SNP Highland Council Group

By SNP Highland Councillor Roy Pedersen:

Roy Pedersen "Leading"

I have been leading a group to establish a Gaelic cultural centre for Inverness and its hinterland. This project comes on the back of the huge success of Bun-sgoil Gaelic Inbhir Nis, Inverness’ all-Gaelic school in the southern suburbs of the city. The doubling of the roll within a few years to 136 primary pupils plus some 65 in the nursery has necessitated the addition of two new classrooms. The anticipated further growth at this rate will mean that the school will again be full by about 2012.

By then, it intended that school’s nursery will transfer to the planned new Gaelic cultural centre which will be located on a site next door to the school, thereby freeing up space for further expansion of the primary roll. The new centre will also house a number of the Gaelic organisations currently scattered around the city and have within it a small social space where learning and other events can be held.

One of the reasons for the rapid growth in the school roll is that more and more parents have been encouraged to place their children in Gaelic medium because research has shown, that, compared with English medium, pupils in Gaelic medium achieve consistently better results in all subjects, including English. Educationalists are clear that bi-linguallism has an intellect enhancing effect because such children in effect see the world simultaneously through two windows.

“This is a real success story”, said Councillor Pedersen. “The Highland Council has a statutory responsibility for educating young people. I am more than happy that it is doing so in a way that is also rebuilding our native language and culture by creating a wonderful new confident and talented generation young Gaelic speakers.”

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By SNP Councillor Dave Fallows:

Dave: "Take care over ALO's"

The Highland Council’s Administration has voted to look further at the possibility of establishing a single ‘arm’s length organisation’ – possibly a charitable trust – to take over responsibility for all of the council’s community learning and leisure activities. The principle driver behind this is that if these activities were to be under a charitable organisation, some £700,000 in non-domestic rates could be saved. All very bland sounding, and indeed, it almost sounds like a no-brainer.

But is it? And what does it actually mean?

First, it’s important to realise that ‘community learning and leisure’ encompasses a very wide range of activities – from the semi-commercial operation of the Highland Folk Museum – a visitor attraction peaking at over eight hundred visitors per day at the height of the season – through museums and art galleries, swimming pools and libraries, to active schools co-ordinators who work with schools to foster sport. So some of the activities don’t necessarily have premises themselves on which non domestic rates can be saved, whilst others may not reasonably be seen as ‘charitable’ by an increasingly tough charities commission. And the question has to be asked, ‘does it really make sense to try to hand over the operation of such a wide range of interests to a single organisation?’

Yes, of course we currently have them all within a single organisation, so it could be argued that nothing really changes – but doesn’t that beg the question ‘could we organise this better?’ I believe we could – and I believe we already have the examples of how that can be done. There are currently four arm’s length organisations that would otherwise fall within the compass of community learning and leisure – Eden Court, Inverness Leisure, The Averon Centre and The Nevis Centre. None of them are perfect, but they are all working well, with a rational focus. To absorb them into a new all-encompassing arm’s length organisation would seem nothing short of bonkers – though to combine them together as one might possibly be an option. But like them, the Highland Folk Museum is an obvious candidate for separation from a single megalithic structure. It is palpably different from anything else the council does in CLL and should be considered separately – or in concert with the other four that have a strongly commercial edge to them.

But in plumping for just one arm’s length option – that of the whole or nothing – to be considered, the council is, we believe, missing an opportunity to really examine how community involvement at a local level might be engaged to give facilities a stronger future. For example, a trust operating a local swimming pool might well have far greater motivation to bring it closer to profitability than ever the council, or a huge charity operation, might. In the Education, Culture and Sport Committee, we said this, and we moved an amendment which was aimed at considering a far wider range of options, but as usual, Administration Councillors weren’t listening. They had made up their minds to support the recommendation, right or wrong, and had their la-la-la headphones on to make sure they couldn’t hear the sound of reason. So they have lit the blue touchpaper, and held at arm’s length – but will the whole idea blow up in their faces?

