Cuts uproar spreads across the Highlands

Demonstrations are planned for Thursday morning at the Highland Council's cuts meeting - Glenurquhart Road, 10th February

Parents in Nairn are not the only ones outraged by the cuts proposed to primary and nursery education in the Highlands. The Scotsman reports:

"A 100-strong group from the Staffin and Kilmuir schools, which together have 53 pupils, lobbied councillors at a meeting in Portree and also plan to demonstrate at Highland Council on Thursday when budget cuts will be discussed." More information here.

The Press and Journal reports:

"It is believed other parents from across Inverness will keep their children at home on Thursday when Highland Council meets to determine budget cuts, including cutting 344 classroom assistant jobs. The Friends of Brora School, the parent council of Brora Primary School, also voiced its concerns."

News from further North too where parents are also campaigning against the cuts:

"The proposal, which could result in over 300 classroom assistants in primary schools being made redundant across the Highlands, was criticised by a Thurso mother who claimed it would impact on local pupils and teachers.
Lesley Wilson and other members of Pennyland Primary's parent council are to contact Caithness councillors on the controversial issue before a decision is made at a meeting in Inverness next week." More in the John O' Groat Journal.

On Facebook over 200 demonstrators trying to save the Plockton National School of Traditional Musical have pledged to attend the meeting too. They will be there from 09.30 onwards and many of them will be taking instruments for a "session" against the cuts.

No doubt many others will be making their way to Glenurquhart Road on Thursday as well. It is one thing talking about cuts, now as the Council prepares to do the dirty deed. Will the LibDems, Labour and Independent members all be able to go through with it in the face of protests on the day and no doubt red hot phones and e-mail boxes at home?

"Highland Council is making these cuts, not the Conservatives or Liberal Democrats"

Unison is pointing the finger at the members of Highland Council ahead of the meeting to rubber-stamp the cuts at Glenurquhart Road in nine days time and the title of this post is from a quote in the Press and Journal today. Locally today's Nairnshire Telegraph has a front page article on how the cuts will affect Nairnshire. It seems the swimming pool and the library will stay and go under the wing of an ALO (Arm's Length Organisation) but in the longer term, can anyone be sure that the threat of losing facilities will not return as the Council struggles to find money to fund that ALO? In the sense of how the cuts will affect the Highlands as a whole it is worth turning to the Press and Journal site again:

"Mr Alston was unable to say exactly how many people would lose their jobs, as some posts were currently being held vacant or filled only on a temporary basis."

It is this uncertainty that is most disconcerting, nobody can predict the full impact of the cuts and the knock on effect as things we have taken for granted for so long disappear from the municipal landscape. Here in Nairn one only has to look at the loss of the Community Care Forum to see how essential networks that bind a community will come under threat. The cuts meeting on February the 10th will be a bleak day along at Glenurquhart Road and the statement from the Unions will be echoed by many: Highland Council didn't cause the financial crisis but the current administration (LibDem/Labour/Independent) will get the blame for putting them through and it is inevitable that the cuts will have an impact when voters go to the polls for the Holyrood elections in May. We've been hearing about cuts for a long time now but they are just around the corner - the Phoney War is over!

See the Press and Journal article here.

Who’s deciding the cuts– officials or Councillors?

The combined Community Councils meeting on Wednesday night heard a worrying tale from John Mackie. He told the meeting about the forthcoming demise of the local Community Care Forum a local group that is a contact point for carers and users and seeks to resolve any complaints that arise in this arena.

He said members of the Highland Care Forum had been called in by Highland Council to be told that the funding would be pulled from June next year.

John told the meeting, “ I’m arranging a meeting with local councillors because it is my understanding is that they don’t know anything about it. This has come from the officials. I think we need to clarify that with the councillors.”

John was seeking support from West & River to send along representatives once a meeting had been fixed up and he received a sympathetic response from those present.

Is this just a mix-up somewhere in the Highland Council system or are officials deciding themselves what has to go? The corollary from that of course, is, are they deciding themselves what stays? At this time of funding crisis is the Council’s democratic apparatus falling apart as the cuts and the decisions of cuts are being made along at Glenurquhart Road.We need to know urgently if Councillor Mackie's understanding of the situation is correct.

Highland Council - more cuts needed over and above the £31 million that went out to consultation

Looks like there's been a rethink at Glenurquart Road over how much needs to be saved, it seems cuts will have to bite deeper than we were told at the public meeting in Rosebank this summer.

'Mr Alston said that proposals which went out to public consultation amounted to £31million of cuts, leaving a further £11million to be found.'

