Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Have an opinion on Scotland’s health services or an experience worth sharing to help others ? Share it on Patient Opinion

PATIENTS using Scotland’s health services are now able to have their opinions & experiences of using the country’s medical services published online via the new Patient Opinion website, announced today by the Scottish Government’s Health Secretary Alex Neil, who said he wanted to hear patient’s stories first hand whether good or bad to help improve health services. The move follows a £160,000 roll out across health boards including the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

Patient Opinion provides a confidential way for patients to share their healthcare experiences, good or bad, online. Comments are then passed to relevant staff who can respond or use the feedback to help change services.

The Scottish Ambulance Service participated in an initial pilot of Patient Opinion and have already used patient feedback to help shape improvements to the Patient Transport Service. This involved enhancing the response to patients with mental health care needs and highlighting positive feedback with staff across the service to share and learn from best practice examples.

Health Secretary Alex Neil said: “We want to hear patient’s stories first hand in their own words, whether it’s good or bad, because it helps us to make our health services better.Now patients, carers and their families will be able to let health boards know, openly and publically, how a service was for them and where it can improve. And if our health professionals are doing a great job we want them to know about it.”

Mr Neil continued : “The best thing is, staff will receive this feedback in real-time rather than having to wait months for the results of our traditional paper surveys. Many of these stories can be inspirational and where our health professionals are doing a great job we want them to know about it. I hope it will be a more accessible way for patients and families to give their views, and will add to the tools that NHS boards already have in place to get feedback from patients. Every organisation takes feedback from customers very seriously and the NHS should be no different. The NHS belongs to everyone and they should have a say in how its run and what they want.”

Pauline Howie, Chief Executive, Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “The Scottish Ambulance Service recognises that it’s helpful for patients and carers to have a wide range of options for giving feedback on their care experience. Patient Opinion is an increasingly useful feedback channel, which is helping the Service improve patient care.”

Dr Paul Hodgkin, Chief Executive of Patient Opinion, said: “Lots of people have already taken the opportunity to share their stories on Patient Opinion. We want to encourage even more people to get involved in making our health services even better by sharing their experiences and watching what happens as a result.”

Tom Waterson, Chair, UNISON Scotland’s Health Committee said: “Unison welcomes the Health Secretary’s move to encourage “real-time” dialogue between health boards, staff and patients. Patient stories can make a difference in many ways, both to the quality of care and the morale of hard working NHS staff in their desire to deliver world class care. They can be powerful motivational reminders to frontline staff of how they are making a difference to someone’s life and play an important role in educating the healthcare professionals of the future.”

Case study

One patient has already seen how the Scottish Ambulance Service has taken on board patient feedback through the website.

After feeding back about their experience, the user posted: “I would like to briefly update this. Since writing about my experience here I have had very helpful and reassuring conversations with the Scottish Ambulance Service. At a face-face meeting I was able to talk through what happened and ask some questions that I had. I felt comfortable and free to say what I needed to and I feel very validated and understood. I thank the staff members of the Scottish Ambulance Service who talked with me for their time and understanding.”

From today, the service will be available for the following health boards to respond to feedback from patients: NHS Highland, NHS Shetland, NHS Ayrshire & Arran, Scottish Ambulance Service, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, and National Education Scotland. The remaining health boards will be asked to adopt the service by the end of the year.

Related information: Patient Opinion website Full case study story

Monday, March 18, 2013

Public urged to protest, Scottish Councils told to use loopholes as Conservative-LibDem BEDROOM TAX set to evict thousands of Scots from their homes

ADVICE for landlords and Scotland’s local authorities on the looming start of the Conservative Coalition Government’s Bedroom Tax, viewed by many as a new Poll Tax which may well end up evicting thousands of families across Scotland from their present dwellings, has been issued by the Scottish Government to landlords and local authorities.

The advice to landlords is not to evict, and Councils are asked to use legal loopholes to avoid throwing tenants out of their homes. However, the advice is just that, advice, and only £2.5 million has been offered by the Scottish government for advice and support for victims of housing benefit cuts.