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By SNP Councillor Ian Renwick:

Ian at the match between Skye and Kilmallie

Shinty remains very important to the health of our people and as a glue for our rural communities in Highland. I was delighted when, in 2008, the Scottish Government, through Sport Scotland made a further investment in the development of Shinty through improvements in coaching, training of officials and the player pathway. I believe that some of this investment, around a quarter of a million pounds is starting to pay off from the enthusiasm and participation I see locally in the sport. This is our indigenous game and we must do all we can to ensure a healthy future and that against the competition from other sports and activities that our young people are encouraged to take part. What I see, is that when they do take part they quickly gain a love of the game, for most that lasts a lifetime. The future financial settlements from the Con/Dem London Government means there will be pressure on support for sports and we will have to work harder to protect and develop Shinty. I will  be working locally and on Highland Council to ensure that this remains an important investment in our future.

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Raasay Terminal opened

By SNP Councillor Ian Renwick: Last Tuesday 17th August Stewart Stevenson, Minister for Transport,Infrastructure and Climate Change officially opened the 12 million pound Raasay Ferry Terminal. This is a lifeline link between Skye and Raasay and very important to our economy locally. The new roll on roll off facility replaces the decayed facilities at Suisnish which were very overdue for replacement. I was delighted to see this new sheltered facility finally in put place.

The children of Raasay Primary School sailed on the last ferry to leave the old terminal at Suisnish Pier on the “Loch Striven” ferry, crossing to Sconser to pick up the Minister, myself as local Councillor and a large number of Calmac and Highland Council officials.  The party then were the first passengers to arrive at the new terminal at Churchton Bay on the island. They were welcomed by Portree High School pipe band and entertained to music and singing by the primary school pupils.  Mr Stevenson unveiled a plaque to commemorate the occasion. Mr Stevenson said”This substantial investment will deliver first class facilities for the people of Raasay as well as visiting tourists. It is a vital boost for the area and in these challenging times will make a valuable contribution to both the local and national economy”

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Drew - "Crown Estate must benefit Scotland."

By SNP Councillor Drew Hendry:

The Crown Estate has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again.

Although it’s name suggests Royal involvement this has nothing to do with the Windsors, folk should be under no illusions that this is made up of estates of lands and seabed that are controlled fully by the London Government Treasury.

Another thing that there should be no illusions about is that the Estate belongs to Scotland and should be run by, and for, the benefit of Scotland.

As it is, the millions of pounds in revenues flow into the Exchequer and are used to fund whatever the treasury decide. When Chair of Planning, Environment and Development on Highland Council I was involved in getting an unprecedented all party written agreement drawn up to call for the return of the Crown Estate to Scottish Government control. In spite of reminding those involved of the importance of this issue, however, it seems to have slipped down the scale of importance for the Lib Dem/Lab/Independent administration. You don’t have to guess why.

SNP MSP Rob Gibson’s comments last week on the scandal of the Crown Estate selling Scottish property to fund building shopping malls in England were a timely reminder of the “drip, drip” waste of Scottish revenue and capital wealth that continues to drain away unabated.

Rob said “Devolving the Crown Estate is long overdue and the current coalition’s plans to allow Scotland to appoint one Commissioner are seriously deficient. Selling Scottish property at a loss to fund shopping malls in England instead of holding onto the property to make the best return for further investment in Scotland is not acceptable with what are major assets. It raises serious questions about the Crown Estates stewardship of their resources in Scotland. With the Crown Estate currently responsible for and receiving revenues from Scotland’s seabed which is set to become one of our most valuable resources this state of affairs in unacceptable.” He added “The UK Government must act to fully devolve control of all elements of the Crown Estate and I am calling on the Lib Dems, who well know the benefit that could be derived for the North of Scotland, to ensure the coalition delivers that devolution as soon as possible.”

