Having it both ways

Not having an in-depth knowledge of crofting law and practice, I tend to look at crofting matters in a simplistic way.

So when my attention was drawn to the Crofters Commission website, and specifically at the apportionment of 27 Knock to form a new house site, I was intrigued.

This Hearing only happened because the applicant and the Grazings Committee (who represent the wider crofting community) disagreed over whether or not the site was appropriate for house building.

What caught my eye was the paragraph at the foot of page 2.

A letter was received from Angus MacNeil MP on behalf of Mr MacLeod. Angus MacNeil MP has also written to the Commission on behalf of the shareholders.

Perhaps someone can explain how and why you can support both for and against? Or even better, can provide me with copies of the original letters so we can all fully understand the complex arguments put forward, to hedge one's bets.

SNP AGM

My previous posting about the SNP AGM on Friday has provoked some correspondence from current SNP Branch Members.

Without exception, the Members who have contacted me have confirmed that they were totally unaware of the AGM; that it was not advertised for two weeks in a row in the Gazette, as required by the constitution; and that there has been absolutely no communication from the Branch.

Except, of course, to the inner circle.

One correspondent asked ME to provide them with contact details for the Branch, and they were very disappointed that there had been no direct contact since they became a new member, and absolutely no attempt to involve them in any Branch activities.

Another person commented that they were regularly and pointedly snubbed by senior members of the Branch.

I'm not sure that I'll be able to give a full report of the AGM, as I'm, not sure anyone was actually there....

A Ministerial Invite

Another invitation to come to the Ministerial Press Conference at 1pm on Tuesday makes its way into my inbox.

Given that it is taking place in the Ferry Terminal and the ferry passengers will be milling around at that time, it is either going to be a masterpiece of organisation or utter chaos.

The question is, should I attend? Hmmm, let's keep the Minister guessing.....

Sunday ferries, a correction

I think it is fair to say that my suggestion that Sunday ferries into Lewis will commence on the 23rd of March was unmitigated nonsense.

My sources now advise that they had been completely misled, mixing two different events and coming to a third conclusion.

So when is it happening?

My guess is the start of the Winter timetable in 2008.

Health Board funding

A new, new, funding formula for Health Boards has been announced by Nicola Sturgeon.

It is to be phased in over a number of years to ensure that no Health Board suffers cuts in any year. That statement is, of course, fallacious as what is being proposed is that inflation based increases will not be awarded until such time as the new reduced level of expenditure is reached. That is to say, the Health Boards will face an annual cut in budget equal to inflation.

Consequently, those Boards who should benefit will receive only slow increases.

Such a classic stabilising mechanism is necessary to avoid large shocks, but by its nature adversely affects the 'winners'. But let us be grateful for it's existence.

The WIHB Acute and Community Health Budget is due to fall by 18% - which equates to about 5 or 6 years of no growth for inflation/cuts of 2.5-3% each year.

The culprit - and no I don't mean the NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee - is the new formula which "takes account of changing population, life expectancy, deprivation and remoteness of rural communities."

We know which ones we gain on, and on which we lose - so it would appear that the dropping population is resulting in more cuts in services (such as the secondary schools), leading to less viable communities and a vicious circle of decline.

Stornoway Gazette

We are laughing with the paper, not at it this time.

The paper due yesterday was delivered to the islands today, due to the weather. Most people read the paper very carefully over the weekend to be able to absorb all the detailed political and social analysis; in depth evaluations of the latest press releases; the investigative recipes column; births, deaths and marriages; and the pernicious gossip masquerading as Court reports.

But the best bit it always the adverts, as this week's paper demonstrates on page 20. Firstly under public notices (this is an exact transcript):

The Lewis and Harris Branch of the SNP
Will be holding their AGM on Friday February 22, 2008 in the Willows (sic) suite of the Cabarfeidh hotel (sic). All members welcome.

I think it might have started by now, but if you hurry you will be able report back to me the detail of what happened*. New members (with or without psychic abilities to foretell the time of meetings, are obviously not welcome.)

Just below this is:-

Election Notices
AGM Taigh D

Presumably, this happens after the SNP AGM and before the Clairvoyants AGM, which obviously doesn't need to be advertised.