The figures are stark, with an estimated 105,000 working-age tenants in Scotland facing the wrath of the Tories Bedroom Tax meaning around 80% of the households who will suffer include at least one disabled adult. Tenants face having 14 per cent of their housing benefit stopped and those with two spare rooms will lose a quarter of their benefit – an average of £50 to £90 every month, courtesy of the ConDem Westminster Government.

While some Scottish councils have announced they will boycott David Cameron’s Bedroom Tax, it remains to be seen how many of Scotland’s 32 local authorities will defy the Scottish Government on this issue.

Advice issued by campaigners against the Bedroom Tax includes getting involved in protests across the country, and making sure your remaining Conservative and Liberal Democrat Councillors & politicians who are in Scotland, get the message. 

The Scottish Government’s Press Release : Advice for landlords on 'Bedroom Tax'

Landlords should consider all possible options and use all reasonable means to prevent evictions of housing tenants struggling to pay rent due to the bedroom tax, Housing Minister Margaret Burgess said today.

The Scottish Government has called for the UK Government’s under occupancy measures, that will cut housing benefit for those deemed to have a spare room, to be scrapped.

However, the policy remains set to come into force in April, and the Scottish Government has already made extra funding available to help provide advice and support for those who will lose out.

The Minister has now also written to landlords across Scotland to encourage them to consider the example of Dundee City Council, which is protecting tenants who genuinely cannot make up the shortfall in rent caused by the bedroom tax, which comes into force in April.

The Council has committed that, where the Director of Housing is satisfied that affected tenants are doing all that can be reasonably expected to in order to avoid falling into arrears, they will use all legitimate means to collect rent due, except eviction.

The letter also makes landlords aware that in certain circumstances it may be possible to reclassify rooms so they are not considered bedrooms. For example, this may help tenants who use an extra room to store equipment related to a disability and therefore do not use that room as a bedroom.

Mrs Burgess’ letter also:

* reiterates Scottish Government opposition to the introduction of the bedroom tax

* highlights Scottish Government action to help tenants

* points out the shortfall in discretionary housing payments provided by the Westminster to Scotland to help those affected by housing benefit changes

Mrs Burgess said: “I have made the Scottish Government’s opposition to the bedroom tax absolutely clear. Indeed, I put the case for it to be scrapped in the strongest terms to Lord Freud when we met in London. Sadly there appears to be indifference to this argument at Westminster, despite strong opposition from across Scotland. This will undoubtedly be leaving tenants, some of whom could lose a quarter of their housing benefit in April, seriously worried.

“That is why we have made an extra £2.5 million available to social landlords to ensure people affected by housing benefits changes have the advice and support they need. That is on top of the £5.4 million we have already provided to advice services to help those affected by benefit reforms.

“I have now written to landlords to encourage them to look sympathetically on tenants affected. We already have strong safeguards in place to ensure eviction is an absolute last resort. While we do not want to see tenants run up debts they cannot pay, it is important, in what will be challenging times, that extra consideration is given to people who are having housing benefit taken away.

“Dundee City Council has taken innovative action on this, clarifying that, where tenants are doing all that can be reasonably expected in order to avoid falling into arrears, they will use all legitimate means to collect rent due, except eviction. I know other councils are also working towards a similar position and I hope landlords across Scotland can follow this example.

“There are also circumstances where a bedroom’s classification may be changed and tenants not penalised.  Again, I would encourage landlords to consider this possibility and work with their local authority if at all possible. But we simply cannot mitigate all the negative impacts of welfare reform or the bedroom tax.

“This illustrates that rather than simply trying to cushion the blows in Scotland, we need the powers of independence to cut them off at source. It would be far better to control benefits and welfare so unfair policies like the bedroom tax are not even considered, let alone implemented.”

Text from the letter includes:

“The bedroom tax also takes no account of circumstances in Scotland.  Of the estimated 105,000 households in Scotland which  will be affected by the penalty, around 78,000 would need to move to one bedroom accommodation in order to avoid the penalty.  Last year there were also 23,000 homeless applications which would require one bedroom accommodation under DWP’s criteria.  However there are only around 20,000 social lets of one bedroom properties each year.”

