brown's pattern of raising taxes (and the Thatcher Government before that) demonstrate the truth of that assertion.

I am at a loss to understand the motivation of SNP Government in promising everything to everyone and raising expectation with every new announcement. Today, Alex Salmond is quoted in the Herald as expecting the next budget for Scotland to be very tight, yet the financial promises are being thrown around like there is no tomorrow.

As I previously forecast, Gordon Brown has a tough Scottish budget planned, pulling funding in centrally for 'contingency' spending, which will allow him Alasdair Darling to get Alex Salmond to take the blame for all the cuts whilst redistributing the spending to pet projects - think of the Directors taking 20% off your budget in the name of efficiency, and then awarding all the other departments extra money to bring them back to where they were. You're stuffed, and there are no fingerprints but yours on the cuts.

The silly promise (in political terms) to freeze Council Tax is yet another salami slice taken off the budget that in turn becomes a noose around your neck. Every promise becomes the danger of letting down the voters, or the desperate urge to find 'savings' elsewhere.

Whatever happened to the promise to find savings in the Executive? It might upset too many voters and vested interests?

The cuts will be made in a thousand small places, where no large group will be too upset - such as ADS and the RET promise? - but possibly without the insight that a thousand upset small groups is as bad as one enormous cut.

The next few years will see a tactical battle between Brown and Salmond over money, and we will be caught in the middle. Who will prevail? I don't know, but Brown has the money whilst Salmond is the master tactician with emotion on his side.

It would be fascinating, were we not collateral damage in the clash of egos.

Multi-member wards

These are settling down and the councillor are getting into the routine of treading on each others toes, irritating each other, duplicating time and effort on the same problems, and getting played-off one against the other by a few 'difficult' constituents.

I was never a fan of multi-member wards - indeed, I spoke against them repeatedly - as I could see what would happen.

Most Councillors have split up the bigger wards into their 'own' territories, so that they continue to take care of a specific group of constituents. So far so good, expect it kind of makes a mockery of the principle of larger wards.

Those with more time on their hands, those who do not have outside commitments, are finding it less easy to adapt to any restrictions on their activities, and as a consequence they are treading all over the toes of their nominal colleagues.

Every one is getting fraught about this, and with good reason, as communications between the various councillor appears not to be the best - whether that is deliberate or not is difficult to judge. In most cases.

There is a simple solution to this, but I'll save that for when I return to the Comhairle ;-)

Interposed leases

As I have previously mentioned, interposed leases are the device whereby the landowner can ensure that any community buyout does not get its hands on the income from windfarms.

The Courts have now decided that they are legal, in the circumstances that arise in Pairc, and the impact is clear.

The land is owned by PC who gives a lease of the sites for the turbine bases to PR, who then receives the income for the windfarm. If the community buyout happens then the crofters will acquire PC only, and will have no right to the income generated by PR, nor can they revoke or vary the leases.

The fact that PC and PR are owned by the same person is irrelevant; he will keep the profits, even is he loses the land.

But what value is there in the crofters acquiring the land without the rights to operate the windfarm? Virtually none.

How long before the landowners hive off all the other profitable elements of the estate such as salmon beats, in order to defeat community buy-outs? Answer: very quickly, as the possibility of the legislation being changed to stop interposed leases must be on the horizon.

Exam results

With children everywhere having received their results, their thoughts must turn to the future, and what they are going to achieve with those results.

The high-flyers have a clear path. Those who are less academic are waiting for an opportunity to leave school. Those in the middle - the majority - may need just some encouragement to get decent grades and hence improve their prospects.

For the benefit of those who (like me) only understand Ordinary, Higher Grade and CSYS, the qualifications are now:

Level	Qualifications included
7	Advanced Higher @ A-C CSYS @ A-C
6	Higher @ A-C SCE Higher A-C
5	Standard Grade @ 1-2 Intermediate 2 @ A-C
4	Standard Grade @ 3-4 Intermediate 1 @ A-C
3	Standard Grade @ 5-6 Access 3 Cluster

I hear that pupils in the Nicolson Institute who got a "2" at Standard Grade (Level 5 on the chart) are NOT being allowed to progress to Highers. The reason being given by the new Rector is that they are unlikely to pass Highers, and will drag the performance statistics down.

Now, this may be correct - on average - for the average pupil, but where does this leave pupils who had a "bad day" when they sat Standard Grade; those who aspire to do better; or those parents who want to push their children after a bad result?

The answer seems to be that they are being left in limbo.

Despite repeated and continual demands from parents, the new rector is not moving from his stance.

So what do parents and pupils do, when there are no reasonable alternatives educational opportunities for the kids? It is not practicable for parents to move their children to Sir E Scott School in Tarbert, Harris which is the nearest school offering Highers. For the benefit of those outside the islands, it is 40 miles from Stornoway, across the highest hills on the islands, a journey that is frequently disrupted by bad weather.

Are the children being made to resit Standard Grades until they get a "1"? Where does this leave a student who got seven 2's? How many children does this affect? How many children who get 2's in Standard Grade attain level 6, and how many who get 1's don't attain level 6?

All these questions and more remain unanswered, yet a number of children are now being branded as failures and their future prospects being diminished with no chance of appeal and no alternative educational choices available.

You really did make it up

Whoever is behind the Alasdair Allan website (in the best traditions of Private Eye, and particularly Craig Brown) has done a marvellous job.

Reading the Gazette today, you can see that they have got the phrasing and stlye totally spot on.

I've added a link from this website, but as that blog doesn't allow comments, please feel free....

Meals on wheels

Exclusive news direct from the Comhairle on the hugely anticipated Meals on Wheels taste test being undertaken by those bon viveurs who represent us.

The outcome was split:
* Males - enjoyed it, and thought the food was acceptable
* Females - thought the meals were disgusting and unacceptable

I think that means that the food is unacceptable.

Thankfully, I managed to get some surreptitious video footage of the Councillors undergoing the process...