Busy days

With my political activities having been placed on the back burner, it has been interesting to sit back and watch everyone else getting the flak for the decision that have to be made.

However, this week has been an exception.

The prospect of appearing at the BMP Public Inquiry is an intriguing reminder of the good and bad bits of being on the Council, and the continual changes to the probable itinerary have made for interesting time planning(!) Thanks to some of the attendees for keeping me up to date with some of the events behind the scenes.

I've also ended up being interviewed by a journalist from Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wearing all sorts of different hats, as per usual, about the refusal of the impact of the Lewis Wind Power on the economy of the islands. I believe that all sides of the argument have had the chance to have their say, but as the newspaper is exclusively in German, I'm not sure we will ever know just what the view from Continent really was.

Today I'm off to do an interview with Radio 5 Live on the Public Accounts Committee report on the Inland Revenue. As I was found through a web search, this shows what a good web presence (or at least a high Google ranking) can do for you. Being 13th in the searches for "Chartered Accountant" in Google UK is very pleasing and has driven a lot of mainland business our way, as in the service sector it doesn't matter about physical location when IT services can deliver for you.

This week and every month we have posted some original documents to clients in four countries who don't care about our location, and as long as the post continues to deliver as quickly as it currently does, our clients in continental Europe and the middle East are happy. With lower costs than the big city centre offices were charging, they are even happier, and we are bringing work, incredible experiences, and wonderful challenges to our staff. This is but a small part of the opportunities for the islands, and is something we all need to continue to build upon.

Remove head from arse...

....before making any important pronouncements.

The desperate well thought out measures announced today by Cpt Mainwairing The Badger of the Exchequer on taxation policy must be making every former Chancellor turn in their grave, or the House of Lords as we know it, as they see the magnificence of the ill-thought out series of pronouncements and their impart on the crucial target group of voters.

Just before a major electoral test.

In which you get a serious, serious, kicking.

And then announce a u-turn which has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the outcome - "Do you think we are that shallow?"

Increase the personal allowances to reduce the tax bill on the poorest. Reduce the higher rate threshold to increase the tax on the highest earners. Bloody hell, you would think we had communists socialists liberals wet Tories running the country.

Just wait for the (fake) outrage in the Telegraph and Mail tomorrow and a subsequent 'clarification' from the Badger.

I'm not sure that 'useless' is an adequate description of the fall guy's (in)abilities....

Rural General Hospital

In July of last year I flagged up the potential issues surrounding the creation of "Rural General Hospitals" highlighted in a document produced by the Highland and Western Isles Health Boards.

Today the Minster has announced that the document has been accepted (in full?) and that the Government are proclaiming a Secure Future for Rural Hospitals.

Yes, but.

I'm not a medical professional, but it looks like the centralisation I was worried about is happening, when you read through the detail of the press release, and spot the omissions.

The six hospitals - in Oban, Fort William, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Stornoway and Wick - will all now provide core services, including:

* Outpatient, day case inpatient and rehabilitation services
* Nurse-led care for urgent cases, managing minor injuries and illnesses
* Initial management of broken bones
* Routine and emergency surgery
* Management of acute medical conditions
* Management of patients who have suffered a stroke
* Management of long-term conditions
* Maternity care, led by midwives
* Management of patients with more complicated problems before they are transferred.

"Initial management", "Care for urgent cases", "Management" and "transferred" are some of the key words that hint at what is missing.

Yes, the hospital is secure; but, the range of services is going to be reduced and the service is going to be provided at the centre by Raigmore. There is obviously a balance between quality of service and the access to those services - especially by the elderly or relatives of the ill.

The full report is available here, and whilst the creation of a new breed of specialist,

one who combines the skills of a general practitioner with specialist training in acute medicine,

or a "General Surgeon" as they used to be known, before being phased out, is to be welcomed, I think the balance of centralisation has moved just a bit too far, and we will be worse off for the changes.

Priorities, priorities....