* Full report on proceedings to follow.

MSP struck by lightning

This mornings flight from Edinburgh was struck by lightning.

There is no truth in the rumour that it was aimed at our MSP who was on the flight.

Jokes about "lightning rods" and "lighting balls" are invited.....

The religious divide

The difference between different world religions is often not as wide as some people make out.

Sometimes they are all ploughing the same insane furrow.

In Iran, the Iranian former chief nuclear negotiator is complaining the the President is encouraging an expectation amongst Shia Muslims that the "Missing Imman" will reappear any moment after 1000 years hiding.

According to Ultra-Othrodox Jews in Israel, tolerance of gays causes earthquakes.

ADS approved

With only a few days to go, ADS has received approval by the European Parliament and can continue until 2011.

Excellent news with continuing 40% discounts on flights (before taxes), but why did it have to be left to the last moment?

The countdown banner is being removed, but kept to make a return in three years.

Double whammy

More information about the RET proposals have been passed to me, and they make for interesting and disappointing reading. But with one piece of realism intruding into our grief.

The £5 charge is supposed to cover the fixed shore-side infrastructure that CalMac have on the islands, so the RET cost is to be inflated by these overheads. In other words, it is RETFU - RET For Users to cover the overheads.

The best is yet to come. Sit down and take a deep breath.

The reason that the mileage charge is 60p and not 40p is due to the higher costs of living - particularly fuel - in the islands, and consequently a higher rate is appropriate.

Or as our MP said, “The price of fuel has escalated out of control over the past 12 months, this hits the rural areas like the Western Isles hardest and forces the price of food, drink and many other things to go up as well. Only this week the Office of National Statistics has said that” the largest upward pressure on inflation came from the price of fuel”.

Or when commenting on the high cost of fuel, "This answer just sums up the totally arrogant and metropolitan viewpoint of the [...] Government. They have absolutely no idea how their high fuel taxes, which have spiralled at an alarming rate over the past 12 months, are doing to rural areas like the Western Isles."

Or as the EDM he put down says, "That this House notes the high fuel price rises in rural areas, especially the Western Isles where prices have risen above £1 per litre which will have a detrimental effect on communities and tourism; asks the Office of Fair Trading to re-examine the issue; calls on major oil companies to halt the surcharges for rural petrol stations, and calls on the Treasury to report on actions the government can take to identify and alleviate problems caused by high fuel prices across the Highlands and Islands."

Presumably this will now be changed to include an examination of the polices of the Scottish Government?

I have had it confirmed that the proposal will not come into force until the Winter 2008 timetable, which will really benefit the tourists this summer.

Finally, the one bit of sanity is that the pilot will last three years (or until the next election) which is a wholly necessary period of time to evaluate the impact on the local community and to establish the capacity problems that RET should cause.

The message is clear, start the campaign NOW for real RET after the next election. Last time we managed to get Labour and the SNP fighting it out to offer the best deal - let's now up the ante and demand more, if they want our votes.

RET - what is to be announced

Word reaches me of the announcement that the Transport Minister is to make next Tuesday on his visit to Stornoway.

I was first tipped-off by the Press Release from our MP and MSP. (Although I have to ask if the 'lowering of the water-table' that our MP promises is a good thing. It usually causes drought, or reflects the unsustainable use of assets. I think he meant 'level the playing field'.)

However, the announcement is going to be:-

• Vehicles at 60p per mile + a £5 fee per ticket
• The removal of the multi-ticket discounts
• This to apply to all routes affecting the islands
• Passenger cost details to follow
  

Before you start jumping up and down, do the sums, and remember that the Comhairle wanted 40p per mile (which matches with the Inland Revenue rates).

Stornoway to Ullapool 52 miles @ 60p + £5 = £36.20.
Current 6 journey ticket is £266/6 = £44.33

Leverburgh to Berneray 10 miles @ 60p + £5 = £11.00£16.00
Current 6 journey ticket is £93/6 = £15.50

Castlebay to Oban 157 miles @ 60p +£5 = £99.20
Current 6 journey ticket is £283/6 = £47.17

Assuming my arithmetic and mileages are correct, it looks very much like smoke and mirrors.