On DHPs:

"The Department for Work and Pension’s answer to this is in Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs).  However, this is inadequate in Scotland.  By DWP’s own analysis, London and Scotland will have the same number of people affected by the bedroom tax.  However, London is set to receive £56m in DHPs while Scotland will receive £10m. This is just  6.5% of the total DHP allocation for next year despite having 16% of the total number of people due to be affected by the bedroom tax in Great Britain."

On reclassification of bedrooms:

“I would also like to make you aware of flexibility that exists to classify bedrooms in your properties for the purpose of housing benefit.  A process of reclassification is available, on a variety of grounds, for properties where circumstances change.  For example, where a tenant requires an extra room to store equipment if he or she is disabled and therefore cannot use that room as a bedroom.  The process is one that DWP leave up to the consideration of landlords and Local Authorities and involves landlords contacting their local authority Housing Benefit section to inform them of the change of classification.”

On tenants and landlords:

“We all agree that evictions are seen as a last resort.  While we absolutely do not want to see tenants run up debts they cannot pay, or see landlords left out of pocket, this will be a very difficult time, when those who lose out will benefit from extra support and understanding.  We have already provided additional protection for tenants through Pre Action Requirements.

“You may wish to be aware of the policy adopted by Dundee City Council which I believe provides a useful template to protect tenants who genuinely cannot make up the shortfall in rent caused by the bedroom tax.  The Council has committed that, where the Director of Housing is satisfied that affected tenants are doing all that can be reasonably expected to in order to avoid falling into arrears, they will use all legitimate means to collect rent due, except eviction.  I would encourage you to consider this as a mechanism to protect the most vulnerable of your tenants.”

Law Society AGM will see vote on separate representation for property buyers & mortgage lenders after increase in solicitors engaged in mortgage fraud

Solicitors in Scotland are set to vote on whether to continue to allow one solicitor to act on behalf of clients buying a property and their mortgage lender at the Law Society's annual general meeting on 22 March 2013. Solicitors will debate a recommendation to introduce separate representation in all conveyancing transactions, which would mean removing the current exemption to conflict of interest rules which allows solicitors to act for both borrower and lender.

Having a solicitor act for both the buyer and the lender has recently been brought into disrepute on account of a rising number of mortgage frauds, where solicitors have been pocketing monies destined for lenders yet apparently escaping criminal charges after botched investigations on the Law Society’s part.

Austin Lafferty, president of the Law Society of Scotland, who once said on BBC his ideal client was a little old lady with £100K and a house to sell, said: "Changes in bank and building society's practices have resulted in increased pressure and risk to solicitors in continuing to represent both parties. In recent months the 'sep rep' movement has grown, and increasing numbers of solicitors, although by no means all, are in favour of removing the exemption, meaning lenders would have to appoint their own solicitors, which immediately removes the risk to the buyers' solicitors.

"While there would be clear benefits to introducing this change, as might be expected there are some potential downsides to having separate representation, such as the possibility of increased costs and paperwork. However given the increased pressures imposed by lenders on solicitors up and down the country, this is a crucial debate to have and it will be for our members to decide what they want to see happen. I would urge any of our members involved in conveyancing to come along to the AGM to take part in this important debate."

Solicitors will also have the chance to debate the 'Future of the solicitor profession' at a CPD seminar immediately after the AGM. Recent research showed that the profession was evenly split between those who were optimistic about the future and those who had a more pessimistic perspective on changes within the legal sector.

A panel of solicitors, representing different areas of the legal profession, including high street and big firms, in house and newly qualified lawyers, will give their thoughts before opening the debate to the floor.

Confirmed panellists are: Anne Ritchie, President of Glasgow Bar Association, Anne MacKenzie, chief counsel at Glasgow Housing Association, Graham Gibson, partner at Kirklands Law Limited, Rosanne Ogden, Scottish Young Lawyers Association, Richard Masters, Head of Client Operations at Pinsent Masons

The AGM is to be filmed for the first time and will be available for Society members to view on the Society's website from 2 April. There will also be live tweeting - follow the discussions on #LSSagm via Twitter.