A car driver in Australia has been fined for strapping down his beer rather than his young child.

Police said they were "shocked and appalled" when they pulled over the car south of Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory.

They said the 30-can pack of beer was strapped down between two adults in the back, with the five-year-old child unrestrained on the floor.

The driver was handed a fine of A$750 (US$709; £362).

The fine was for failing to ensure a child was wearing a seatbelt as well as driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.

-----

The full Antipodean madness can be read here.

Clear out at the Health Board

The relatively new management at the Health Board have taken some further decisive action following the savaging by the Audit Committee of the Parliament.

Four of the non-Executive Directors are leaving at the end of their period of office, presumably clearing the way for a new approach to the fundamental issues that still continue to float beneath the surface.

No-one has suggested that any culpability lies with the non-Execs, but clearly there is a desire to bury the former management (in both senses) and to move on. Which can only be a good thing, and clearly lays responsibility for the future into the lap of the new team at the top.

The only hangover remaining is the accumulated deficit; but by demonstrating the Board's ability to deliver, it is hoped that the Government may reconsider the impact of the accumulated deficit on the delivery of services. Hoped.

Help wanted...

Frank Field has said he would be "very surprised" if Gordon Brown led Labour into the next general election.

Mr Cairns told BBC Scotland's Politics Show: "This hasn't been a good week for us and my thoughts are with the hundreds of thousands, of not millions, of Labour voters who are wondering what on earth is going on."

Scotsman: A referendum on Scottish independence now appears almost inevitable after Wendy Alexander, Labour's leader at Holyrood, announced yesterday that she would not block the SNP's referendum bill in 2010.

Press & Journal: Alexander: I was only calling the SNP’s bluff

Does anyone have the faintest idea what Labour is trying to achieve? If so, could they please advise Wendy Alexander on how strategy works.

Sunday Swimming

Should the Sports Centre be open on Sundays?

If you think it should, you can sign the petition here.

Blair 'secretly advising Brown'

Tony Blair is giving advice to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and has told him how to win the next election, Cherie Blair has said.

Given that the first element of 'secretly' advising someone is, er, secrecy, why has this pearl of wisdom and respect for confidentiality come from?

Her disclosure is made in an interview with the Times newspaper to coincide with its serialisation of her autobiography...

Oh bugger, I could have guessed.

First Prescott with his unbelievable 'Gorge and Purge' revelations of his antics as a failed bulimic and now we have one half of the Blair's trying to find money to pay for another multi-million pound house.

Gordon Brown needs this like a hole in the head. Which might, of course, be the intention.

Cherie Blair: Gobshite

Uist House - update

I understand that a significant part of the problem was the failure of the Health Board to convey the property to the Council in time, and consequently it could not get conveyed on to HHP.

So it was a tripartite failure.

Conflicts of interest?

The 'schools project' that is currently going through the Comhairle is probably the most complex and interrelated series of decisions that the Council will have to take for many a long year.

To make sure that the decisions are properly taken, then all the Councillors need to be objective about each and every strand of the approach, and to challenge and consider whether each strand - in itself - is the correct way forward.

I have no doubt about the difficulty of the decisions that are being faced, and if the new Councillors didn't see this coming when they stood, then you can draw your own conclusions. There are three legs to the problem:

• A serious drop in pupil numbers in some schools
• The new schools PFI
• The impact of the new curriculum on S1/S2

The first is relatively easy to deal with, although it speaks volumes about the demographics.

The second is driving the entire decision making programme.

The third is popping up now and again, as a side issue, when it should be a key part of the decision making process.

Unfortunately, the PPP is the be-all and end-all of the process, and it is being assumed that it must take priority over every other element. The fundamental changes that there have been since the PPP was first considered should mean that the entire approach requires to be considered again in full.

If school A cannot deliver S1/S2 classes then the impact on the rest of the decision making should be reconsidered; and the knock-on on the other schools in the area should be carefully considered. But, the PPP is calling the shots; when it should be the Council and the pupils making the best decisions.