It does seem as if the appetite previously shown by prominent Lib Dems in the Highlands for the transfer of control of the Crown Estate has been seriously watered down now that Danny Alexander has to make decisions on these issues. Could it be that another famously “Unfair” issue is going to magically become “ok” again? We will see over the coming months but one thing the public can count on is that the SNP position, whether taken by MSPs  or Councillors remains consistent:

Return control of the Crown Estate assets to where they belong. Scotland.

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By SNP Councillor John Finnie:

SNP Councillor John Finnie

Scotland’s public sector has agreed to ensure “our public services are high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to people’s needs.”

“Shared services” means that, rather than duplicating tasks across the public sector, jobs such as payroll or administration are “shared.”  Innevitably, if you “share” services you need less folk to deliver them.

John says:

“The SNP Group on Highland Council fully supports shared services, but not redundancies to front line staff to facilitate it.  Rather we believe proper scrutiny of vacancies, and redeployment of staff, is the way to control staff numbers and maintain quality services.

“Inevitably there will be less staff and, consequentially, a reduced need for managers.  The big question is ‘when will the sharing of services result in a chief officer not being replaced?’.

“With some Council Chief Executives earning more than the First Minister not replacing one may mean we can employ more cleaners, tradesmen or teachers.

“Grief is best shared and I know the trade unions would appreciate some of grief being shared at the top end of the salary scale.  Roll on the day! “

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By SNP Councillor Drew Hendry:

No to Nuclear Power

Who said that the big issues are never discussed at Community Councils?

At Strathglass Community Council last week we had the full agenda of roads, play parks and many other recurring themes, but the Community Council were also asked to respond to a request from the “No to Nuclear Power” campaign.

A very thoughtful and balanced presentation was given by one of the Community Council’s office bearers on the pros and cons of both sides of the argument of the issue of a Community Council responding at all on wider matters, such as Nuclear Power.  After discussion, it was agreed the Community Council’s views would be valid. From the floor one community member reminded the audience that the legacy of Chernobyl continues to cause problems many years after the disaster.

There was no vote as there was nobody there who could figure out why the Highlands – and Scotland – sitting on massive renewable potential, would ever want to invest in something where the environmental impact is measured in tens of thousands of years. Consequently the Community Council is making its position clear.

I was proud to witness the Community Council take a view on this when they could have so easily dodged it.

My own view, you will not be surprised to hear, is that investing in nuclear is daft and dangerous and the new fashion for dressing it up as the saviour of the energy market is one driven by self interest and expediency.

I notice that those Lib Dems now sharing power at Westminster have noticably soften their attitude from a straight “No” to “let’s look again” position. This reminds me of “Scrap the UNFAIR Highland Housing debt” which, apparently, is no longer “Unfair” when the Lib Dems get the chance to deliver.

Lib Dem principles and policies, it seems, have a “half life” of just a few months when grasping power for the wrong reasons.

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By SNP Councillor Dave Fallows:

SNP Councillor Dave Fallows on Broadband needs in Highland.

Coverage in the Highlands for Broadband and Mobile coverage are patchy in the extreme. My own broadband link in Dulnain Bridge delivers 6.2mb per second, whilst just half a dozen miles away at the back of Nethy Bridge, 256Kbps is the best that can be achieved

On the other hand, whilst I can get what seems like a pretty decent broadband speed, I can’t get a mobile signal at all inside the house and its pretty weak outside – so broadband over my mobile phone is a total non-starter.

But also, I did say ‘what seems like a decent broadband speed’ and by comparison with 256Kbps, it is. But in many cities and larger towns, 20Mbps is now the norm, and pretty soon, we’ll be seeing 100Mbps – both fast enough for real time streaming of high definition video. But the prospects of any of this reaching Highland are completely nil, if left to commercial pressures – there simply aren’t enough of us, and we’re spread too thinly.