The agenda and papers for the AGM, including the report on separate representation, are available on the Law Society of Scotland website.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Scottish Government to tackle growing problem of drug culture ‘legal highs’

The Scottish Government has announced it is bringing together a range of experts, including the police and those with expertise in health, and organisations working in the community and with young people, to discuss how the problem of legal highs in Scotland can be tackled.

Legal highs are drugs designed to produce similar effects to illegal drugs such as cocaine or ecstasy, but fall outwith the control of the UK Misuse of Drugs Act by being labelled as products such as ‘plant food’, ‘bath salts’ or ‘not for human consumption’.

With the latest data from Europe showing that the production and availability of legal highs has increased in recent years, this event is taking place to discuss how these substances are being sold and used in Scotland, assess the health issues associated with them and identify practical actions to collectively combat the problem.

A range of people and organisations with experience and expertise in this area will be invited to the event, hosted by Community Safety and Legal Affairs Minister Roseanna Cunningham.  These will include the police and other enforcement agencies such as trading standards, drug treatment services, the NHS, youth work and third sector organisations.

Members of the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Drugs will also be invited.

Ms Cunningham said: “Drug markets are changing internationally and the emergence of legal highs poses serious challenges within Scotland, the UK and internationally. As we have seen all too often in the recent past, legal highs can be extremely dangerous. Although reclassification of drugs is reserved to the UK Government, we already work with the Home Office and with police forces in Scotland to identify and tackle the supply of new kinds of legal highs that threaten public health, it is a constantly evolving challenge due to the complex nature and the apparent ease with which legal highs can be produced and sold.”

Ms Cunningham continued : “It is vital that we look at what can be done and this event will be the first stage of a longer term process in Scotland to improve what we know about legal highs and their use in Scotland. This work will further strengthen our practical responses to the challenges posed by these dangerous substances and ensure we do all we can to stop their sale, reduce their demand and ensure our services are enabled to respond.”

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Sir Harry Burns said: “The availability of legal highs represents a significant concern to public health and it is important we do all we can to learn more about what is in them, their dangers to health and what can be done to stop people from using them. Just because a drug is sold as being legal, it does not mean it is safe, as we have seen from those who have already suffered serious effects to their health after taking these drugs. This event provides an important opportunity to look at how organisations in Scotland can work together and play a role in making lasting change.”

The event will take place on Wednesday 17 April in Edinburgh.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction Annual Report 2012: The State of the Drugs Problem in Europe, gathered new data on legal highs across Europe. The report states:

Between 2005 and 2011, 164 new psychoactive substances were formally notified through the early warning system.

In 2011, for the third consecutive year, a record number of substances (49) were detected for the first time in Europe, up from 41 substances in 2010 and 24 in 2009.

The number of online shops offering to supply customers in at least one EU member state with psychoactive substances or products likely to contain them has continued to increase. In the January 2012 snapshot, 693 online shops were identified, up from 314 in January 2011 and 170 in January 2010.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

KEEP SALM & CENSOR ON ? First Minister’s report on Leveson will censor anyone with an opinion - facebook, twitter & blogs also targeted in ex-judge’s bill

Alex_Salmond

First Minister Alex Salmond wants regulator with power to censor anyone with adverse opinion. THE PROSPECT of Soviet style total media censorship coming to Scotland has taken a significant leap forward with the conclusions of Lord McCluskey’s Expert Group on the Leveson Report in Scotland, prepared for First Minister Alex Salmond who wants to appoint a regulator with powers to sanction anyone who produces news or comment in print form or on the internet.

The now widely criticised report, prepared by the former Solicitor General in consultation with a number of others including lawyers such as Peter Watson of Levy Mcrae (who count among their clients former Lord Advocate now Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC, née McPhilomy and former Glasgow City Council Boss & Cocaine addict Steven Purcell)  and who also recently represented Mr Salmond personally in a failed complaint against the Daily Mail newspaper, aims to silence anyone in Scotland with an opinion that does not match those who want to keep criticism & scandal out of the limelight.

