Politics Archives - Page 10 of 48

Shire Schools Plans Raised At Education Committee

Feb 112016

With thanks to Martin Ford.

East Garioch councillor Martin Ford has welcomed progress towards improvements in school accommodation in the ward he represents.

Item 9 on the agenda at Aberdeenshire Council’s Education, Learning and Leisure Committee last Thursday (4 February) was an update on the Council’s Learning Estates Strategy.

During discussion of the Learning Estates Strategy report, Cllr Ford raised issues relating to local school accommodation including at Newmachar, Kintore, Blackburn and Hatton of Fintray.

Included in the learning estates project plan for 2016 is a Newmachar primary school option appraisal. Said Cllr Ford:

“House building is on-going in Newmachar and planning permissions for housing are in place on sites at Kingseat and on the east side of Newmachar – so the Council does need to move forward with planning for additional capacity at Newmachar.”

Land is reserved for a second primary school in Newmachar within the Newmachar East mixed-use development site.

Cllr Ford welcomed the reported good progress Morrison Construction are making with building the new Kintore Midmill School.

He said:

“After the long delay in getting started, it’s obviously excellent that the actual building work is getting on so well. The new school building is now clearly visible from a number of locations in Kintore.”

On the site choice for the replacement building for the current Kinellar School, Cllr Ford said:

“The choice between rebuilding on the present school site or continuing to try to acquire the replacement school site identified in the local development plan is not an easy decision. There are advantages and disadvantages with both options. Neither choice is risk free.

“On balance, the certainty that comes with the Council already owning the current school site is probably a decisive advantage. But the site identified for the new school in the local development plan is larger and moving the school to it would free up the present school site, potentially for other community facilities. The present site is smaller than ideal for the larger school needed.

“Also, there may be other planning applications for the site allocated in the local development plan for the new school if it is not used for that purpose.”

Cllr Ford raised concerns about the accommodation at Hatton of Fintray School. The Council’s rating of the overall suitability of the Hatton of Fintray school building is ‘C’ (= ‘poor – showing major problems and/or not operating optimally’). Cllr Ford said:

“Hatton of Fintray School Association has contacted the Council in particular about the lack of proper office facilities in the school for the head teacher and administrator, and suggested a way forward. I hope the Council will be able to respond positively.”

Cllr Ford also questioned officers about overall school roll forecasts for Aberdeenshire, which show continuing roll increases are expected in many areas.

“We have become used to ever-rising school rolls in much of Aberdeenshire,” said Cllr Ford.

“The forecasts predict that to continue. But will it? There’s no sector of the north-east economy that’s looking likely generate significant additional employment that will more than compensate for other job losses. So what would be the driver for population increases that would cause on-going rising school rolls?

“Increasing school rolls have been a given in many parts of Aberdeenshire for many years, but that might be going to change – and our planning for school accommodation would then need to change too.”

Officers assured Cllr Ford that school roll forecasts are kept under constant review.

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Right Budget Decisions Can Protect Services

Aberdeenshire, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 042016

With thanks to Martin Ford.

Aberdeenshire Council faces some tough choices when it comes to set its revenue budget for 2016/17 on 11 February – but most of the savings required can be achieved without damaging services.

That is the view of the authority’s Democratic Independent and Green Group (DIGG) councillors Paul Johnston and Martin Ford.

“The Council does have scope to make a range of substantial savings in its budget that will not affect service delivery,” said Cllr Paul Johnston.

“For instance, compared with expectations, the Council will save well over £1 million on borrowing costs in financial year 2016/17, due to continuing low interest rates. Fuel and electricity prices are also lower than had been forecast. Demand for some services has been less than expected in 2015/16, meaning the current budget allocation is more than required.”

Said Cllr Martin Ford:

“The Council’s budget position has also been eased by additional income. New houses have been built and occupied bringing in additional Council Tax. Sales from the Council’s quarries are up by more than £1 million this year and next year’s budget can be adjusted to reflect an expected higher income too. The Council has gone for renewable energy – biomass and photovoltaic panels – to supply some of its buildings and this both saves on fuel or electricity costs and generates an income.”

The DIGG put forward draft budget proposals at the November 2015 Aberdeenshire Council meeting showing how the Council could effect savings of £17.97 million – slightly more than the total savings of £17.561 million then anticipated to be required to balance the 2016/17 revenue budget.

After the November Aberdeenshire full council meeting, officers identified further budget pressures. Then the Scottish Government’s grant settlement to the Council announced before Christmas was less than the ‘flat cash’ funding anticipated, creating a further £6.390 million shortfall for 2016/17. The Council thus now needs to find savings of £28.312 million to balance its 2016/17 revenue budget.

