government

Salmond Slams Tories’ Misplaced Interests

November 17, 2011 By Alexandra Leave a Comment

By Alexandra Wingate

First Minister Alex Salmond has attacked Scottish Conservatives
for acting to aid the interests of the UK Tory party, rather than that of the Scottish people.

The comments came during today’s First Minister’s Questions after Mr Salmond was asked, no less than three times, about the number of international companies investing in Scotland. This follows Tuesday’s opening of Amazon’s distribution and customer service centres in Fife and Edinburgh respectively. These openings are expected to create more than 3,000 permanent and temporary jobs in Scotland.

Mr Salmond said: “While the success in this investment is not recognised by the opposite benches in this government, it is recognised by the Tory party in the North East of England.”

He went on to explain that Linda Arkley, Conservative mayor of North Tyneside, has been well-documented in her interest in what Mr Salmond described as “the success and firepower of Scotland in attracting thousands of jobs.” He claims that Mrs Arkley has been lobbying George Osborne in an attempt to force these investments to be moved away from Scotland and into the North East of England.

Mr Salmon continued: “The dangerous thing is that this lady, after lobbying, said, quote, ‘Ministers have agreed to look at this’, unquote. So what action have Westminster ministers got in mind to dissuade international companies?”

“I hope that at least this parliament can be united by welcoming the investment by Amazon and other companies who are expressing more confidence in Scotland than is held by the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer.”

The issue of money and investment in Scotland featured highly in Mr Salmond’s answers. When Scottish Conservative David McLetchie MSP congratulated Mr Salmond’s recent success in solving the recent fossil fuel levy row with Westminster – which resulted in a windfall of £100m from the UK Treasury – Mr Salmond retorted: “They think it a tremendous triumph to get 50% of Scotland’s money. Wouldn’t it be better to get 100% of Scotland’s money?”

“The other 50% of Scotland’s money is going to help capitalise the Green Investment Bank. Is that not yet another reason for the Green Investment Bank being headquartered in Scotland?”

Filed Under: All Politics Tagged With: Alex Salmond, alexandra wingate, Amazon, david mcletchie, Edinburgh, fife, first minister's questions, fmqs, fossil fuel levy, George Osborne, government, green investment bank, Holyrood, international business, jobs, linda arkley, lobbying, MSP, north east of england, north tyneside, Scotland, scottish conservatives, scottish politcs, tory party, uk treasury, Westminster

Train overcrowding crisis will “simply get worse”

November 10, 2010 By kezmcginty Leave a Comment

By Kerry McGinty

Train overcrowding is at an all time high and it is only going to get worse according to information revealed by the government that all targets for increasing passenger places on trains by 2014 will be missed. It has also been revealed that within 5 years train fares are to rise by a third.

Richard Bacon MP said: “People paying premium fares for rail services that are still overcrowded have every right to be furious, especially as trains look set to get more crowded.”

Train overcrowding and delays are affecting the whole of the UK. On the 8th November Birmingham new street station was in chaos, with the station electing in the end to remove the train times from any screens and replacing it with “Welcome to Birmingham New street” due to severe delays on all the train services.

: Birmingham new street starting to get busy. (courtesy of www.aidan.co.uk)

As I waited for over an hour for the 12.22pm train to Edinburgh I spoke to some of the hundreds of other passengers on the platform who were also willing for our train to finally turn up.

Carol Smith, aged 51, who was trying to travel to Preston said: “It’s been and absolute nightmare, I’ve already been delayed on my connecting train and I didn’t have a seat. I just want to get home now!”

Simon King, another passenger waiting for the service: “I paid over £80 for my ticket and the train has been delayed by over an hour. You try and find out what’s happening and the staff just disappear! No one knows what’s going on, it’s chaos.”

After such a long wait the battle for seats began, with hundreds of frustrated, tired yet determined passengers preparing their elbows for the rush to the doors, not an activity you would expect after paying so much money for the privilege.

Margaret Hodge, Chairwoman of the The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said MPs were concerned that the “already unacceptable levels of overcrowding will simply get worse and ever more intolerable”.

The government is yet to reveal its plans to remedy the crisis. Until then the waiting game continues…

Filed Under: Life and Society, Travel and Communities Tagged With: Birmingham, Edinburgh, government, Preston, train overcrowding, trains

Government campaign ‘integral’ to drop in knife possession

November 8, 2010 By grantwright Leave a Comment

Scottish Government knife campaign poster

By Grant Wright

A government campaign aimed to tackle knife crime in Scotland has achieved considerable success giving hope to those who believe that community support is a more viable answer than blanket legislation. The initiative entitled ‘No Knives, Better Lives’ was piloted last year in the region of Inverclyde and earlier this year was extended to other areas of Scotland such as Edinburgh, Glasgow Renfrewshire, West Dumbartonshire and Clackmannanshire.