The Daily Record reports : Leveson: Press freedom under threat as Alex Salmond's draconian Bill threatens to censor anyone with an opinion

16 Mar 2013

SCOTLAND'S First Minister wants to appoint a regulator with powers to sanction anyone who produces news, comment or celebrity gossip – in print or digital.

ALEX SALMOND yesterday stood accused of plotting a draconian law that will have a chilling impact on freedom of speech and cost thousands of jobs.

The First Minister wants to appoint a regulator with powers to sanction ANYONE who produces news, comment or celebrity gossip – in print or digital.

Salmond hired an expert group headed by Lord John McCluskey to work out how Lord Leveson’s plan to regulate the press could be adopted in Scotland. But their report – branded Loch Leveson – said the powers of the regulator in Scotland should be beefed up to cover the web and ­publications other than newspapers.

They also recommended legislation to cover Twitter and Facebook.

Unlike the English system, Loch Leveson will regulate opinion pieces and even what they call scandalous gossip about celebrity.

In theory, bloggers such as ­schoolgirl Martha Payne, who complained about her school dinners, could be hauled before the regulator and fined.Even a local church magazine could fall foul of what Tory leader Ruth Davidson described as “the most draconian press controls in the western world”. The Bill would make it compulsory for every newspaper to fund the new system. Experts say it would cost £1.5million a year – mainly in fees to lawyers. It could signal the death of scores of local newspapers and cost thousands of jobs.

Sink this attack on democracy 

The Leveson inquiry into press ethics was held in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World. But the Scottish move goes even further than the controversial ­recommendations made last year by Lord Justice Leveson. Scotland would face tighter control of its print media than the rest of the UK, where Leveson recommended a voluntary system of self-regulation.

All written news material in ­Scotland – from the biggest national newspapers and magazines to the smallest church newsletter – would be affected. In a further departure from the Leveson recommendations, the rules would apply to all internet news media.

The report even suggests they could be extended to social networking websites like Twitter. That means anyone commenting on Facebook or posting on a website about celebrities or current affairs could fall foul of the regulator.

McCluskey’s committee said a two-tier system should be created by law. The first level would be a UK regulator set up by the press. The second tier would be a Scottish “recognition body” to ensure the regulator complied with the ­principles laid down by Leveson.

Crucially, the report suggests Government ministers would have the power to appoint the head of the recognition body – opening the door to ­state interference with the press for the first time in centuries.

Salmond was last night accused of attempting to shackle the press. Critics fear they could be used to muzzle newspapers in the run up to next year’s referendum.

Former journalist Davidson said: “With the First Minister now saying he will consider the expert group’s findings, there’s a real danger the threat of legislation will be kept hanging over the heads of editors as the ­referendum approaches.

“Even more astonishing is the proposal for the regulator to be responsible for news comment on the internet and for the newspaper industry to provide all the funds.

“It cannot be right that an industry already in crisis should be expected to pay for the regulation of the very thing that’s killing it off.

“We are, however, pleased that the expert group has recognised there’s no specific need for a Scotland-only regulator and a single regulator can operate across the whole UK as at present.”

McCluskey’s panel included David Sinclair, director of communications at Victim Support Scotland, legal academics Neil Walker and Peter Watson and journalist Ruth Wishart.

Their report was hurriedly published yesterday after the collapse of talks at Westminster to find a common way forward for the UK.

McCluskey said a UK-wide ­regulator could still be set up if a deal can be reached between David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg.

But while Leveson recommended a “carrot-and-sticks” approach to get newspapers to sign up to a voluntary regulator, McCluskey’s panel said they had “little confidence” this would encourage publishers to sign up.

They said: “We have reached the view that there is no practical ­alternative to making it compulsory for all news-related publishers to be subject to the new system of ­regulation,”

Salmond praised the “extremely thorough” report, saying: “It is for the parliaments in London and in ­Scotland to establish a recognition process.

“It is for the press to bring forward a voluntary regulatory body compliant with Leveson principles. I hope this is still possible.”