Since November, the DIGG councillors have been working on how further savings could be effected. While the Council will set a one-year budget on 11 February, it will do so in the context of knowing it needs to make at least a further £30 million of savings in the years to 2020.

The DIGG councillors have made clear their opposition to continuation of the Council Tax freeze.

Cllr Martin Ford said:

“Vital public services such as education and social work must be protected from cuts as top priority. To do that, the Council must re-examine everything it does and seek increased efficiency whenever possible.

“There is certainly scope for some genuine efficiency savings.

“The Council could replace stand-alone public toilets with partnership arrangements for public access to toilets in buildings such as hotels, both improving the service and reducing costs.

“We also believe the Council can make further savings by additional investment in energy efficiency, such as LED street lights, and renewable energy.”

The DIGG is a separate and independent group on Aberdeenshire Council that reached a ‘confidence and supply’ agreement with Aberdeenshire’s new administration last year. Some specific budget commitments were included in that agreement.

Said Cllr Paul Johnston:

“The new administration has already accepted our conditions that there are no cuts to the community learning and development budget line, £250,000 is transferred to increase the budget for cycling and walking and £100,000 is redirected to preventative local health and social care services, specifically to fund third-sector organisations in Aberdeenshire to support vulnerable residents achieve or maintain independent living.”

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Salmond Welcomes News On ‘Corridor Of Prosperity’

Aberdeen City, News 1 Response »

Feb 042016

With thanks to Tom Collins, Press Officer, Rt. Hon. Alex Salmond MP MSP

MSP for Aberdeenshire East, Alex Salmond, has welcomed a response from Transport Minister Derek Mackay MSP on Monday (1 February 2016) informing him that Network Rail are progressing well with rail improvements between Aberdeen and Inverness.

The 108-mile route is set to benefit from a £170 million upgrade which will include platform extensions, signalling enhancements and the re-doubling of the line between Aberdeen and Inverurie.

Mr Salmond had also raised the issue of the need to mitigate for flooding along the line, to reduce the risk of disruption to services.

In his response, Mr Mackay said:

“The project remains on target for completion by March 2019, and within the spending cap.

“With regard to flood mitigation, Network Rail is working with industry partners to make Scotland’s rail infrastructure more resilient to the current and predicted weather and climate change impacts across the network. This should help to ensure that efficient and reliable train services are maintained, including those between Aberdeen and Inverness.”

Mr Salmond said:

“The upgrading of this service is good news for the people of the North East and will ensure that the full potential of the corridor of prosperity between Aberdeen and Inverness will be realised quickly and efficiently. I met with representatives of Network Rail last month, and I am pleased that their work remains on schedule.

“The redoubling of the line between Inverurie and Aberdeen, alongside the new station at Kintore will only serve to enhance these benefits of this essential transport link and help bring new people and opportunities to our local communities and what they offer.”

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French Born MSP Condemns ‘Britain’s Shrinking Democracy’

Aberdeen City, Opinion 4 Responses »

Feb 012016

With thanks to Gavin Mowat, Constituency Assistant to Christian Allard MSP.

French born MSP Christian Allard has used a debate at the Scottish Parliament to condemn “Britain’s shrinking democracy”.

Mr Allard was speaking on a motion titled ‘10 Million Missing Voters’ where he took the opportunity to stress that “for democracy to work we need people to vote”.

According to a report by the Smith Institute, 10 million voters have been excluded from the democratic process because of the failings of the new electoral registration system.

Mr Allard praised a campaign by Shelter Scotland and the Electoral Commission to get people registered to vote because anybody living in this country “should have the right to vote”. But he also raised concerns about the “democratic deficit” in Britain in relation to EU citizens being excluded from the up-coming referendum on EU membership.

Commenting, Christian Allard MSP said:

“Democracy is not a tap – it is not a tap that you open and close hoping people will register and vote in some elections and not in others.

“Democracy is a right, it’s a human right to go and vote. This Parliament has to be very strong about that human right to vote.

“There are 18,990 EU citizens – plus me – in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray who will be able to vote in the Scottish Parliament election in May, but who stand to be excluded from the EU referendum.

“This is another democratic deficit we need to address – Britain is definitely a shrinking democracy.

“Let us remind the UK Government and all the people living here, for democracy to work we need people to vote.”