A report recently released showed that in Inverclyde there were 142 cases of knife possession in the period between February 2008 to May 2009, but following the introduction of the scheme in June this fell to 93 cases between June 2009 to September 2010; a remarkable 35% reduction in spite of increased stop and searches in the area. Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, has praised this report calling it a ‘real achievement’. He has been involved in the initiative from it’s inception, taking an active part in many of the community activities related to the campaign.

The success in Inverclyde has been put down to the structural schemes in high schools involving workshops which encouraged young people to take an active part in discussing knife crime, and talks from those who have seen the horror of it first-hand such as ex-offenders, medics and victims. Sobering posters and cinema adverts combined with two educational films, ensured that 75% of children in Inverclyde have now heard of the initiative.

Chf Insp Graeme MacDiarmid of Strathclyde Police, Inverclyde’s area commander, commented that the campaign had played an ‘integral part’ in tackling knife crime and added that ‘never before have police officers in Inverclyde carried out so many searches for weapons, yet at the same time found so few’

Edinburgh has seen the initiative rolled out over the Summer this year, with most efforts focused in the north of the city where a third of all knife-related incidents in the capital occurred. It kicked of with a five-aside football tournament attended by Kenny MacAskill in Montgomery Park. Activities put in place to to entertain and distract the youth included gala days and music events, whilst the Granton Youth Project helped develop a play relating to knife crime which was then shown at the Edinburgh Festival. Prior to the campaign’s launch in Edinburgh, knife crime was already decreasing in the capital and has continued to do so across Lothian and the Borders according to recent reports. In nearly half of all incidents the victim knew the offender and alcohol and drug misuse were prominent factors.

Councillor Paul Eddie, Community Safety Leader at the City of Edinburgh Council said: “It is important to reassure the wider community that the partnership is doing everything it can to educate young people, so that knife crime can be reduced and that these crimes can become a problem of the past.”

“I am sure this new and exciting initiative will teach young people, that carrying a knife can have a devastating affect on their future.”

This initiative which involves a variety of communities and youth projects highlights a shift towards the integration of regional projects leading to an approach unique to each area. This is in contrast a proposed piece of legislation which was rejected in June, which would require mandatory six-month jail terms for anyone caught carrying a knife. Although it was defeated by only a narrow margin, schemes introduced since have been a far cry from blanket legislation.

Although the initiative is still in it’s early stages in other regions, there is evidently still a lot of work to be done, as on the day of these reports a 21 year old man was stabbed in he east of Glasgow. Supporters of the campaign remain optimistic.

Filed Under: All Politics, Life and Society, News in Brief, Uncategorized Tagged With: campaigns, government, knife crime, Scotland

Government forcing unemployed to work

November 8, 2010 By bryaniekane 1 Comment

Iain Duncan Smith releases the new welfare reforms this week

By Bryanie Kane

Plans to be revealed this week by Work and Pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, which aim to force the long-term unemployed to partake in manual labour or risk losing their benefits, has been strongly defended by government ministers. This comes after Scotland were named to have the highest unemployed population in the UK, with a rise of up to 10,000 more than the previous quarter and now stands at 216,000.

The plan states that people thought to need “experience of the habits and routines of working life” could be put on 30-hour-a-week placements. Anyone who refuses to take part and adhere to the rules of the plan, such as turning up on time, could lose their £65 Jobseekers’ Allowance for up to 3 months.

Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the state, maintains this idea is in no way to “punish or humiliate” people but to teach them how to be involved in a life which includes hard work. However many unemployed members of the public believe that the government is treating them like villains who cannot be trusted. The Work Activity scheme has been said to have been designed to try and find those claimants who are taking advantage of the system by deciding to claim benefits or who are doing undeclared jobs as well as getting a hand out from the government. Therefore “focusing on the workshy but offering nothing to the workless” as Douglas Alexander accuses the government.

Mary Beckett, 51 and unemployed from Mid Lothian, said in her opinion “This is just another way for the government to pretend like they are helping people like me, when in actual fact they are doing nothing of the sort. They should be putting more effort into creating jobs for the people who genuinely want to work instead of giving all the opportunities to those who are lazy and out for all they can get. I have been left feeling completely useless and deflated. This only adds to the stress that I am going through, and to be honest, at my age and the probability of me getting another job, I’m beginning to see no future at all.” These are issues which many are finding difficult to understand.