But Scots Labour leader Johann Lamont said: “We agreed with the First Minister that this group should look solely at the technicalities of implementing Leveson in Scots law.

“We did not agree to the Leveson recommendations being rewritten or built upon.”

The McCluskey report was commissioned by Alex Salmond to look at how the recommendations of the Leveson report could be implemented in Scotland. The findings go further than those of Lord Justice Leveson last year.

McCluskey report at a glance

All newspapers and magazine publishers would be forced to sign up to the regulator. Under the Leveson proposals, this would have been voluntary but came with incentives such as lower damages in the event of libel action.

A recognition body would be set up – appointed by ministers – to ensure the regulator was sticking to the rules. They would have the power to overrule the regulator.

The regulator could have the power to censure newspapers, magazines and websites, including gossip sites. Leveson made no recommendations on policing the internet or ruling on celebrity gossip.

McCluskey’s group said further regulation of  social media may also be required, opening the door to Facebook posts and Twitter being scrutinised.

Major publishers would have to meet the cost for setting up and running the regulator but websites – many of which generate millions of pounds for their owners – are likely to be exempt from paying.

Analysis - by media lawyer Campbell Deane

WHEN Alex Salmond announced an expert group to advise on the most appropriate means of regulating the newspaper industry, the writing was on the wall.

He wasn’t asking the group whether there was a need to implement Leveson’s proposals in Scotland. He was asking them how to achieve it.

That decision was astonishingly short-sighted. We have not had a Millie Dowler or Madeleine McCann in Scotland. We have not even come close.

We have had no phone- hacking scandal. Journalists as a rule in Scotland have behaved. These were London-centric issues for which the Scottish newspaper industry was being punished without guilt.

And yet Salmond’s panel of experts recommend the Scottish Parliament creates a regulator to prevent serious abuses of the kind which don’t occur in Scotland. Not content with implementing Leveson’s recommendations, the panel have chosen to go further by bringing under regulation all publishers of news-related material.

This country prides itself on free speech yet the panel recommended implementing proposals that could mean gossiping about the rich and famous online with your friends would get you into trouble.

By its nature, comment allows people to express their views. That should not be restricted.

At a time when newspapers are struggling for their very existence, they will be asked to fund complaints based on comment and gossip which have nothing to do with them.

They will put a financial burden on the Scottish industry that may push some newspapers over the edge.

How the loss of indigenous Scottish titles will benefit Scotland is beyond me.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Law Society of Scotland President Austin Lafferty backs Alex Salmond’s draconian North Korea style censorship controls on Scots media & internet, claims ‘boundaries must be set’

Between the placards, Austin Lafferty strikes a chord for an increase in legal aid fees. AUSTIN LAFFERTY, the current President of the Law Society of Scotland has given his backing to the draconian media & internet censorship proposals put forward by 83 year old retired judge Lord McCluskey. Lafferty, himself no stranger to hanging around the media and the annals of Edinburgh Sheriff Court & Holyrood on wet days to collect taxpayer funds for his colleagues at the expense of everyone else, claimed the now widely condemned attempt by the Scottish Government to censor anyone with an opinion “will hopefully rebuild public confidence in the media”.

The Law Society of Scotland’s media unit published a Press Release stating Society President and Glasgow-based media lawyer Austin Lafferty said: "The report of the expert group headed by Lord McCluskey will hopefully rebuild public confidence in the media.”

Lafferty went on : "As a long-standing media lawyer, I am well aware that developments in technology have brought new methods of potential intrusion. In my experience, journalists generally act with professional responsibility and self-discipline. However, clear boundaries must be set, with robust sanctions imposed where necessary. Equally, free speech must be protected and we already have libel and defamation laws that work effectively.”

Lafferty added : "I look forward to considering the report in more detail but broadly welcome the group's approach and conclusions, which must now be considered by parliament. I hope whatever regulatory regime is adopted will allow a fresh start for all."