There's more in the P&J including news that a proposal to cut councillors' wages by 10% was voted down. Cllr Roddy Balfour was also complaining that Highland Council was failing local democracy since changes to its structure in 2007.

Troubled times ahead as the Council searches for more savings?

Cuts closures and pay-offs

As we reported earlier David Alston's blast at Liz on Wednesday night for being political didn't go down well with Nairnites. He was shouted down for his efforts. Let's face it all is political in Highland Council these days and the mere prescence of David Alston and Micheal Foxley in Rosebank made it even more so. They were just as guilty of 'politics' as Liz. Anyway Liz told the Gurn her thoughts about the consultation meeting, she said:

'The proposal to close the swimming pool is coming from the Administration - Sandy, Laurie and Graham so if it stays open they saved it from themselves closing it! The Care Home position wasn't saved although the public made it clear how important they were to their communities.

A lot of the proposals in the consultation have already been agreed by administration and gone through committee - grass cutting tender, privatising care homes, service point payment strategy, privatising care at home, day care review. David Alston said no decisions had been made.

Times are hard, and although folk like having their say I'd question the value of tonight's and the rest of the consultation across Highland and time and money could have been better spent with officers looking for savings in services without all this PR exercise to worry the public and staff and dividing communities.'

Cuts meeting - Wednesday 30th

The meeting in Rosebank will be the last chance for Swimming Pool campaigners and others to have their say. Posters have been appearing in the town centre.

Budget Cuts Consultation meeting will be in Rosebank School on the 30th of June

Laurie Fraser announced to the Suburban CC the location of the much vaunted 'consultation' meeting on the 30th of June. Will 100 places be enough Lauire? Here's what the new chair of Ward 19 said:

‘...end of June here, in Rosebank School, so we’re anticipating about a 100 coming to that, certainly allowing for 100, so we’re hoping for a good attendance. There will be briefings by officials, they’re doing this all over the Highlands and people can sit there and have an input to the council, the budget the way it is done.’

Tain Cuts Ward Forum meeting dominated by threat to their pool

A taste of what's to come in Nairn on the evening 30th of June? Will Nairnites be sitting around at tables like a glorified French café? Trying to answer questions that even councillors perhaps don't fully understand. Remember Graham's statement to the River CC last week:

'...and yes I am a councillor but the fact is that I’m not a financier and I’m not deeply embedded in how the money is spent on a day-to-day basis so from that perspective if you would like somebody from Highland Council to come along to your next meeting and talk to you and actually respond to your questions and give you some of the kind of information that you are looking for’

Anyway Gurnites here's what one Highland citizen posted on the Council cuts blog this morning:

'A very well attended meeting on Monday night in Tain, although there was a feeling that the event was dominated by one issue, namely that of the potential closure of the swimming pool - even a trio of angelic schoolboys singing an appeal directly to the top table!. Good luck to that group though since the pool users had really got their act together and left councillors and officials in no doubt as to their desire to retain that facility. Perhaps the lesson to be learned for the rest of us in other sectors, is that no matter how noble the cause, unless you shout loudly you may end up the poorer for your inaction?
It was a noble exercise in democracy for the Council to then have us all sitting round tables trying to provide answers for various topics without us having sufficient background information - I left feeling as if the captain of the Titanic had come up to me and said "we've got a bit of a problem, any ideas?"
So who decides what is important - the danger is that we all become single issue groups and forget that it's all the parts that make the whole. From cradle to grave these are issues that makes society better and to loose but one makes us all the poorer.'

More from councillor Alston's cuts blog here.

Highland Council Cuts Blog - Lots of comment from the Nairn area

'Blog-questionaire risks missing the point and misdirecting the debate' says Nairnbairn

One comment asks how you can be in Inverness swimming pool in thirty minutes if you live in Auldearn. (good point and you'd need a fast car and a traffic free A96 to make it most days from Nairn anyway wouldn't you?). A message too on the Budget blog for Graham Marsden.

'1. some how i dont think if I were to go stand at the bus stop in auldearn 30mins later i would be in the pool in Inverness, however I could be in the Nairn swimming pool.Opps how did the council assess the time allowed to get to the pool ?

2. Will the council take the responibility of ensuring that children in auldearn have enough time to attend thier weekly swimming classes if they have to travel to Inverness and the extra cost of the transport ?Graham Marsden take heart that the 2,212 facebook users subscribed to the save the nairn swimming pool campain probably dont live in nain , possible can afforded to be ignored as they never comented on this blog and can certainly be overlooked because if they didnt bother signing up to the council forum they are unlikely to turn out at an local election!
Concerned Elector (ward 19)'

To see the rest of the comments so far have a look here. In connection with the cuts process in general Nairnbairn has made a stinging criticism of the whole strategy and I'm sure many Gurnites will second his/her motion. Here's what he/she has published on the cuts blog:

'This blog-questionnaire risks missing the point and misdirecting the debate. It is rather like the joke about the traveller who has lost his way and seeks help from a local bystander - who says "Well, to get there, I wouldn't start from here...."