Many believe these plans to be unbeneficial to the country as statistics show, 5 unemployed people are chasing the 1 job and the UK currently have 5million people out of work and living off benefits.

The effect of the plan could drive people to absolute despair, as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams explains “People who are struggling to find work and struggling to find a secure future are, driven into a spiral of uncertainty, even despair.” However Mr Duncan Smith has defended his plans and says they are a way in which to reduce welfare dependency and to make work pay for the people and the country.

This approach has been viewed by some as harsh and comes across to be more of a punishment “The message will go across; play ball or it will be difficult.”

However Danny Alexander has defended the plan by saying it is supposed to “support and encourage” people to aim higher and take advantage of the opportunity to showcase great employability skills. This therefore means that over time “more people can do what they want to do which is get a job and go out to work because that is the best thing for the country, but it is also the best thing for those individuals and it is by far the best route for anybody out of poverty”.

With the amount of Scottish households without a steady income increasing, the government is using this initiative to move forward in educating the public to the ways of work, and aid in teaching them the value of helping the economy. However, it is argued, that the rise in unemployment is not because of a poor work ethic within the country but because there are not enough jobs to go around. Therefore the idea that the government should focus on creating jobs instead of forcing people into community work, comes to the forefront of the argument once again. Especially when the UK has one of the highest rates in Europe of completely workless households.

Record queues at Job Centre

Filed Under: All Politics, Economy and Business, Travel and Communities Tagged With: government, Iain Duncan Smith, manual labour, unemployed

European court ruling means prisoners will get vote

November 3, 2010 By kezmcginty Leave a Comment

By Kerry McGinty and Sylvie Metcalfe

European Parliament has passed a human rights legislation that enables prisoners to have the same voting rights as law abiding citizens. The PM David Cameron has admitted that the coalition government will have no choice but to allow prisoners the right to vote. Constitutional reform minister Mark Harper declared “this isn’t a choice, it’s and obligation”. The decision is has caused much anger and outrage within parliament and the public as this decision has been forced upon UK Law.

The case was brought to the European court by John Hirst in October 2005 it has been a long legal battle but the ban on votes for prisoners, that has been around for 140 years, has finally been overturned. John Hirst a convicted murderer who spent 25 years in prison for hacking his landlady to death with an axe posted a “celebratory” video on Youtube where he is quoted saying;

“Finally won out. I’m now going to celebrate for the 75,000 prisoners who will be getting the vote – that includes murderers, rapists, paedophiles, all of them will be getting the vote because it’s their human right to have the vote. You can’t start moralising and say which ones can and can’t have the vote.”

However not all offenders are said to be getting the opportunity to vote. It is unclear at this stage but it is being discussed whether or not voting privileges will depend on the length of the offender’s sentence.

Prime minister David Cameron is said to be “exasperated and furious” but it appears that our government is somewhat powerless at this stage. The decision has been made and there is no choice but to abide by the law set by the European Court of Human Rights. Prisoners who have no respect for the human rights of others have ironically been bestowed with a vote by Human Rights law. This is all in spite of public and parliamentary outrage.

Filed Under: All Politics Tagged With: Crime, government, human rights

Education Minister Promises No Tuition Fees in Scotland

November 2, 2010 By ryangavan 1 Comment

By Ryan C. Gavan

Tuition fees are ruled out but a graduate tax might be implemented

Mike Russell, the Cabinet Secretary for Education in Scotland, has promised not to introduce tuition fees north of the border.

This comes after the recent Browne Review into higher education funding in England and Wales. This is rasing concerns about the future of University funding in Scotland. In a statement about the subject, Russel said ” one measure has been ruled out, tuition fees.”

There is much worry that spending cuts could lead to changes in University funding in Scotland. Russell stated, ” the Scottish Government plans to publish a Green Paper by the end of the year.” This will include a wide consultation process involving student groups, universities and government.

This will be welcome news to student groups. Callum Leslie, of Liberal Youth Scotland, said ” bringing in tuition fees would be a regressive step for Scotland.”

Anne Ballanger, of the Scottish Secondary Teacher Association, stated “tuition fees may prove an impossible task for some prospective students.” She believes that if they were introduced student levels would fall.

Measures such as a graduate tax have not been ruled out. This would be in line with future earnings. The more a graduate was paid in the future, the more they would pay back. This policy proposal is causing great debate in England and Wales.

