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Anger over Council meeting at 5-star hotel
Concerns are being expressed over North Ayrshire councillors and officials attending a three-day conference at Scotland’s most expensive five-star hotel, just weeks after the local authority announced £10m of cuts to local services.
the3towns.com understands that the Labour leader and deputy leader of the Council, Cllr David O’Neill and Cllr John Reid, attended the annual conference of the Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA), which was held at the prestigious Fairmont St Andrews Hotel over March 3-5. It’s understood that also attending was SNP councillor Willie Gibson and two senior Council officials, chief executive Elma Murray and corporate director (finance) Alasdair Herbert. Lib Dem councillor Andrew Chamberlain only attended on the last day of the conference, apparently because of his concerns over the cost of accommodation.
CoSLA this week confirmed that delegate charges for conference day-attendance on March 3 and 4 only was £572.50, while a package of three-day attendance with overnight accommodation came in at £612.50.
Ironically, the main message to emerge from the conference was one of cuts to council budgets. Cllr Pat Watters, CoSLA president, told delegates that local authorities should expect cuts of up to £1.8 billion by 2014. Said Cllr Watters, “Public services will have to take a hit…savings will have to be found in education, police, the fire service and care budgets.”
Continuing, the veteran councillor said, “We have never experienced anything like this. We are talking about a 10 to 15 percent reduction over the next three year period in resources that are available to us.
“That will continue for the next two or three spending reviews, and we are going to see similar reductions in other parts of the public sector. So there should be no sacred cows when it comes to making savings. We really need to start discussing this with communities and how we intend to manage the situation.”
Speaking to the3towns.com on condition of anonymity, a North Ayrshire Council official commented, “It seems junketing is exempt from the cuts being imposed on every department. People seeing services being cut, and colleagues facing redundancy, will be shocked to discover that councillors and bosses have been enjoying the facilities at a five-star hotel.”
The Fairmont St Andrews Hotel hosted the G20 Summit of government finance ministers in 2009, and boasts five restaurants, a golf course, spa and its own helipad. Literature for the hotel praises the facility, saying, “King-sized beds, thick, soft duvet covers and a feeling of total exhilaration as you relax within the comfort of your accommodation, with all the five-star services at your fingertips.”
Cllr Alex Rowley, the former General Secretary of the Labour Party in Scotland and now leader of the Labour Group on Fife Council, the local authority in which the Fairmont St Andrews Hotel is located, criticised his colleagues who attended the CoSLA conference, stating, “Given the financial climate we are in, I’m not sure we should continue attending any conferences. It’s difficult to justify taxpayers covering hotel bills and conference fees while cutting services.”
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NAC owed over £1m in unpaid rent
Cash-strapped North Ayrshire Council is owed over £1m in unpaid rent.
A report from Council officials, scheduled to go before Labour councillors on the local authority’s ruling Executive this week, will seek permission to write-off unpaid rent accounts of greater than £1,000, which would mean a total of £60,320.21 being lost to the Council. Officials have already written-off £67,525.42, which represents unpaid rent accounts of under £1,000 per tenant. Both sums were deemed to be “irrecoverable”.
Of the total figure - £127,845.22 - almost £9,500 relates to court costs incurred by the Council pursuing unpaid rent, but which is also now considered to be irrecoverable.
The latest report on unpaid rent comes on top of another presented to the Executive in October 2009. At that time, Labour councillors agreed to write-off irrecoverable rent totalling £171,905.78. This means that, in just five months, the Labour Executive has agreed to write-off almost £300,000 owed to the Council by former tenants.
In the new report, Council officials admit that the present sum to be written-off represents just over 10 percent of the total rent owed to the Council, meaning the overall figure for unpaid rent stands at around £1,184,000.
The Council states that certain arrears are considered to be irrecoverable “for a wide variety of reasons”, but that, if new information comes to light, such as the whereabouts of former tenants, action will be restarted to pursue the debts.
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Inspectors praise Auchenharvie Academy
Pupils and teachers at Auchenharvie Academy have received high praise from schools inspectors after a recent visit to the Stevenston facility.
Despite the school’s catchment area having some of Scotland’s highest levels of unemployment and deprivation, officials from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education (HMIE) found pupils showed a strong commitment to learning, while teachers were praised for “raising aspirations, supporting and celebrating achievement and working to improve the school”.
Senior pupils were also singled out for their efforts in supporting younger students through initiatives such as ‘paired-reading helpers’ and performing the role of ‘buddies’.
In addition, inspectors highlighted improvements in the attendance level from the previous year.
Other areas flagged up for commendation by HMIE officials were: young people’s wider achievements and the pride they take in their school, high-quality care and welfare shown by all staff, and high-quality leadership on the part of the head teacher and senior management.
The wider ’learning community’ at Auchenharvie also came in for praise, including links forged with outside bodies, such as James Watt College, Skills Development Scotland and the North Ayrshire Volunteer Centre. In particular, the HMIE report flagged-up the achievements of adult learners at the Auchenharvie campus, stating that they were “progressing well” as a result of “a range of inclusive and accessible learning opportunities”.
Commenting on the positive conclusions arising from the recent inspection, Mrs Carol Kirk, North Ayrshire Council's corporate director (Education), said, “The level of HMIE grades awarded to Auchenharvie are unprecedented and mark out our learning community as amongst the best in the country. Congratulations go to all staff and partner organisations involved.”