So we need real and tangible help to leverage in services that can and should be the lifeblood of business in the Highlands for the future and a huge potential advantage for residents who can’t even get a decent TV signal too – so initiatives like HIE’s to try to work with providers to encourage better broadband and mobile coverage are welcome.

The risk, though, is that the available help will prove to have been too little, too late as public resources dry up – perhaps our best hope will lie in communities that have the foresight and vision to look to taking their own services in their own hands – unbundling the local loop, as it’s called – and even looking at local high speed community wireless networks.

Perhaps what we need is pump priming funds to turn community aspiration into reality?

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By SNP Councillor Maxine Smith

SNP Councillor Maxine Smith on the Small Business Bonus

Since 2007 the small business bonus scheme has been helping businesses in the HIghlands to weather difficult trading conditions. The effect has been to wipe out a layer of cost from most businesses and to allow them some welcome breathing space.

This has made such a difference to business in a time of deep recession.  I know of a business owner who receives 100% rates relief on their business premises, which they were struggling to pay.  This has meant they can not only stay in business but can afford to keep all of their staff on without paying anyone off to make ends meet.  Many small shops have benefited from this.

I also know a couple who started up a shop on a High Street ground floor, but previously would not have considered this as the rent was high enough without adding rates to it.  This is a way to kick start the economy in hard times and get things going.  I commend the Scottish Government on its foresight.”

From 1 April 2010 the thresholds of the Scheme have increased.  The Scheme will provide relief to ratepayers with properties in Scotland with a combined rateable value of £18,000 or less.  In addition, the Scheme has been expanded and, where the cumulative rateable value of a ratepayer’s properties falls between £18,000 and £25,000, the Scheme will offer 25% relief to individual properties with a rateable value of up to £18,000.

The Scheme provides the following relief from 1 April 2010:

• Up to £10,000 – 100% relief
• £10,001 to £12,000 – 50% relief
• £12,001 to £18,000 – 25% relief
• Upper limit for cumulative rateable value £25,000* – 25% relief

* This will allow a ratepayer with 2 or more properties with a cumulative rateable value of under £25,000 to qualify for relief at 25% on individual properties with a rateable value less than £18,000.

Applying for Small Business Bonus Scheme in Highland -  application form

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By SNP Councillor Ian Brown, Inverness Millburn.

Millburn is a great place to live and, for me, to represent. I am naturally keen therefore to ensure that pressure is kept on to keep it that way.

There are, however, pressures facing the ward that need to be recognised and early plans put in place to ensure the future is a healthy one. Reports at the Planning Environment and Development Committee held on 11th August should be seen as concerning for Millburn. An item on the Housing Land Audit showed that out of 8061 houses built in Highland since 2005 Millburn Ward gained only 66 houses. This is the lowest number of houses built in all 22 highland wards. When it comes to large building sites (which could take 4 or more new homes) out of a total of 4281 Highland sites, Millburn ward again stands out as the only one with no large house building sites.

I have raised concerns that, with an ageing population forecast for Highland that the lack of new housing for younger people to move into could, over time begin to affect the sustainability of local schools. It is unlikely that the demographics of Millburn will remain constant but with no new housing, particularly affordable housing, the problem needs to be recognised now and factored into City planning for the future.

Military Cuts

There are some who point to the possible demise of the defence economy, through aggressive Westminster cuts, as a likely way to free up housing but this is a dangerous point of view. Planning through counting on negative development almost always leads to longer term social issue, Millburn needs a positive plan.

With the latest rumours regarding defence cuts and the Black Watch possibly being disbanded this could also potentially have a devastating effect on Raigmore Primary School and Millburn Academy. The estate at Wimberley Way houses large numbers of Army families.

If this were to happen the highland economy as well as the local schools would be hit hard which is the last thing we need at this time. I will continue to call for these issues to be addressed and contingency made to make sure that Millburn continues to be a great place for people of all ages to live in.

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