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, recently made a number of U-turns on the possibility of a graduate tax. He defended the policy initially, only to argue it was unworkable. He stated ” it fails both the tests of fairness and deficit reduction.”

The Browne review is facing questions over its independence. It is reported that it was available to ministers to view long before the publication date.

Graduate unemployment is at its highest levels for 17 years at 8.9%, recent figures show.

Filed Under: All Politics Tagged With: Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, Education, government, Politics, Scotland, scottish government, Scottish Parliament, SNP, students

National News Belt

October 22, 2010 By daviesjames Leave a Comment

By James Davies

HMS Astute is set to enter service next year

Attack Submarine grounded off Scottish Isles

HMS Astute, the Royal Navy’s newest and largest attack submarine has been grounded on rocks off the Island of Skye. The Ministry Of Defense has confirmed the battle submarine was undergoing sea trials on Scotland’s West Coast. A Ministry Of Defense spokeswoman said :” this is not a nuclear incident, we can confirm that there are no injuries to personnel and the submarine remains watertight. There is also no indication of any environmental impact”. HMS Astute is based at Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde, and is not expected to enter service until next year.

Clegg launches attack on IFS

Deputy PM Nick launches attack on IFS

Deputy Prime minister Nick Clegg has blasted claims today that the Governments Spending Review is “unfair” and that “poorer families will lose out the most due to the cuts”. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said that the Spending Review is “more regressive than progressive”. However, Mr Clegg hit back, telling the Guardian Newspaper that the IFS’s definition of fairness was “complete nonsense” and that it took account only of tax and welfare, ignoring factors like public services and social mobility.

Dr David Kelly death inquiry

An investigation into the death of ex-Iraq weapons expert Dr David Kelly has suggested his injuries were self-inflicted after new evidence was revealed. The previously confidential evidence has suggested the cause of his death was from a blade wound to his wrist, and was described as “typical of a self-inflicted injury”.

London Plans for ‘Super Council’

Plans to make the UK’s first ‘Super Council’ in London have been announced today. Hammersmith and Fulham, Chelsea and Kensington are the areas that are involved in the proposal. Under the proposal, each area will retain its political identity with its own councilors and leaders, but the move could save between £50m and £100m per year.

Filed Under: News in Brief Tagged With: Armed Forces, current affairs, government, Iraq, London, National, Politics

Nimrod crash victim’s family receive compensation

October 18, 2010 By adamjbell Leave a Comment

The family of an airman killed in the Afghan Nimrod disaster have received damages from the Ministry of Defence.

In an appeal hearing last Wednesday, Judge Lord Pentland heard the MoD defend a decision to award the serviceman’s mother and daughter up to £100,000 each.

Mr. Webster, speaking on behalf of the MoD, said that the amount the Ministry was being sued for was “unreasonable”.

Whilst accepting that the Ministry was at fault, and was liable to pay damages, they felt that the family’s “loss must be quantified”.

Mr. McMillan, speaking for the pursuers, acknowledged the MoD’s “Catalogue of failings” with regards to the Nimrod case and the unsatisfactory “root and branch approach” to fixing the issue.

Maintaining that the accident, in 2006, should never have happened and should not happen again, Mr. McMillan also drew attention to the time it took for the crash victims’ relatives to learn the facts of the accident.

It was left to the jury to decide the sum of compensation due to each of the mother and daughter separately.

They were told to base their calculations on three criteria: the distress and anxiety caused to the family; their grief and sorrow; and their loss of a family member’s support in non-monetary terms.

The mother eventually received a total of £90,000 and the daughter £60,000.

Further cases regarding the Nimrod disaster are being heard in coming weeks.

RAF grounds new Nimrods as safety fears hit £3.6bn project (telegraph.co.uk)
Family given Nimrod crash payout (bbc.co.uk)
Pay-out for Nimrod crash families (bbc.co.uk)

Filed Under: Courts and Crime Tagged With: accidents, Aviation, defence, Defense Ministries, government, Liam Fox, Ministry of Defence, Transportation

Major Banks Threaten to Leave the UK Over Financial Sector Shake Up

September 24, 2010 By Niall Lennon Leave a Comment

HSBC are one of the banks who have threatened to leave the UK

A Government inquiry is to examine whether retail and investment banking should be separated. The suggestion of which has prompted large financial institutions, such as HSBC, to threaten to leave the UK.

The proposed reforms are just one of many major changes the Independent Commission on Banking are considering in a bid to reduce ‘market concentration’. What this means for the public is that High Street monopolies such as Lloyds will be most vulnerable.

