Dundee Labour News Digest Weekending 6th. April 2013
Call for Full Investigation into Kemback Closure Controversy 2 April 2013 I consider that the Administration and therefore the Council, missed an opportunity to start to heal the wounds that have been created through this sad and sorry affair which has left individuals with so much uncertainty and anxiety about their future. The Council's own recent survey indicated that it is not a listening Council - something which I think was demonstrated last week, with no Opposition Councillor prepared to support the SNP Administration. Although the Administration have to date refused to listen, myself and other Members of the Labour Group have tried to do what we can to hear the pleas from the individuals concerned.
One of the speakers from the deputation made an extremely scathing attack on Council’s Social Work Department. I have always been of the opinion that it has been due to the SNP Administration's political and unhealthy determination to close Kemback Street that has gotten us into this position and not any Officer in the Social Work Department. However, now that the complaint has been heard in the public arena, Dundee City Council's own debating Chamber, there must be a full investigation. Therefore I have made this request to the Chief Executive, Mr Dorward. I personally would wish to know what was the scope and the previous plan in relation to the consultation exercise. The Administration has continued to say that the closure of the Kemback Street Centre was not a cost saving exercise. If this is the case, then why were staff so ill prepared when meeting with service users? I would hate to think that we have allowed members of staff to be placed in such a position that, when meeting to discuss individual's needs, they were unable to offer any indication of what type of future service that would meet or exceed their service plan currently offered at Kemback Street Centre. There needs to be a full investigation as to how this whole sorry affair has been handled to date. The Council needs to be open, transparent and do what it can to heal the wounds it has created. After receiving the Inspectorate Report and on hearing that the individuals have Petitioned for a Judicial Review, this seems to have set the Council into some type of panic which I consider will not lead to positive outcomes for anyone concerned - council or service user. The Labour Group will be looking for more than just the Convener to go if this Consultation is badly handled a second time.
Dundee City Council and the Bedroom Tax : Statement on the SNP administration's policy on evictions 29 March 2013
I wish to express my concern regarding the misconception regarding the reported 'no eviction' policy of the SNP Administration on Dundee City Council. I wish to highlight to tenants, who are facing a reduction in housing benefit due to the 'Bedroom Tax', that the SNP policy will not protect them from eviction. I am deeply concerned that tenants who are to be affected will only see the headline “No Eviction” giving little regard to the small print. The SNP policy suggests an eight month protection against eviction, on the assumption that the tenant is doing all they reasonably can do to make payment and stop themselves falling into rent arrears. It should be noted that the Council will use all the legitimate means to collect rent “which may mean legal action short of eviction.”
There must be clarification in respect to this policy. Everyone must know how the policy is to be implemented, some definition of the phrase “all they reasonably can do� must be issued so no tenant is misled. The Labour Group consider it to be fairer for the Scottish Government to amend the Scottish Housing Regulations making it illegal for tenants in Scotland to be evicted by reason of the extra bedroom tax that the Westminster Government has imposed. This would protect more than just Council tenants but others who are affected like those who rent from a housing association. Devolution was designed for times like this, and the Scottish Government needs to step up to the challenge.
Web link : Kevin Keenan http://www.kevinkeenan.org.uk
Jenny Marra MSP
I'm delighted that Alex Salmond has listened to Labour's campaign on the Tay Tax and has reduced the Dundee fares. 2 April 2013
I'm delighted that Alex Salmond has listened to Labour's campaign on the Tay Tax and has reduced the Dundee fares. The new cheaper fares will be very welcome news for Dundee commuters. Dundee businesses will also welcome the cheaper fares as this could drive more visitors into the City. With the V&A development, cheaper fares into Dundee are absolutely crucial to ensure we attract as many visitors as possible to make it a success.
But for potential employers in the city, everything that makes Dundee more accessible and more attractive to bring in business is essential. I have been campaigning on the Tay tax since July last year. It is just one of the many things that we have to get right to attract more employers to Dundee. I'm glad Alex Salmond has listened and I look forward to the Scottish Government cementing its commitment to Dundee when the decision on the National Football Academy is made later this week.