The consultants have obviously decided that the deplacement issues make assessing the cost/benefit of RET on one route would be so difficult to ascertain that it is pointless trying. As I said a long time ago.

Instead, the bullet has been bitten and we are to get everything our MP and MSP wish for. Unfortunately they have either not worked out what the implications are, or hope that delivery of RET will be welcomed regardless.

No let's be fair and point out that a single journey will - of course - be much cheaper, down from £44.33 to £36.20, but that is hardly likely to have the tourists flooding across the Minch. Another missed opportunity.

(The Council proposal at Inland Revenue rates would have resulted in Stornoway-Ullapool costing £20.80, a reduction of 53% from current rates, or 42% below the new proposals)

Update 21/2/08: I've corrected stupid one arithmetic error, and I'm trying to find definitive answers on some of the distances. I will provide a fuller analysis when I receive details of the likely passenger costs.

A missed opportunity....

This link to the BBC news site opens a new window. Picture 9 shows just what we could be adding to solving the problem of renewable energy. Or even be world leaders.

How to avoid arrest...

Remember the arrest of General Pinochet in 1998 for human rights abuses, murder and torture?

That set a nice precedent didn't it? No longer can you flit from country to country free of any pangs of guilt and enjoy the high life, despite arrest warrants out for you.

Er, except in London it seems. Even where there is a current arrest warrant out for you. And when the Police know where you are. And have you cornered.

The BBC are reporting that an Israeli General escaped capture in those very circumstances in 2005 by the simple expedient of refusing to come of the El-Al plane on the runway at Heathrow.

Due to the concern that the Police might not be able to legally board the plane (!) and due to the possibility that there may be some (illegal!) guns on the plane with his security men, the Police let the plane take-off with the General inside.

No thought of blocking the plane's taxiway until the toilets backed up and the drinks cabinet was empty and the General obeyed the law like everyone else.

Instead, as a wanted criminal, there was a subsequent apology from the then Home Secretary, Jack Straw, for the disruption that the whole unpleasant business caused the General.

So know you know the drill, when the Constabulary are in hot pursuit. Just refuse to come out and claim you have illegal guns and you're home and dry.

A known criminal not wanted by the Police

SNP support windfarms?

SNP RECRUIT EXPELLED FOR CRITICISING THE PARTY'S POLICY ON WINDFARMS

A recent SNP recruit revealed yesterday that he had been expelled and his three-month
membership fees refunded after he "dared to criticise party policy".

Bob Graham, of Orton, Fochabers, chairman of the Highlands Against Windfarms pressure group, joined the SNP believing it was the "only party not intent on decimating the Highland countryside".

And he condemned what he considered the lack of courtesy in the handling of his expulsion, claiming he was offered no right to appeal.

He returned home from holiday at the weekend to a letter from SNP national secretary Duncan Ross explaining that his local Fochabers branch had contacted party chiefs to raise Mr Graham's "continued criticisms of the SNP Government through letters to the local press".

The letter contained three £1 coins, his three-month membership fee.

The party letter stated that the committee "reserves the right, in exceptional circumstances, to declare any membership invalid" and that it had decided his "behaviour did not uphold the basic principles of membership".

Mr Graham said: "I'm horrified by the sheer lack of democracy within the SNP. "Two of their candidates were elected last year on the back of anti-windfarm campaigners, one in Lewis and the other in Ayrshire.

"You could argue that the SNP secured power on the back of anti-windfarm campaigners, but there's been no moratorium and they seem to be relentlessly pressing ahead with windfarm developments."

He added: "They have approved the Griffin scheme in Perthshire and are umming an aahing about Lewis, so clearly the pre-election promises were purely to get the anti-windfarm lobby on board. Having got them on board they are stabbing them in the back."

Mr Graham said he would write to party leader Alex Salmond to point out that he had been "hung, drawn and quartered" without a hearing.

A SNP party spokeswoman told the Press and Journal yesterday: "There is a three-month period in which the party is able to invalidate an application, as has happened in this case. It is only after the three-month period that the individual can be considered a member."

Fly me to the moon ....

... on airmiles.