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MP Welcomes Fraserburgh Job Fair

Aberdeenshire No Responses »

Feb 012016

With thanks to Kenneth Hutchison, Parliamentary Assistant to Dr. Eilidh Whiteford MP

Eilidh Whiteford visits the BrewDog stall.

BANFF & BUCHAN MP Eilidh Whiteford has thanked local employers for a huge show of support at a jobs fair at North East Scotland College.

The fair was organised for the benefit of workers at the Youngs’ fish processing factory in Fraserburgh, where hundreds have faced redundancy following a downturn in the company’s business.

Last month, the Taskforce established by the Scottish Government met with key local stakeholders at the town’s leisure centre, to discuss the jobs fair and other ideas to help rejuvenate the local economy.

Although a number of those affected have found alternative employment elsewhere within the fish processing industry, the fair was designed to bring other local employers in touch with skilled workers.

Around three hundred people attended, with over two hundred vacancies advertised. A number of local businesses were represented at the event, along with Armed Forces recruitment and public sector bodies. The Scottish Government’s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment team arranged translators, while supporting organisations providing advice to those affected by the redundancies.

Dr Whiteford said:

“These are uncertain times for people affected by redundancies at Young’s, but this event provided an opportunity for those seeking work to apply for current vacancies in a range of sectors, and to access advice about training and support. It’s important that those who have lost their jobs get all the support that’s available. It was great to see so many local employers here looking to recruit new staff.

The day has been a great success, and I would like to thank the local employers and agencies who have made it possible. I would also like to thank Skills Development Scotland and NESCOL for making the event possible.”

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Little To Show For Trump Vandalism 10 Years On

Aberdeenshire, News 5 Responses »

Jan 282016

With thanks to Martin Ford.

Ten years after New York developer Donald J. Trump first announced his intention to build a golf resort in Scotland (on 25 January 2006), the North-east has gained little but lost much.

Said Cllr Paul Johnston,

“Essentially, the north-east has ended up with the worst of both worlds. We’ve lost the amazing, natural, dune system – but the promised economic benefits used to justify that destruction are nowhere to be seen.”

Cllr Martin Ford said,

“Mr Trump’s grandiose and extravagant promises of jobs, money and enhanced reputation for the region – parroted by First Minister Alex Salmond’s Scottish Government – have failed to materialise.

“At Menie, little of the proposed resort has been built. None of the 950 timeshares. A 19-bedroom hotel in an existing country house instead of a 450-bedroom new build. One golf course, not two. A much smaller clubhouse than originally proposed. Under 100 jobs, not 6000. Around £30 million spent instead of the £1 billion investment pledged.

“Meanwhile, the unique dune system at Menie, a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest, has been sacrificed – the justification being the economic benefits Mr Trump and the Scottish Government said would come from the resort that hasn’t been built.

“Mr Trump’s neighbours on the Menie estate have had their lives disrupted by bullying and intimidation for most of the last decade.

“Latterly, Mr Trump’s truly revolting behaviour as a presidential hopeful has seen him shunned by many organisations not wanting to be tainted by his obnoxious views. His association with the North-east clearly does nothing for our reputation in the world. He is an embarrassment, not an asset.”

Cllr Paul Johnston said:

“Mr Trump and his golf course have been a divisive issue in the North-east. Had Mr Trump been a more reasonable individual, a golf course could have been built at Menie without touching the Site of Special Scientific Interest or adversely affecting his neighbours.

“We need to learn lessons from this unfortunate episode. Next time an overly ambitious speculator comes round making ridiculous promises, I hope attitudes will be different.”

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MSP Praises Anti-racism Charity On Their 20th Anniversary

Aberdeen City, News No Responses »

Jan 282016

Christian Allard at the launch of ‘Immigration: What’s the Story?’ at the Scottish Parliament with (left) Nicola Hay, Campaign Manager and (right) Gillian Eunson, Educational worker.

With thanks to Sarah Masson.

North East MSP Christian Allard praised the ‘tremendous’ work of Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) on their 20th Anniversary. Mr Allard made the comments after viewing ‘Immigration: What’s the Story?’ film by SRtRC at the Scottish Parliament today.

SRtRC is an anti-racism educational charity which was established in January 1996. The charity aims to combat racism through enabling role models to present an anti-racist message to young people and others.

Over the last 20 years, SRtRC has worked extensively across Scotland and the rest of the UK delivering training to more than 50,000 individuals per year.

In response to negative attitudes expressed towards migrant communities, SRtRC developed a UK wide educational film, elevating the voices of people who have moved from one country to another, to dispel some of the popular myths and provide an alternative view.