By putting only selected questions or specific options about reduction/disposal of front-line services out for discussion, Councillor Alston has already shaped and restricted the debate. As others have pointed out, this technique risks provoking inter-communal strife ("our library is more important than your community centre or their respite home" ). It encourages special-pleading. It prompts the enthusiasts for any specific facility to press their case ("cut what you like, but don't touch our pool/museum/whatever" ). It implies that those who shout loudest or muster the greatest number of signatures/Facebook posts are likely to be most successful in saving "their" pet project. It invites, and plays on, sentiment and emotion ("of course we can't possibly reduce the services to children/old folks/the vulnerable/the disabled" ).

Effective budget management is about priorities and choices. This means making value-judgments. It is also a very tough challenge. It is simply not possible for everyone to have everything they want paid for from public (ie our, taxpayers) funds. So those elected and paid to manage our public services have to be prepared to make choices and justify them (and take the electoral consequences if they make the wrong calls). A consultation exercise is not a device for escaping from, or disguising, this basic responsibility.

Above all, however, budget management - especially when money is tight - is about efficiency. That does not mean closing facilities. Efficiency means doing more with less. Making the resources stretch further. Making processes, and management, leaner and meaner. Simplifying decision-making. Stripping out layers of hierarchy. Devolving and delegating. Integrating back-office functions and cutting overheads, rather than closing down front-line services.

All basic stuff. Yet so far, the consultation exercise (online and on paper) reveals little about whether, and how far, this kind of action is being taken.

A simple and necessary first step is to benchmark: to identify whether Highland Council spending (in any area) is better, worse, or the same, as other local/regional authorities, and to publish figures which show the trend of spending. The Council already publishes "league tables" of the level of council tax throughout Scotland (and Highland ranks in the middle of the pack). So, for example.... in education in the Highlands, publish figures which compare pupil:teacher:administrator ratios. For social and welfare work, list comparative figures for cases: case workers. For older people, those with special needs, those in care, show how the spending per head compares with other regional authorities. Does Highland have more needy/elderly/vulnerable people than average? Does it spend more or less on them, pro-rata, than other regions? If these reveal that the Highland Council is employing more people, or spending more money, to deliver the same, or fewer services to its people, then this is a clear pointer to where savings could be made and efficiency improved.

Only when there are publicly-available performance and expenditure figures and benchmarks is it possible to identify where the Highland Council might be spending proportionately more (or delivering less for its money) than other authorities. Where these disparities are revealed, the obvious action is to examine how and why Highland Council is operating less efficiently, and making budgetary savings and management changes accordingly.

So, Councillor Alston, you are not asking the right questions. You are not at the moment, even publishing the kind of figures and information that enable the people of the region to ask the right questions. And if you don't ask the right questions, you won't get the right - or indeed any useful - answers.

The danger with this present exercise is that it fosters the illusion of a scrutiny and review process, while failing to shed any light on those areas which represent the major part of Council spending. The areas to focus on are NOT the museums, care homes and leisure facilities. It may be true that every little helps. But taken together, these kind of amenities account for only a minuscule share of the budget, while fulfilling a role within the communities of the region that - as others have commented - is critically important.
To cite an analogy that has been quoted elsewhere - if you have to lose weight, you don't do so by chopping off hands, arms or feet: you slim down those parts of the body that are carrying a little too much fat.'

And for more comment on general issues (remember libraries and museums are under threat too) look here.

Ward Forum Budget Cuts meeting - still to be held in the Courthouse?

I not from the APT blog that there is a list of Budget Cuts meetings on the Highland Council website. I see the meeting for Nairn is still to be in the Courthouse - might be a bit overcrowded perhaps?

'Date and Time: Wednesday 30 June 2010 at 7.00 pm
Venue: The Chamber, The Court House, High Street, Nairn
Theme: Highland Council Budget Consultation'

Surely a larger venue will have to be arranged soon?

The Highland Council Budget Consultation Blog is now open

The left it until after the election but it's now open. You have to register to comment and the questions seem to be fixed although they do invite you to send in comments if you wish to go off-off-topic. This week's debate is entitled: 'Are we running too many schools?'