Web link : Jenny Marra MSP : http://www.jennymarra.com
Councillor Lesley Brennan Redistribution and Predistribution 5 April 2013
What do Jenny Marra’s Switch Together campaign and the Dundee Labour Students Living Wage at Dundee University campaign have in common? As well as being excellent campaigns, they are examples of predistribution in action. We are likely to hear a lot more about pre-distribution between now and the General Election, from ideas that have come from Labour, traditionally the party of redistribution from the rich to the rest of society.
Ed Miliband has put its importance in context saying, “We need to care about predistribution as well as redistribution.' The next General Election will take place against a background of a weakened economy and 5 years of austerity, during which time public expenditure has been cut remorselessly. The finance to fund Labour’s ambition is likely to be restrained , and while a Labour Government can and will act to roll back 5 years of uncaring Tory government , means other than traditional government tax-and-spend can be employed. Examples include making national and local government contracts dependent on all bidders agreeing to pay a Living Wage above the national Minimum Wage, vocational training, consumers coming together to purchase energy from a distributor at a reduced price, and capping rail prices. The money that pre-distribution could save could be invested to boost growth. Low growth areas are low-wage, low skill areas. Raising skills through training is in the best interests of a company by raising productivity, raising sales, raising wages, and so boosting the local economy. The founder of Predistribution is a Yale University political scientist, Jacob Hacker who declares its objective as “to focus on market reforms that encourage a more equal distribution of economic power and rewards even before government collects taxes or pays out benefits"
So instead of relying on government intervention to correct a failure of the market, an equitable settlement is agreed beforehand. The key to predistribution is consumers exercising their bargaining power. The switch together scheme highlights the importance of collective bargaining. The implementation of the living wage demonstrates how commissioners can flex their bargaining power to deliver a more just outcome. So the potential of pre-distribution is inspiring, particularly in a cold economic climate . We will hear much more of its championing of social justice and personal dignity in the months to come.
Web link : Lesley Brennan : http://www.lesleybrennan.com
Councillor Richard McCready Action on the Tay Tax Welcome 5 April 2013
I welcome the moves by the Scottish Government to reduce train fares to and from Dundee. Along with Labour colleagues like Jenny Marra I have been campaigning on this important issue. The Tay Tax was unacceptable and it is only right that this anomaly is being removed. It is important to Dundee's future that we have the best transport links possible. Important in this is the frequency of services as well as the cost of services.
The return price to Glasgow of ÂŁ50.50 is just ridiculous and does nothing to encourage people to move from cars to trains. If Dundee wants to attract visitors to the city for the V & A at Dundee or the National Football Academy which will surely come our way in due course then we need to have better rail services. I think that we should be looking to improve the services we have making them slightly more affordable is a step in the right direction, but we need to look for more. The improvements which will come at the rail station are welcome but we must have more regular services and I would like to see local services along the Tay for example. It is good that the Scottish Government has listened to concerns raised by Labour politicians and others in Dundee. This is how the Scottish Government should work. It would have been good if they had listened on the bedroom tax for example and I am sure that they will listen on the issue of the National Football Academy.
web link : Richard McCready http://www.richardmccready.org.uk
Marlyn Glen The Impoverishment of Britain continues 5 April 2013
Last month’s report –“The Impoverishment of Britain” from the Economic and Social Research Council, the largest- ever study of poverty carried out in this country, produced evidence of shocking levels of minimum living standards that have worsened since the Thatcher era of Breadline Britain. The main findings from its work last year, reproduced in its own words, are : Over 30 million people (almost half the population) are suffering to some degree from financial insecurity. Almost 18 million in the UK today cannot afford adequate housing conditions.