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Labour minister to speak at North Ayrshire public meeting
North Ayrshire & Arran MP Katy Clark is bringing one of Labour’s big-hitters to speak in the constituency.
Ms Clark will team-up with Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development, at a public meeting to be held at the Bridge Church in Kilwinning on March 19. The choice of speaker could be considered surprising, given Ms Clark’s reputation for being on the left of the party - Douglas Alexander was a protégé of Gordon Brown, and endorsed Tony Blair’s move to scrap Clause 4 of the Labour Party Constitution, which was seen as the most significant move by New Labour away from the party’s socialist past.
Douglas Alexander was also a member of the Labour Cabinet that took Britain into the Iraq war, and last Friday (March 6) was called to give evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry.
In addition, Mr Alexander is Labour’s General Election co-ordinator for the poll expected on May 6.
In his role as Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander is responsible for projects around the world - including sanitation plants in West Bengal, safe sex campaigns in Nigeria, Fairtrade work with South African tea farmers, and establishing nursery provision for disadvantaged children in Vietnam.
Commenting on the public meeting, Katy Clark said, “The scale of the recent earthquake in Haiti highlighted the importance of swift action to give aid during natural disasters.
“People in North Ayrshire and Arran have been amongst those making generous donations to help the unfortunate victims.
“There is also an ongoing need to bring opportunities, which will help lift people out of poverty in developing countries, and end the tragedy that there are still some who do not have access to food, shelter and clean water.”
Ms Clark continued, “That’s why the work of the Department for International Development is so important.
“I am very pleased that the Secretary of State has agreed to talk and look forward to hearing what he has to say.
“I know there are many people in my constituency who care deeply about this subject and I hope they will take the chance to join in the conversation.”
The public meeting with Katy Clark and Douglas Alexander will take place at 7.30pm on Friday, March 19, in the Bridge Church (formerly the Cornerstone Church), Dalry Road, Kilwinning.
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New initiative on community safety
A serving police officer is to take-up a post with North Ayrshire Council in an innovative example of 'partnership working' to enhance community safety.
Superintendent Jim Coubrough will remain within the Strathclyde force, which will also continue to pay his salary, but, in addition, he will perform the role of NAC’s Director of Community Safety. The Superintendent will work between offices in Irvine police station and Cunninghame House, the Council’s headquarters.
the3towns.com understands that the proposal is the first of its kind in Scotland, and that, if successful, could be rolled-out to other councils around the country.
Superintendent Coubrough will still report to the divisional commander and to the chief constable in relation to police operational matters and will retain his police salary, terms and conditions. However, he will also report to the Council chief executive, Elma Murray, for direction on a wide range of community safety issues and will become a member of the Council's Corporate Management Team.
A report on Superintendent Coubrough’s appointment explains, “There is already a lot of very good joint working going on between the Council and Strathclyde Police on Community Safety. It is considered that this proposal will be an opportunity to build on this, further integrate the services and identify areas of further efficiency and effective working between the two agencies. This would also provide a direct link to the tasking regime of police officers on operational matters for North Ayrshire for which Superintendent Coubrough has responsibility.”
Amongst issues expected to benefit from the new community safety arrangement are: Anti Social Behaviour/Community Safety Services including the Community Warden Service, CCTV, Community Learning and Development Youth Services (diversionary activities), Trading Standards and Environmental Health, Emergency Planning, and Violence against Women (initiatives and services).
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Help for Neonatal Unit
A fund-raising initiative organised by Co-operative Funeral Care in North and East Ayrshire has resulted in a donation of £338 being made to the Neonatal Unit at Crosshouse Hospital.
Co-operative Funeral Care offices across the local area encouraged recently bereaved people to remember their loved ones by posting messages on ‘Remembrance Trees’. Family and friends were also asked to make a donation to help babies who need special care after birth.
The Crosshouse Neonatal Unit, completed in 2006 as part of new facilities offering Ayrshire-wide Maternity cover, provides three levels of care for new babies: intensive care, high dependency to special care, and lower levels of need.
Anne Hoyle, Senior Midwife and Neonatal Manager at the Crosshouse Unit, commented, “I would like to thank everyone who donated at the Co-operative Funeral Care’s ‘Remembrance Tree’. The money will go towards specialised equipment to help us care for babies in Ayrshire who need special care after they are born.”
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Junior Football
Results
Saturday, February 27 2010.
Stagecoach Ayrshire District League
Ardeer Thistle 1 Saltcoats Victoria 2
Muirkirk V Lugar Boswell Thistle - Postponed
Craigmark Burntonians V Troon Juniors - Postponed
Hurlford United 3 Kello Rovers 2
Kilwinning Rangers 3 Irvine Victoria 0
Darvel Juniors V Ardrossan Winton Rovers - Postponed
Fixtures
Saturday, March 6 2010. Kick-offs - 2:00pm.
Stagecoach Ayrshire District League
Ardeer Thistle V Hurlford United
Ardrossan Winton Rovers V Irvine Victoria
Kello Rovers V Troon Juniors
Kilwinning Rangers V Saltcoats Victoria
Darvel Juniors V Craigmark Burntonians