A complaint has been lodged against the Speaker for using airmiles earned on Parliamentary Business to take his family to New York for Christmas.

The rules are that you are supposed to use the airmiles to reduce the cost of future flights, rather than for your own personal benefit.

This being Parliament and filled with Honourable (sic) Members, the rules are unwritten, flexible and virtually unenforceable. Hence the continual flow of scandal.

Parliament has two choices - open everything up to scrutiny, or batten down the hatches.

They will consider the latter, but they will have to go for the former, dragged kicking and screaming in openness.

Just out of interest, according to reports, there were the Speaker and his wife, his son (an MSP) his wife and their two kids, his daughter her husband and their son, and they got Business Class flights for all for £3,090.50. The son paid £309 for the flights and the daughter paid £230, none of which makes any sense, and begs more questions about who, what and all sort of (flying) Class issues.

Added to the generous use of taxis and libel lawyers, Mr Martin shows that he hasn't lost the common touch.

Northern Rock

"Temporary public ownership".

That'll be like being slightly pregnant.

Gordon Brown caused this; have no doubt. The economic mishandling was his fault, and his alone.

But the ball has been passed to Alasdair Darling, who has the unenviable task of trying to make a cake out of a turd. And will carry the can when it all goes horribly wrong.

We - that's you and me as Joe Taxpayer - are much worse off thanks to the delay and prevarication by Gordon Darling , the Siamese Twits, who tried to do anything other than nationalise the bank, and hence cost us buckets of money in the meantime. Indecision has its price, and we are paying for it.

The only sane bidders for the bank pulled out leaving the discredited management team (did they honestly think that they would have the faintest chance?) and Richard "Photo op" Branson who offered to buy the bank using our money in exchange for valuing his worthless Virgin Money brand at £250m.

The sad thing is that the Government were considering letting him win just to take it off their hands, until older and wiser heads pointed out that it was barely short of a scam.

Substance abuse

Substance abuse in the Western Isles is not as prevalent as in the rest of the UK, and certainly does not have the same level of sophistication, and je ne sais quoi of the mainland.

So it proved last night.

We walked into a newly refurbished bar in the town centre and saw the rolled-up fivers. An immediate give away.

And then the white powder* on the bar counter, in full view of the bar staff. Shock, horror!

And the crushed limes. Limes?

As we entered, some members of the visiting rugby club were drinking tequila (or it could have been vodka or gin, or possible even water, but I very much doubt the latter), snorting the salt [for it was nothing more than salt that was the white powder on the counter and not any other substance, licit or illicit**] and squeezing the lime into their eyes. Or possibly snorting the limes and putting the salt into their eyes. Or any permutations based on the above, as long as the alcohol went into the mouth.

We watched in awe as their capacity for drinks was tested to the limit. Glancing at the multiple TV screens showing a Laurel & Hardy film only exacerbated the sense of surrealness which was only broken by the Captain organising the teams into a pub crawl for later - "Right, in case you get lost, it is the Crown, the Clachan, MacNeils and then the (deleted) Whalers" - which is of course absolutely no use to a the visitors who hadn't the faintest idea where they were. Or what day it was. We mentally ticked off the list, finished our drinks and moved to an establishment not on the list.

With no Sunday ferries, they are probably starting the Sunday pub crawl as I write, and I would recommend that those of a sensitive disposition avoid the ferry tomorrow morning.

* 18/2 See clarification in case anyone misses the supposed humour
** They may be big nutters, but they don't let any other substances impede with the serious business of drinking. Had it been anything else, then the bar staff would certainly have ejected the individuals.

I have not been threatened by the boys from the Stornoway RFC. They are lovely lads, and drink nothing more than black tea in china cups, especially when their wives aren't looking. And I may need access to 6 Nations tickets at some point.

A denial

In the spirit of openness and to counter those nasty rumours flying about, I can unequivocally confirm that:

• I have never met Tommy Sheridan
• I have not used a sunbed in the past 15 years
• I am not the editor of the News of the World
• I haven't been swinging since they took down the rope and tyre in the Castle Grounds
• I can't provide an alibi for Tommy, Gail, Ms Whiplash, Juicy Lucy or the guy in the PVC catsuit and gimp mask
• I have not yet been called as a defence witness or a prosecution witness. Yet.
• I am not now, and never have been, a member of Solidarity or the SSP, far less attended an 'executive' committee meeting in a fancy hotel where cocaine and champagne were served

I do however share a secret addiction to Scrabble, and I look forward to seeing quite how this fits into the almost inevitable and impending prosecution.