This is the Council's vision for the delivery of education through the Special Purpose Vehicle, or as it is described...

The Comhairle, as the client, is committed to procuring the schools through a Hybrid PPP Model, which is outlined above. The Comhairle will borrow money from the Public Works Loan Board to fund the capital costs of the new schools.

The Comhairle will set up the Special Purpose Vehicle and intends to own 100% of that SPV; the Contract between the Comhairle and the SPV will be based on the Standard Scottish Schools Contract. The Comhairle will provide the SPV with the Brief and Output Specification for the schools.

No let's be fair. This is the previous Executive's vision for the future, put into words by the Council, and now endorsed by the Government. Missing from the diagram are the hundreds of Consultants extracting fat fees, and the teams of lawyers who will descend on the completed project and suck the lifeblood out of the project.

The the leaks come out that Councillors who are on the Special Purpose Board are going to get a bollocking for voting to save some schools.

Excuse me!

If, as the report suggests, membership of the SPV Board implies that you must vote for school closures, then should not all Councillors on the SPV Board have declared an interest and excused themselves from the relevant meetings; or face an accusation that they are inherently biased in their approach to the decision?

Surely, the SPV is there to implement the decisions of the Comhairle, not to set policy. That role - last time I checked - is the responsibility of the Councillors. Just who is pulling the strings here.

Although I may not agree with the reasoning, I think that Convener MacDonald and Councillor Manford showed the correct approach to decision making, which is to consider each decision rationally on it's individual merits, rather than being told how to vote.

Was pressure brought to bear on them yesterday at the Board Meeting? Are they now toeing the line? (Who's Whose line!?!) Will there be declarations of interest by Board members in future?

And last, but not least, why are there no agendas or minutes publicly available on the Council website?

Uist House

Today sees the opening of the replacement for Uist House, the Social Work nursing home for the elderly of South Uist.

I understand that the project has been overspend -- as seems almost inevitable with any capital project of any size -- although the exact value is unclear at present.

But that is the least of the problems.

As part of the development the Hebridean Housing Partnership were to acquire a number of flats in the building to provide a better and more coherent level of service to the residents of those flats. These flats were to be paid for by a grant of £350,000 from Communities Scotland which would fund most - if not all - of the cost of the properties.

The deal should have been done by the end of March, but for some reason the Comhairle failed to arrange the transfer of title from the Comhairle to HHP by that date.

The consequence? The grant was lost, and pulled back into the central pot by Communities Scotland.

Cue outraged howling from all quarters; except Councillors, who seem to have been kept in the dark.

Last Thursday the Chief Executive of HHP, Angus Lamont, met with Communities Scotland Housing and Regeneration Directorate (as they have been renamed) to discuss the budget allocation for the coming year and to try to get the 'lost' funds back.

The Housing and Regeneration Directorate offered to allocate a further £350k for this project, but only on condition it came out of the existing current year grant - in other words, all from existing funds.

So how is this to be funded, other than by making cuts of £350k in the HHP budgets?

Why are the Comhairle blaming HHP for this situation?

Why is this not the only situation where incompetence has resulted in money being lost to the islands? (Details to follow shortly on another example)

Is anyone to be held to account for this situation? No matter how senior they are?

And, when will the Councillors be told?

No comment required...

From the Gazette:

Climate change set to destroy Salmon?

SCOTLAND's wild salmon stocks could be facing serious decline if action is not taken to limit the effects of climate change, according to experts.

The country's rivers support one of the largest Atlantic salmon resources within Europe. The cold water fish, found in temperate and arctic regions of the Northern hemisphere, has a complex migratory lifecycle in both marine and freshwater phases, and experts believe climate change is affecting both of these stages.

Clueless

As if it wasn't bad enough with Wendy Alexander flip-flopping about on the referendum/neverendum/neverhaveone issue, it now turns out that she may not have read the Parliamentary rules correctly.