Many of those within the financial sector feel that this move is a government reaction to the public outcry over bank’s conduct leading up to the financial crisis, a key concern expressed by the electorate during the general election.

Stephen Hester, CEO the Royal Bank of Scotland, told the BBC that he believes that the concerns over banking monopolies was a ‘red herring’.

“In the financial crisis that we had, if you were a narrow bank, you were much more likely to go bust and if you were a small bank, you were much more likely to go bust – so these issues were not at the heart of the crisis,” he said.

Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee, is determined that the review will be clear and precise. Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme Mr. Tyrie said that the ICB ’have got to be tough and resilient’.

“They’ve got to make sure that they don’t just become a prey to this very powerful interest group that we have in the country, which is the banks, and end up just reporting that we can muddle through.”

Filed Under: Economy and Business, Uncategorized Tagged With: bank, break-ups, government, HSBC

TV sports report sparks backlash

November 13, 2009 By mylesedwards Leave a Comment

The Olympics are among numerous other events which are free-to-air (http://pictures.thaindian.com)

By Suhayl Afzal and Myles Edwards

Proposed changes to the list of free-to-air sporting events have triggered widespread criticism.

Sporting associations, journalists and the public have reacted angrily to the recommendations put to the department of culture, media and sport by an independent panel. [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Politics, News in Brief, Sports Tagged With: BBC, Football, government, Myles Edwards, rugby, Scotland, Scottish Football, scottish government

Government propose to change live music law

November 5, 2009 By zihautanejo Leave a Comment

By Jamie Mann

The government has expressed their will to improve the UK live music scene after proposing to allow small capacity venues to hold gigs without a licence last Thursday. Though the proposition is currently undergoing a 12-week consultation, musicians and venue-owners alike have been offered hope for a prominent music scene; the scene has been somewhat restricted since the initiation of the 2003 Licencing Act. The act currently enforces that venues of any capacity must possess a licence in order to host musical entertainment; obtaining a licence is not a simple task as many have found to process strenuous and expensive to complete.

Nick Stewart, manager of the popular club Sneaky Pete’s agreed that the government’s proposal would be an asset to Edinburgh’s music scene with numerous clubs and pubs who could grant customers live music. Stewart did not deem the process of achieving a licence an ordeal mentioning that it was “pretty easy” however, the capacity of his club was reduced from 120 to 84. Though Stewart highlighted that the 2005 act affects Scotland and differs from the 2003 act, should the government’s proposition be successful , an improvement Edinburgh’s music scene could be imminent.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/oct/21/police-law

http://lesbonner.mycouncillor.org.uk/2009/10/22/government-proposals-for-live-music-are-a-damp-squib/

Filed Under: Entertainment Tagged With: Club, Edinburgh, Entertainment, government, live music, music, Pub

Repossessions on the Increase

November 4, 2009 By becca110 Leave a Comment

By Rebecca Gordon

Housing charity Shelter fear a spike in home repossessions as a result of the deepening recession. Speaking ahead of a conference tackling mortgage repossessions, Director Graeme Brown has urged lenders to back Government proposals to support struggling mortgagees.

Repossession, courtesy of Dailymail.co.uk

According to Sheriff Court figures, there was a 20% increase in mortgage actions taken to court in Scotland in 2008-9 and a 50% rise in decrees granted, revealing a worrying situation for Scottish householders.

With interest levels at their lowest yet, Shelter believe homeowners may find difficulty keeping homes when rates eventually increase. Calling for radical action, Brown believes Government plans are only part of the picture;

“We need to see this as a wake-up call and not just about picking up the debris of yet another housing market crash. As first time buyer numbers plummet protections for homeowners must be matched by protections for tenants.

Unless we get a better balance in the housing market we are already sowing the seeds of the next boom and bust cycle.”

Allowing discussion of the Scottish Government’s Repossessions Working Group and the pending Home Owner and Debtor Protection Bill on mortgage repossessions, the conference included speakers Alex Neil MSP, Housing and Communities Minister; Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland; Kennedy Foster, Policy Consultant Scotland, Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Alex Neil, MSP believes the Scottish Government recognises its responsibilty;

“With an increasing number of families facing financial difficulties, repossessions across the UK quadrupling in only four years and forecast to increase by another 60 per cent this year, it is imperative that families are protected with the full weight of the law.

That is why proposals for a new law – the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill – to protect people affected by debt and at risk of repossession were recently published.”