Roughly 14 million cannot afford one or more essential household goods. Almost 12 million people are too poor to engage in common social activities considered necessary by the majority of the population About 5.5 million adults go without essential clothing. Around 4 million children and adults are not properly fed by today’s standards. Almost 4 million children go without at least two of the things they need. Around 2.5 million children live in homes that are damp Around 1.5 million children live in households that cannot afford to heat their home In addition, the survey asked people to assess what possessions and activities they regarded as necessary for everyday life and which people should be able to afford. Attitudes towards what are considered as necessities have hardened, shaped by still living in the longest economic downturn since the end of Wold War II. In previous surveys over the past three decades, the majority of those questioned indicated the following as essential , - being able to : Give presents to family and friends on special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas
Have a week’s holiday away from home. Have a ‘best’ outfit for special occasions or replacing worn out clothes with new (not second hand) ones Replace worn out furniture Have children’s friends to visit for tea or a snack once a fortnight. Today, none of these command majority support, and tough financial choices mean that people now go without things that they considered to be necessary in the past. For those millions of people trapped by standards of living that would have been regarded as wholly unacceptable in previous decades, life for them will only get worse as benefit cuts roll out this month. Individual poverty intensifies insecurity, family poverty even more so. At the same time as this research on inequality was undertaken, official government figures reveal the security that resides at the other end of society . The richest 10 per cent own 40 per cent of the wealth of the UK, according to the Office of National Statistics These 10 per cent at the top are now are 850 times more wealthy than the 10 per cent at the bottom Just under £1 million in assets gains a person entry into the top 10 per cent of the wealthiest strata , while assets of £2.8 million qualifies for entry into the top 1 per cent
At the same time, half of households in the UK have just £400 ready cash available. “We’re all in this together,” David Cameron says while dispensing £100,000 largesse in tax cuts to millionaires He may say that we are all in this together, but some are more in it than others, and others more are completely disengaged from it altogether, people such as those live in poverty and those who live with insecurity and an uncertain future.
Web link : Marlyn Glen http://www.marlynglen.com
Councillor Lesley Brennan Osbornia and The Quarter of A Trillion Pound Man 2 April 2013
Iain Duncan Smith may well go down in history as the Government Minister who said that he could live on £53 per week if he had to. No doubt his self-confident remark will be used at every opportunity by his opponents from now till Election Day in 2015. There is another unwelcome title that another Minister, George Osborne, is earning – that of The Quarter of A Trillion Pounds Man This is because the UK Government is now likely to borrow an extra £245 billion pounds over the lifetime of this Parliament by 2015.
This near quarter of a trillion pounds more arises from the Chancellor’s failure to get the country’s economy on the right track. Contrast that figure with his initial plan when he assumed office in 2010 to reduce welfare spending over the next 4 years by £18 billion, the latest damaging tranche of which was released this week. The reason for the additional billions of borrowing has been Mr. Osborne’s policy of cutting public spending. The Labour Government elected after the Second World War was bequeathed a massive war debt, but it paid this off gradually so that investment could be made to rebuild the economy and found the National Health Service. However, the present day government is one that prefers private spending to public spending , and is a firm believer that austerity cuts can be made without affecting economic growth. In actual fact , the economic growth that promised by now from a re-invogorated private sector hasn’t met their hopes. Cutting public expenditure has shut down firms and lost jobs in the in the private sector dependent upon work from the public sector for schools, hospitals, roads, and houses. The loss of jobs lowers government income from taxation and at the same time raises the need for more welfare spending. Thus the government’s debt position worsened, and the cuts in public expenditure simply raised public expenditure in another form – unemployment and related benefits.
Mr. Osborne’s policies mean that the average family in Britain will be over £890 a year worse off because of tax increases and cuts in tax credits and benefits in the new financial year which begins later this week. That is a drop in income of £17 a week while the tax handout for millionaires will provide them with an average increase in income of around £2,000 a week. 2.65 per cent of this £2,000 weekly increase is all Ian Duncan Smith feels he needs to get by on in a week. An example of how the average family suffers while the wealthy prosper on Mr. Osborne’s watch.
Web link : Lesley Brennan : http://www.lesleybrennan.com