For the record, I think it was astute of her to try to bring the independence/devolution matter forward in an attempt to try to control the debate.

However, set against the repeated and continuing refusal to discuss independence, or even to see it is a viable possible alternative, she was bound to get a lot of flak. Indeed, having apparently not discussed the matter with her colleagues or with Number 10, she appeared to be doing the political equivalent of strapping the 12-bore to her temple whilst writing a suicide note.

She duly took collateral damage from her own colleagues, before wondering dazed into the line of fire from the Government.

Now the BBC report that her proposal for an early referendum may not be constitutionally possible without the support of a member of another political party and even then may not be allowed if the Government intend to legislate on the matter during the current term.

The former rule is eminently sensible to try to avoid political grandstanding, and you would have thought that one of the political allies (definition: someone we use to get into power; and ignore as irrelevant at other times) would have been lined up to jump that hurdle.

Not so, our Wendy. Walking blindly into an elephant trap that her own party designed, approved and legislated on, it appears that they never read the rules, and have little idea of how it all works.

The second obstacle is less clear, but would seem to prevent any opposition party launching A Good Idea as a piece of legislation by allowing the Government to promise to intend to think about - maybe - bringing forward the self-same legislation themselves.

Irrespective, yet another good plan scuppered by the most basic failings to understand the rules around the game.

Are there any depths of incompetence to which Labour cannot plummet?

NHS Western Isles - the aftermath

The Parliamentary Committee has reported, and the damning report is reported in detail on Hebrides News and in the Gazette.

I'll not go through the report in detail, but suffice to say the ancien regime get a serious kicking and have their entire credibility torn apart, due to their ability to 'forget' a serious and major report.

The new management are praised for bringing the position into balance - and quite right too - so does this represent the final time we will hear about this matter?

Probably not, and there is still - surely - the significant matter of the behaviour of the former Chief Executive that remains to be addressed by his current employers, the Western Isles Health Board.

It's a man thing...

With the weather in Stornoway being an unfeasibly high 21C - putting us on an isotherm with Faro, Ibiza and Casablanca - it was time for the barbecue equipment to come out and be tested for the forthcoming season.

With the family having had various assorted ailments over the past week or two, and with us having to grab sleep as-and-when we can, this weekend has been an opportunity for relaxing and spending some quality time together, whilst we are all relatively well.

Being a man, my job is to stand at the barbecue unit and pretend to know what I am doing, whilst some of the food was underdone and some overdone. The kids enjoyed it, until the midges arrived.....

The equipment is now certified to be in full working order, so I hope we will have many more this year to which the usual suspects will be invited - you know the routine; an email leading you to a web page, leading you to a vast supply of food and assorted drinks to be consumed by responsible (!) adults and assorted children of various ages.

Peat cutting

With Calum 'Steallag' MacLeod getting big coverage in the Guardian and the Gazette for his vast increased production of tarasgeirs (peat irons) there is just one very small sound of caution.

The Stornoway Trust Chairman, Iain MacIver, was interviewed

There are concerns, however, about the environmental impact of the trend. Iain MacIver, chairman of the Stornoway Trust, one of Lewis's largest landowners, said that since the cessation of peat-cutting most of the peatlands had won protection under wildlife legislation. And most peat banks available outside the traditionally cut areas were already heavily depleted. "There's nowhere left, unless we start getting into the designated zones".

This is actually a potentially very serious and dangerous position into which the community is being driven.

The banks on the designated peatlands cannot be re-opened without permission from .... well, from just who? Presumably, any attempt to re-open these banks will have to pass the test of environmental purity that SNH, RSPB the John Muir Trust and umpteen other unelected and far distant organisations will apply. And what are these tests? No doubt they will be 'developed' as the applications are submitted.