Gurnites may be more interested in a subject that will be posted next week:

'19-5-10 Can we reduce the number of swimming pools, community centres, museums and libraries that we operate?

What other options should be considered:
Using public buildings differently and more flexibly providing services and space for different needs and groups
Transferring the ownership and/or the management of some facilities to not-for-profit organisations
Reducing opening hours
Increasing charges for the use of facilities'

Perhaps a link to the 'Save the Pool Facebook group should be the first thing to be posted on that blog?

PS: Library closures..

Anyone with a Facebook account that is worried about the fate of Nairn Library and all the other libraries in the Highlands might wish to add the following campaign Page entitled Ex Libris as a friend.

PPS If you do register to make a comment on the Budget cuts blog please then go along and support the calls for a Royal Burgh of Nairn community Council on this other consultation page.

The Cuts: 'Nairn Sports Council could be on the brink of collapse'

In an article about cuts in funding to the Courier muses over the future for the Nairn Sports Council. Chairman George Verhaere is quoted in today's issue:

'If it carries on like this the whole thing will fold and we will not be able to provide any more funding for clubs or individual members. It's very serious.'

Community Centres in the Highland Capital to take a big hit?

Invernessians are waking up to the fact that they might be without a few of their Community Centres in the near future. One wonders too what the proposed cuts might mean for the funding of Nairn Community Centre in years to come, given the prevalent 'nothing is sacred' philosophy emanating from Glenurquhart Road these days. The Courier reports:

'THE names of six Inverness community centres facing the threat of possible closure by Highland Council emerged yesterday.
The future of centres in Hilton, Raigmore, Dalneigh and Smithton/Culloden, plus two in the city centre, hang in the balance as the council looks to curb its spending and save millions of pounds.
All currently receive cash from the local authority to help with staffing and other costs.
The cash-strapped council says closing up to four of them would help save around £133,000 each year on staffing and running costs, although it has not stated which ones might face the chop.
It wants the public to have its say on the proposals before making any final decisions.
The idea, however, is already facing fierce opposition from angry residents mounting a campaign against any closure plans.'

More on the Courier website. Looks like the Invernessians that want to protect their community centres could do with a facebook group.

Highland Council cuts - the Tory view

Maybe this observer is not looking hard enough but feels that there isn't really a lot of material out there from the PPCs (Prospective Parliamentry Candidates) for this constituency, Inverness, Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey.

Interesting then to read the view from Jim Ferguson the Conservative PPC:
'The national percentage for those who are over 60 in scotland is 19%. That percentage increases to 34% for the Highlands and Islands. This percentage for the Highlands will increase by 10% every 5 years so its imperative that proper planning and a full strategic review is carried out in order to ensure adequate health care provision accross the Highlands and islands.

I am disapointed to see that the Highland Council who now have to make £12 million pounds of savings are cutting front line services in areas such as care workers who are a lifeline to many families across this region.

The SNP, Labour and LibDems have all had an opportunity at running the Highland Council but have failed to achieve the outcomes that the people need. Their in-fighting and petty politics have caused inaction and a failure to properly provide for the elderly community which is growing at an incredible rate.

There really does have to be some common sense introduced so that we dont end up with a situation where we simply dont have the resources to cope.

Add to this the fact that we have had huge numbers of Eastern Europeans migrating to the Highlands who have not being paying contributions to the country but who quickly claim all their entitlements and we see a recipe for disaster due to not having the care provision and infrastructure to cope. The Labour Government were warned that this would happen but neither they nor the LibDems were prepared to listen and simply used political correctness as a weapon to silence their critics. '

Jim should perhaps mention the 'Independent' Party, after all they still have a big say in the running of the Council. Anyway, there's more on the candidate's blog.

The Cuts part 1

Convenor Sandy Park prepares to take his seat

Councillor Alston made the opening speech explaining the administration’s rationale for the cuts. Fine and noble words about sharing the burden of having to bail out the banks and how they had to get it right for the future because if it was left to 2013 it would be an unholy mess. It was all quite laudable until he started a rant against the Scottish Government, accusing them of taking decision making powers away, after that he just sounded like a typical petty politician scoring points.

He was followed by the convenors of the committees and then John Finnie the official leader of the opposition spoke. He was brief saying he would leave much of the debate to the amendments his group would be tabling. He indicated that he saw the budget as an attack on front line services.

The amendments were proposed but all defeated, there was some considerable debate but the votes came out around the 50-19 mark each time. The Lib-Lab-Indy ruling group held their nerve and went through with it - 12 million pounds will be cut from the budget. They will come back in the Autumn to decide on more cuts. History and their constituents will be their judges.