Scottish Government ‘to consider’ draconian censorship of all media as proposed in Lord McCluskey’s report on Leveson press regulation

THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT have today published the report by their own expert group headed by 86 year old Lord McCluskey on the recommendations made by Lord justice Leveson into press practices and how these could be applied in Scotland. However, the terms of the former Solicitor General’s report go much wider than the original Leveson recommendations, with Lord McCluskey also advocating regulation of twitter, facebook and all forms of media carring ‘news’.

Lord McCluskey’s report can be viewed online here : Expert Group on the Leveson Report in Scotland

The Scottish Government’s Press Release : Scottish Government to consider McCluskey report

First Minister Alex Salmond today thanked the expert group led by former Solicitor General Lord McCluskey considering how the recommendations made by Lord Justice Leveson into press practices could be applied in Scotland as it published its report.

The expert group, which was appointed by the First Minister in December, has made a series of recommendations on how a system of self-regulation of the press could be established and recognised in Scotland in a report distributed to all parties this morning.

Mr Salmond said the thorough report from Lord McCluskey and his colleagues was “an important contribution” to the process of implementing Leveson in Scotland, as he indicated the Scottish Government would now consider the report’s findings carefully while continuing the cross-party efforts to reach a suitable way forward in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to cross-party talks on implementing the Leveson recommendations and will continue to work toward a consensus on the way forward in Scotland.  The First Minister confirmed today that ministers would report to Parliament after the Easter recess on the progress of these talks.

The First Minister said: “Lord McCluskey and his group have reported at an opportune time.While there is a huge amount of uncertainty and division surrounding how Westminster is going to take forward the Leveson recommendations, I am hopeful that in Scotland all parties in the Parliament can continue to work together to find an acceptable way forward.Lord McCluskey’s group has delivered an extremely thorough piece of work looking at how the proposals made by Lord Justice Leveson could be applied in the context of Scots law, including draft legislation. We will now take the time to consider all of their suggestions in full and discuss the proposals with the other political parties and other stakeholders.”

Mr Salmond continued : "The report is admirably clear. It is for the Parliaments in London and in Scotland to establish a recognition process. It is for the press to bring forward a voluntary regulatory body compliant with Leveson principles. I hope that this is still possible.The Scottish Government indicated at the time of Leveson’s report that we wanted to implement his key proposals of a voluntary self-regulatory system set up by the press with statutory underpinning.

“Since Leveson reported, all parties in the Parliament have taken part in a cross-party effort that has seen the leaders hold talks with Hacked Off, the Media Standards Trust and representatives of the press with a commitment to meet with the UK Government after their position becomes clearer.These efforts will continue and the Scottish Government will report back to Parliament after Easter on the progress of these talks. I would like to put on record my sincere thanks to Lord McCluskey, David Sinclair, Professor Neil Walker, Peter Watson and Ruth Wishart for their efforts in producing this diligent report.”

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Lost Your Keys ? Scottish Police Services Agency boss spends £800K on private consultants who provided ‘behavioural management training’

PUBLIC SERVICE CUTS apparently mean nothing at the Scottish Police Service Authority, the new watchdog for Scotland’s single Police Service, who are reported to have spent nearly a million pounds of taxpayers money on private consultants who provided  ‘behavioural management training’ with such fine examples as reducing time spent “looking for keys”, reports the Daily Record newspaper :

Outrage as head of the Scottish police watchdog authority spends £800k on 'behavioural management training'

14 Mar 2013

MSP slams payments to private consultants at a time when the Scottish Police Services Authority was under severe financial pressure and police union calls for an investigation.

THE boss of Scotland’s new police watchdog ran up an £800,000 bill for behavioural management training.

Andrea Quinn brought in consultants over a three-year period while she was head of the Scottish Police Services Authority.

Hollin Consulting received £428,862 from the SPSA, with training aimed at reducing the time spent “looking for keys” among initiatives developed by staff.

Another specialist in behavioural management training, Bruce Faulkner, was paid £353,475.

Quinn is now interim chief executive of the new Scottish Police Authority, who will oversee policing in Scotland when the single force begins operating on April 1.

Labour MSP Graeme Pearson, former boss of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, slammed the spending.

He said: “At a time when SPSA staff were under considerable pressure, it is remarkable private consultants were being paid such sums.”