Filed Under: All Politics, Travel and Communities Tagged With: Charity, government, mortgage, repossessions, shelter

Government increase PR spending

October 23, 2009 By journalismbehr Leave a Comment

by Andrew Tweedie, Calum Liddle and Michael Behr.

Scottish Government spending on PR increased by 10% during the recession, new information has revealed.

The report was gained through a Freedom of Information request which showed that the government spending on PR was £704 086 during April 2008 - March 2009. This was an increase of £64 033 compared to the 2007-2008 period, where PR spending was £640 053.

Scott Douglas, director of media consultancy firm Holyrood Partnership, said the way the government chooses PR companies was to blame for the increase in spending.

“Take one stout jute sack. Insert half a dozen hungry ferrets. Add a scrawny chicken that thinks it’s the most succulent bird on two legs. Hit with a big stick. Ta da! You’ve got the Scottish Government’s PR Roster system,” he said on his company blog.

“Words fail me on just how awful and flawed the whole process is. There’s nothing wrong with trying to squeeze the best possible value out of contractors – but this system does nothing for value, nothing for Scottish agencies and, I suspect, delivers little in the way of real value to the taxpayer.”

The Scottish Government responded to this by pointing out that PR Spending during 2006 – 2007 was £1 022 814 and the latest figures represent a 30% decrease.

A Scottish Government representative said; “The Scottish Government spend on PR has increased between 2008 and 2009 to reflect the changing nature of the Scottish populations media consumption. Marketing has long since moved away from big budget mass advertising campaigns to focus on a more strategic and targeted approaches of which PR plays a key part.”

Filed Under: All Politics, Economy and Business, Uncategorized Tagged With: budget, government, PR, PR spending, scottish, scottish government, spending

Fright Night Fears

October 21, 2009 By becca110 Leave a Comment

By Rebecca Gordon

While Halloween mischief is always expected, insurance company Axa fear a spike in anti-social behaviour linked to trick or treating and fireworks this year. Basing research on previous insurance claims, the company’s statistics show that the seven days from 30th October to 5th November are the worst week in the year for malicious damage to homes.

Halloween Image, courtesy of Alan Baxter online

With the incidence of claims 350% higher than the average day on the 5th of November and 270% higher on the 31st October, property damage ranges from broken windows to a wall being pushed over, while on bonfire night the average claim for malicious firework damage averages at £1000.

In addition, Government statistics reveal that around 1000 people a year are injured by fireworks and the resulting increase in ‘secondary fires’.

With Halloween falling this year on a Saturday, generally the worst day of the week for malicious damage claims, Axa expects a huge increase in deliberately destructive acts. Nick Kidd, Head of Household Underwriting at Axa warns “We don’t want to ruin anybody’s fun on Bonfire Night but people do need to be vigilant. Although it is difficult to avoid someone putting something through the letterbox, people should take extra care to ensure windows and doors are locked…

“Any sort of damage caused to another person’s property is not only anti-social but also a criminal offence and while insurance can pick up the cost, it can’t deal with the emotional drama.”

Filed Under: Courts and Crime, Life and Society Tagged With: axa, bonfire night, government, Halloween, insurance

Scotland Closer to Zero Waste

April 23, 2009 By vibeckeg Leave a Comment

By Vibecke Gudmundsen

Scotland is getting closer to achieving the targets of increased levels of recycling and reduction of waste by 2010, as outlined in the National Waste Plan towards a zero waste Scotland.

The targets include stopping the growth of municipal waste and achieve 40% recycling and composting of the municipal waste by 2010. Anna Beswick, Assistant Campaign Manager at Waste Aware Scotland, said the government and Scotland are on schedule.

“We are doing very well. We had a target in 2008 to recycle 30% which we met in the fourth quarter last year, and the total rate for that year was 31,7%. This year the recycling rate was 36,3% by February, so we are already close to achieving the target on 40% by 2010”, she said.

Multi-sectional effort

The government’s additional key targets as outlined in the National Waste Plan are to achieve 50% recycling and composting of municipal waste by 2013; 60% by 2020 and 70% by 2025. Also, to reduce emission of greenhouse gasses no more than 25% of the waste should be treated by energy, and no more than 5% should be landfill by 2025. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) insists that this achievement demands a multi-sectional effort.

“Numerous stakeholders have a role to play in preventing waste including local authorities, product designers, retailers, manufacturers, community groups and consumers. The Scottish Government also has a duty in setting appropriate policies to ensure waste prevention is easy to undertake”, a spokesperson for SEPA said.