Christian, along with colleagues, saw the film at an event in the Scottish Parliament last night. The North East MSP looks forward to Show Racism the Red Card Scotland’s visit to Pittodrie this year.

Commenting, Christian Allard MSP said:

“’Immigration: What’s the Story?’ is another great educational film from Show Racism the Red Card.

“They have achieved a tremendous amount in the last 20 years making sure everyone’s voice is heard and challenging attitudes in our society.

“As an Aberdeen FC Supporter I am delighted to see the initiative making its way up to the North East to work with schools across the city.

“I was delighted to speak to all the team at Show Racism the Red Card and the footballers and wish them all the best for the next 20 years.”

Mr Allard submitted a motion to the Scottish Parliament celebrating Show Racism the Red Card’s twentieth anniversary and the work that they have done.

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North East MSP Continues To Support To Local Shops

Aberdeen City, Opinion No Responses »

Jan 212016

With thanks to Sarah Masson.

Independent retailers have welcomed the support shown for their industry from Christian Allard, MSP. The North East MSP attended Scottish Grocers’ Federation’s event at the Scottish Parliament to coincide with the publication of their Scottish Local Shop Report 2015.

The report highlights the value of local independent convenience stores to communities with 87% of retailers currently involved in community activities.

The report also illustrates that there are more convenience stores per head of population in Scotland than there are in the rest of the UK and that convenience stores provide over 44,000 jobs, including valuable services such as post offices, bill payment services and ATMs.

The SNP MSP has always backed local businesses – acknowledging their importance to local economies throughout Scotland today. The North East MSP has praised the community value of local shops, recognising that they support local producers as:

“they make Scottish products accessible for everyone buy, eat and trust local.”

Scottish Grocers’ Federation Chief Executive Pete Cheema said,

“We were delighted that Christian Allard was able to join us at our event. The support of MSPs is vital in ensuring a prosperous and sustainable independent convenience store industry in Scotland.”

Commenting Christian Allard said:

“It is important that we recognise and support local businesses in our communities especially because local shops tend to be resilient to economic changes.

“Local stores are a large part of what our communities are made up of and this report provides the evidence that clearly shows the community value of local convenience stores in Scotland.

“The report crucially looks at the active role that local stores play in both urban and rural communities. They are constantly evolving and changing to meet the many needs of the people they serve. The independent corner shop is as much a part of the past and present as it is the future.”

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Petitioner Responds To Trump Debate

Aberdeen City, Featured, News 4 Responses »

Jan 202016

With thanks to Suzanne Kelly.

Suzanne Kelly fights her way through the hordes.

Trump Ban Petitioner, Suzanne Kelly.

Suzanne Kelly launched the petition requesting that Donald Trump be banned from the UK for his hate speech, as so many others have before. An unprecedented number of signatures – 570,000 – triggered the Westminster debate.

The debate took place on Monday 18 January, which also happened to be Martin Luther King Day.

Suzanne said afterwards:

“It was a pleasure to see so many of the speakers condemn Mr. Trump and his hate speech. Some of those who spoke helpfully referred to the cases in the United States where people have committed violent acts or intended to, where Donald Trump’s speech had been the clear source of inspiration.”

“Teresa May still has it in her power to put the ban on Donald Trump; The Public Order Act 1986 has been used to ban over 80 people so far, and to me Mr. Trump’s words put him squarely in that category in my opinion, and in the opinions of some of the MPs.”

“It was surprising and disappointing to see that MP Paul Flynn, tasked with introducing the debate, decided to go to the media in advance of the debate and announce he was against the ban. I found that unethical, even though Flynn and the Petitions Committee apparently have no issue with it. I believe this sent a message to his party members and others to follow suit.

“Moreover, if the member of the Petitions Committee charged with introducing my petition and my points did not support them, how robust a job could he be expected to do? Initially Flynn told me not to contact him when I wrote to him with the details of the arguments in favour of the ban. He did not believe he should communicate with me because of his role on the committee. The Petitions Committee disagreed with him.

“What I found improper was his comments against any ban coming less than 24 hours before the debate. He hadn’t done me the basic courtesy of letting me know he was speaking out about the petition in advance. Therefore I lost an opportunity to counter him. Flynn’s amazingly idealistic concept of convincing Trump that multiculturalism works by taking Trump out to meet people is ridiculous.

“If Flynn has that little handle on Trump’s make-up, then he was not the person to lead the discussions. While he made some of my points, I hardly thought his presentation looked or sounded robust. Perhaps the Petitions Committee might reconsider how a petition is introduced in future.