Having faced the hostile press on many occasions, I learned how to deal with them. I was often misquoted or misrepresented, and you deal with it and carry on.

In this case, the wasps nest has been well and truly hit with a big stick. And then hit again. And then knocked to the ground and the wasps jumped up and down upon. And then the nest kicked around a bit more, just for the sheer hell of it.

You have to be either squeaky clean or unfeasibly lucky to avoid the aftermath.

I don't think Tommy is either.

Which will make for the most fabulous, enthralling, humiliating, vicious court theatre for many, many, many a long year.

The only question is going to be ... who will play Tommy & Gail in the movie? Peter Hain and Paris Hilton?

Entrepreneurship

The Comhairle run a scheme whereby Council employees may be able to take up to a year off to start their own business, with their post guaranteed should they decide to return.

It is a well worthwhile attempt to encourage private businesses to make a contribution to the islands economy.

Or at least it could be.

I understand an architect applied to the scheme, and was refused by the Human Resources panel in December, as his position was irreplacable. He has now left the Council. An electrical technician was refused by Human Resources in December and again this week, again on the same grounds.

Yesterday the Council decided to second the Director of Technical Services to the Schools PPP Special Purpose Vehicle for three years, with his Depute covering for him during that period.

Does anyone understand the logic?

Schools PPP

The Schools PPP originally came into being to provide five new schools in the Western Isles and the grief surrounding the potential closure of Bayble and Daliburgh (and the others) all originates in this scheme.

The Government have inherited this from the last crowd, who in turn were told to bastardise the Tory PFI schemes of old, so that the profit made by the developers was better hidden, and less gratuitous and blatant.

This was disguised as a 'risk premium' and a team of Thatcherite-Blairites recruited to staff a new quango, Partnerships UK, to persuade Councils to use PPP.

Well actually, the Government told Councils that if they wanted anything done, they had to use PPP; and they had to use Partnerships UK to suck the money from Councils like vampire leeches and pass it to rich multi-national companies advise Councils on how best to line the pockets use the skills of construction companies, lawyers, accountants and any other greedy party who could get their snout in the trough.

Now admittedly the Government pass the money to Councils to pay many of the bills so the net cost to the Council is low, but the waste of public money is compensatingly enormous.

One example: the PPP model for the new schools was developed by a firm of accountants, and you had to use them if you wanted to get funding. As a Councillor and decision maker, I asked to see the model, but I was only allowed to see the data that was being input and the results being output. I was not allowed to have any information about the model that was being used, and I had to trust that the model was appropriate and actually worked.

And the accountants took no responsibility if it was wrong, as it was 'our model'.

And it cost £2,000 for every change of input data, so serious options modelling was not a viable
choice.

It was at this point that I made it clear that I wanted no part in taking a decision based on the project, as I was denied the information I needed to make a sensible choice.

The continuation of such foolishness has been encouraged by the Government, rather than allow all the cheaper funding and construction options they had promised.

But it is the impact on the Comhairle as a whole that is the most serious.

The project costs are escalating at a rate of £30,000 per week, due to the rate of inflation in the building sector, and due to nature of the Government funding the Comhairle are not in a position to delay the works, instead having to find the extra funds for this themselves.

This year 2% is being sliced from revenue budgets of £100m and a further £10m (out of a £20m budget!) from capital to try and balance the books to let the PPP go ahead. And schools are being closed as part of these savings.

Yet the Council are still having to find another £2.4m per annum for the next thirty years to bridge the funding gap - itself up from the £800,000 in the original plan.

Let me make this plain -

THIS IS THE ECONOMICS OF THE MADHOUSE!
YOU ARE BUILDING SCHOOLS ON THE NEVER-NEVER.
YOU ARE MORTGAGING OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE.
REJECT THE PLANS AND TELL THE GOVERNMENT TO THINK AGAIN.