Reduction on waste going to landfills

The Scottish Government are at the moment reviewing the National Waste Plan, which will outline how Scotland will meet the 70% target by 2025. The plan will be complete in 18 months time, according to Waste Aware Scotland.

“The government is fully committed to increasing recycling in Scotland and working towards a zero waste”, Ms. Beswick said.

The proposal to move Scotland towards zero waste, meaning no waste at all, was set out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in January last year. Scotland produced nearly 3,5 million tonnes municipal waste in 2007, whereof 2,2 million tonnes were sent to landfill and 74 000 tonnes were incinerated.

Waste hierarchy

Waste Aware Scotland explains that recycling is a part of a waste management strategy which includes measures to prevent waste in the first place. The two other stages in a waste hierarchy include reducing and reusing.

“There is a wide variety of what people can do every day, like composting at home, donating or repairing furniture or bicycles for re-use, or preventing food waste by buying fruit and vegetables loose without packaging. Every Scottish household spends £410 every year on food that does not get eaten”, Ms. Beswick said.

“There are steps that people can do to reduce the amount of unwanted mail they receive, and things like using charity shops and donating is as important as recycling. “

“You must try to think outside of the box and recycle more unusual things like mobile phones, musical instruments or luggage, or use wind-up watches or solar power products.“

The National Waste Plan was launched in 2003 by the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) as a keystone to implement the National Waste Strategy. The latter was published by SEPA in 1999 in response to environmental concerns.

Although the amount of waste going to landfill has more than halved its 16 million tonne figure since 1994, there is still a risk of increased greenhouse emissions. Sending waste to landfills means losing valuable resources, but it also contributes to a climate change seeing that landfill sites release methane gas. In addition, badly managed landfill can pollute surface and ground water and cause problems with odour, flies and vermin.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: compost, environment, government, greenhouse, landfill, municipal, National Waste Plan, Recycling, Scotland, SEPA, strategy, target, waste, Waste Aware Scotland, zero waste

A ‘Toolbox’ to help teachers support autistic pupils

April 12, 2009 By sarahloumac Leave a Comment

Autistic children are faced with exclusion from schools

By Sarah Mackinnon

Teachers in Scotland are set to receive new support from the Government for coping with autistic pupils.

In line with Autism Awareness Day on 1st April, Holyrood has published a new resource for Scottish schools and local authorities called, ‘The Autism Toolbox‘.

This newly devised document is compiled from a range of practice experience, literature and research. It is now available through the Scottish Government and the Scottish Autism Network website. The resource offers in depth guidance for schools and local authorities to enable teachers to respond appropriately to autistic behaviour.

The implementation of “The Autism Toolbox” is an important development which responds to a worrying trend of autistic children being excluded from mainstream schools. Research suggests that such pupils make easy targets for bullies, and are considered difficult to teach by teachers. Pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD, (the blanket term which includes all the different sub groups of disability within the spectrum of autism) are over 20 times more likely to be excluded from school than those without special educational needs.

In 2006 statistics from the Scottish Executive showed that 141 autistic children were excluded from mainstream schools that year which was an increase of 62% from 2005. Chief Executive of the Scottish Society for Autism John Macdonald stated,

We believe children with less severe ASD should be taught in mainstream schools to give them as ordinary a life as possible, but there is a risk that those who have trouble communicating in the classroom and need extra attention are regarded as disruptive because of the pressure schools are under to deliver the curriculum, and are therefore excluded.

The parent of an autistic child from Edinburgh voices her concerns,

School staff are still viewing their [autistic children] behaviour as naughty lazy etc instead of seeing the amount of stress these children face on a daily basis within mainstream environment.

‘The Autism Toolbox’ was developed in direct response to reports, ‘Education for Pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorders’ by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education and ‘Make School Make Sense’ by the National Autistic Society.

Collectively, these reports found that 89% of schools were dissatisfied with the extent of teachers’ training in autism. Even in schools where there were autistic pupils, the results showed that only 12% of teachers had received any training, the majority for just one to four hours.

The important new resource is written by a team of various professional backgrounds and individuals on the autism spectrum. It was compiled by The National Centre for Autism Studies at the University of Strathclyde.

The ‘Toolbox’ provides detailed practical advice for day to day life in a school. Ten key aspects of effective practice to support pre schools, primary and secondary schools and eight main aspects to support parents and families are detailed in the document.

The Government is also undertaking a number of other initiatives to help schools provide support and services for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. These include, funding a National Development Officer to focus on transitions for all young people at risk of missing out on education and a two year action plan called ‘Framework for Inclusion’. This initiative aims to bring forward inclusive education in Initial Teacher Education and Continuous Professional Development.