But the report by Richard Lindsay (University of East London) which was initially used by RSPB to justify their stance on the LWP application called for a complete and total ban on all economic activity on the designated land. I read that report carefully and there were to be no new peat roads; old peat roads were to be unmaintained and allowed to degrade; no moorburn; and, no peat cutting. Each and every one of these activities was inimicable (in the view of the self-proclaimed expert) to the preservation of the moor in it's current state, and eventual return to the original 'pure' state.

Although the report used to be on the web, it seems to have disappeared around the time it was systematically demolished by Boreas Ecology, but this report has formed the basis of the entire approach adopted by the RSPB, and I expect the unelected and unaccountable will try to use this 'justification' to prevent even the most basic economic activity on the moor.

Remember, the locals don't know how to protect the moorland; but all the do-gooders do.

How taxation works

The UK is supposedly a good example of how progressive taxation works, so let's have a little primer for those who don't understand just how it all works.

Individuals pay tax at 20% or 40%. It used to be 10%, 22% and 40%, but the 10% band which benefited the poorest was abolished to make things fairer. The cost of this was negligible to the Treasury in actual £, but this was offset with 331 Councillors unseated.

Small limited companies pay tax at 20%, up from 19%, as small companies are so important to the economy that they must be encouraged and fostered.

The biggest companies pay tax at a nominal rate of 30%, but by the judicious use of off-shore companies the actual rate they pay tax at is greatly reduced, often to only negligible sums.

Now the big listed plc's are threatening to relocate to foreign jurisdictions in a seemingly endless macho contest between countries to show how attractive they are to multi-nationals.

The end result of this will be a comparatively small hole in the budget.

But, I forecast that Chancellor and the Prime Minister are so in awe of the multi-nationals that they will bend over backwards to give them more attractive terms to persuade them to 'stay' in the UK, when in actual fact they are just using the issue as a stick to beat the Government with.

And who will pay for these sweetners? Why, you and I of course.

It is perhaps the 'greatest' legacy of Margaret Thatcher that she has bequeathed a Labour Party who will bend at the knee in front of the rich, as they fail to understand who they work and think. Socialism and redistributionist policies need to reappear on the agenda, but I don't believe that NuLab have it even on the radar.

Who?

Why can the rest of the world know about Viscount Lindley?

Remember the Spycatcher fiasco, and how that made everything worse?

Farewell Gordon Brown

It may be two years early (just what is the latest possible date for a General Election), but this is the end of the beginning of the beginning of the end of the brief and deeply unsubstantial premiership of a figure who was better in the shadows than the limelight of his predecessor.

And Boris wins in London - as confirmed by Tessa Jowell, in possibly her first ever honest and open statement - a mere 30 minutes ago.

The scale of the losses are immense, 331 councillors and 9 councils down takes some doing, and the resurgence of the Tories seems to have been at the expense of all the parties, so the results will take some reading and some analysis before we have the slightest understanding of what it means.

Beyond Cameron in Downing Street after the election, obviously. With a hefty majority.

I'm almost glad the Tories have done so well, and this is the kind of feeling I never wanted to have. But, Labour have lost the plot, the philosophy, and the drive they once had. And allowed Tony to subsume into the wishes of George W. And then tried to rediscover.

Too late.

Lochmaddy Hospital

The hospital has been sold by the Health Board to London Shetland Securities Ltd, a dormant company registered with Ledingham Chalmers, Solicitors, in Aberdeen.

As the Gazette reports, this is "a company on which there is little information available, apart from a registered office address on Rose Street in Aberdeen". Perhaps to them.

A few minutes research told me who occupies the Registered Office, and that the sole director is a solicitor with Wilsone & Duffus, Solicitors, Aberdeen. The company who owns all the shares in London Shetland Securities Ltd is dormant and is owned by a nominee company controlled by Ledingham Chalmers.

All in all, a structure designed to obscure the real ownership, at least in the short-term, which in itself poses more questions about the identity and intentions of the new owners.

Any more information gratefully received.