“Flynn’s position was also that to ban Trump might potentially advantage him / make him seem a ‘martyr’ to some of his followers. I would have thought upholding British law would have come first to an MP. However it seems that second-guessing any potential outcomes of applying the law of the land overrides any duty to uphold the law for some.

“Thankfully some speakers were aware of the difference between hate speech and free speech. There were excellent points made by those who supported the petition. Others chose, somewhat disingenuously I thought, to decide that the requested ban on Trump was somehow an assault on Freedom of Speech. I wonder where those impassioned speakers were when it came to the 80+ people the UK has previously banned, and if they will now seek to overturn the historic bans against hate preachers.

“Some MPs seemed to fear that banning Trump was an attack on the US / that we should not meddle in US politics. How they came to the conclusion that this matter of UK law was less important than taking a stand against hate speech would be interesting to hear.

“However, virtually everyone who spoke had the harshest of words for Trump. ‘Buffoon’ seemed the word of the hour. It was good to see that there is a widespread condemnation of Trump’s policies.

“Sarah Malone-Bates, Trump’s spokesperson issued a statement which was to me feeble as well as hypocritical. She bemoaned the cost of this exercise to taxpayers, saying we were wasting valuable Parliamentary time. Perhaps it’s a case of amnesia or ignorance, but with her employer dragging the Scottish taxpayer through every court in the land in his selfish desire to scupper an important offshore wind farm project, I think Malone-Bates would find that Trump has cost far more money and time than the debate did.

I think the desire of 570,000 people to have the debate is just a bit more important than Trump costing Aberdeenshire money, time, clean energy and work in the clean energy sector. She’s claimed that ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’ are being ‘pumped’ by Trump into the Scottish economy.

“I’ve asked for sight of the proof of this wild claim; it’s not forthcoming, nor is a response to my request to have a live debate with her on the issues, which still stands.”

“I would like to thank the Petitions Committee administrators, who were very helpful throughout. Thanks too to the media for their interest and support. Thanks to Aberdeen Voice especially Fred Wilkinson, editor, and Julie Thompson who has worked on a number of stories with me. Gratitude goes to the MPs who understood the law and the purpose of the petition and who spoke eloquently; gratitude to those MPs opposed who nevertheless in some cases made useful comments.

“Finally, thanks very much to the people who took the time to sign this petition.

“Sometimes the system works. I see this petition and the debate as huge victories. Trump has lost his Global Scot status, his business is apparently no longer wanted in much of the Middle East; his honorary degree from Robert Gordon University was withdrawn, and Trump branded goods are being axed from shops. If this is a defeat for me, I’ll live with it.”

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Alex Salmond Responds To Donald Trump

Aberdeenshire, News 6 Responses »

Jan 142016

With thanks to Tom Collins, Press Officer, Rt. Hon. Alex Salmond MP MSP

Alex Salmond has responded to the latest comments from Donald Trump. Referring to Mr Salmond as ‘an embarrassment to Scotland’ and a ‘stupid man’, Trump defended his purchase of Turnberry golf course and issued scathing criticism of Salmond pertaining to his support of windfarms, and the early release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

Mr Salmond said:

“The problem for Mr Trump lies not with his golf courses, but with him. The golf courses are excellent. ‘The Donald’ isn’t.

“Unfortunately, his claims of the level of future investment in Scotland bear no resemblance to the reality of the last eight years. His ownership of Turnburry places it effectively out of The Open Championship circuit at a cost of £100 million to the Scottish economy. His legal objections to wind demonstrators in Aberdeen have thus far deprived the North East of Scotland of a vital £200 million diversification into offshore wind technology at a time of great difficulty in oil and gas.

“However, the real difficulty is his recent statements on Mexicans and Muslims, which go beyond the pale of acceptable comment and an association with him is increasingly damaging to Scotland. That is why over half a million people have signed the parliamentary petition seeking to ban him from the country!

“As far as his remarks to me are concerned, I have fought and won nine elections. Mr Trump has yet to win one.

“On his remarks about Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, he is out of date. Megrahi’s release was in 2009. Since then, the SNP has won an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament and 56 seats out of 59 in a UK General Election. On Megrahi, Trump is like a cracked gramophone record playing in a digital age.

“Although, I have to admit it is very easy to issue statement after statement, tit for tat. I suggest instead Mr Trump calls into LBC next Wednesday at 16:00 (GMT), where he can ask me anything he likes. The number is +44 (0)345 60 60 973. If he has a beef I’ll be happy to take his call. We’ll see if debating here is as easy as debating over there!”

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