Autism, is defined by the Disabilities Trust as “a lifelong developmental difficulty which affects the way a person communicates and relates to the people around them”.

The disability affects more than 500, 000 families in the UK today.

Filed Under: Life and Society Tagged With: authorities, autism, autism awareness day, government, network, Scottish Executive, Society, trend

New job boost for Edinburgh

November 27, 2008 By pmccormack Leave a Comment

By Paul McCormack

Aquamarine Power, Britain’s only marine energy company, has this week announced that there is potential for recruitment in the industry to increase by 150 per cent.

The Scottish Parliament

The Edinburgh based organisation, which develops wave and tidal energy, believes that with the correct backing from the government, this form of energy production could eventually employ more people than the oil and gas companies based in the North Sea.

A report by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers has called on the Scottish government to invest £40m to help the industry to move forward and develop their energy producing products off the coast of Orkney.

Currently employing more than 1,000 workers in Scotland, marine energy companies are aiming to expand in order to become the most efficient form of renewable energy.

Michael Berry, Communications Finance and Sustainable growth spokesman for the Scottish government said: “Scotland is leading the world in the development of marine energy. Our seas can provide 25 per cent of Europe’s tidal power and 10 per cent of its wave power – backed by significant government support, developers are investing millions in the testing and deployment of wave and tidal devices to harness that potential.”

Holyrood has called for 30 per cent of Scotland’s energy to be renewable by 2011, increasing to 50 per cent by 2020, and this source could be the ideal method for the government to reach its proposed targets.

Berry added: “£10 million is being used to support wave and tidal energy projects around Scotland and a further £2.5 million is going towards infrastructure projects at the world-leading European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. The issue of further support for the sector will be examined by the Forum for Renewable Energy Development.”

This decision will come as great news for everyone in the marine energy business and will open up the possibility of several thousand new jobs across the country.

Filed Under: All Politics, Economy and Business, Science and Technology Tagged With: Edinburgh, energy, gas, government, Holyrood, jobs, oil, orkney, parliament, Scotland

ID Cards Introduced For Foreigners This Week

November 25, 2008 By Michael Fern Leave a Comment

by Michael Fern

Thousands of foreign nationals are due to be issued identity cards when the government’s “ID Cards For Foreigners” scheme begins this week.

The home office is set to announce the plan today, beginning the £4.7 billion project. Foreign students and people whose visas are based on marriage to a British citizen will be the first groups affected.

The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, said: “The first identity cards for foreign nationals [...] demonstrate our commitment to preventing immigration abuse and protecting the prosperity of the UK.

“In time identity cards for foreign nationals will replace paper documents and give employers a safe and secure way of checking a migrant’s right to work and study in the UK.”

There have already this week been fears voiced that foreigners could take their skills elsewhere if Britain becomes “too unfriendly” in it’s regulation of immigrants.

Dr Geraint Bevan and others commented in the Herald that: “If this scheme is continued it will lead to less fee income and lower international status for Glasgow’s universities. Fewer of the world’s star performers in every field will choose to make their homes here than do now.

“We value the contribution that these gifted people currently make to our institutions and our society. We think our country should treat them as guests, not criminal suspects. “ID Cards for foreigners” is not just a small-minded slogan; Glasgow will suffer culturally and economically.”

This affect on the Scottish economy will come regardless of the Scottish Government’s stance on the issue. The Government voted 69 to one against the introduction of ID Cards last week, despite Labour MSPs abstaining. This has been described as a futile gesture, however, as the Scottish Government has no jurisdiction in the area of ID Cards.

Bill Aitken, the Conservative MSP for Glasgow, said: “An identity card scheme would be acceptable if it worked, but the basic fact is that it simply will not. The ID Card scheme is an unnecessary measure which should be scrapped.”

The scheme also came under fire in Westminster. Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieves called it “a gimmick with a price”, claiming that the cards would do nothing to stop illegal immigration or terrorism.

Fresh concerns were raised earlier this month when it was revealed that the charge for ID Cards could be as much as doubled due to the private sector’s involvement in collecting biometric information. The price of the scheme has already risen to almost £5 billion. The so-called “hidden charge” was described by Chris Huhne, spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, as an “incredible cheek”.

Information on ID Cards can be found on the Home Office’s website.

Filed Under: All Politics, Life and Society Tagged With: government, ID Cards, immigration, Jacqui Smith