Quinn used Hollin Consulting in her two previous jobs at Edinburgh Council and United Utilities.

She gave a testimonial on the firm’s website, saying: “Over the past seven years Hollin Consulting have provided personal coaching for me and my various teams, BMT training to over 200 of my people, and given me access to experts in behavioural science.”

Gerry Crawley, Unison’s negotiator for police support staff, said: “The SPSA has been pushing through cuts, yet they can find nearly £1million for behavioural management specialists. “It is unjustifiable, unacceptable and needs to be investigated.”

But Quinn defended the spending, saying they had been told by Audit Scotland to develop leadership skills.

She said: “I am proud of the track record we have in SPSA and of investing in staff training.“The investment we have made has mobilised hundreds of people to improve business and deliver efficiencies.”

It also emerged yesterday that the SPSA had a backlog of 3200 DNA and fingerprint checks, which will come under the remit of the SPA. Scottish Labour blamed staff cuts for the pile-up.

Friday, March 01, 2013

LET HER EAT CAKE : Scotland’s Top Judge & snooty judiciary refuse to cooperate with Judicial Complaints Reviewer as Lord President revokes findings in rules breach case

Moi Ali was ‘frozen out’ by Lord Gill and secretive judiciary. MOI ALI, the Judicial Complaints Reviewer appointed by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to independently review judges handling of complaints made about judges has been cast aside by successive Lord Presidents who have apparently refused to even meet her or cooperate in investigations. Even worse, in the single case where the JCR found rules had been breached, Scotland’s current Lord President, Lord Gill, revoked the findings, had the case sent back to a fellow judge who then dismissed it.

In an excerpt from the JCR’s first report, available here: Judicial Complaints Reviewer Annual report 20011/12 document that allegations of inappropriate judicial conduct were raised and found to be wanting, however “When the Judicial Office made an initial assessment of this complaint, it was not reasonable for them to conclude that the behaviour complained about, which left the complainer “insecure and scared”, fell into the category of judicial decision/case management/court programming. According to the Rules, they should have referred that element of the complaint to the disciplinary judge for consideration. This did not happen, and instead the complaint, in its entirety, was dismissed. For that reason I made a referral to the Lord President, who then revoked that part of the original determination and referred it to the disciplinary judge, who then dismissed the complaint.”

Further references were made throughout the JCR’s report to a lack of information sharing & cooperation from the judges and the judicial office, who clearly resented the presence of the Judicial Complaints Reviewer.

Article from the Sunday Mail newspaper, who also report Scotland’s Lord President has angrily attacked and rejected a public petition being considered by the Scottish Parliament calling for requirements of judges to disclose their pecuniary interests :

JUDICIAL INVESTIGATOR LEFT IN THE DARK

May the watchdog appointed by the Scottish Government to investigate complaints against judges have leave to approach the bench, Your Honours?  NO.. SHE MAY NOT!

EXCLUSIVE : Russell Findlay Sunday Mail 10 February 2013

A watchdog appointed to look into complaints against Scotland's judges fears she is being frozen out.

Moi Ali has accused the country's most senior judge, Lord President Lord Gill, of undermining her work by blocking access to vital documents.

She revealed her frustration in her first annual report since taking up the newly-created role of Judicial Complaints Reviewer.

Ali said she was only seeing the correspondence between the Judicial Office, who act for the judges, and the complainers.

But she was not allowed to see the internal memos and reports between the office and the judges about complaints.

She said: "I believe that in order to conduct a review, and to make wider recommendations on complaints handling, I need to see files in their entirety. "Without this, it is difficult to satisfy myself, let alone complainers, as to the fairness of the process. "I have continued to complete reviews but have made it clear to complainers that I have not had access to all documentation in their complaint file."

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill defied judicial opposition to create the part-time job to monitor how complaints against judges, sheriffs and justices of the peace are handled.

And Ali fears there is still resistance from within the judiciary to her role as an independent investigator.

She said: "With any profession, there's a feeling that regulation should come from within. "But this is the first time that the judiciary have been exposed to this kind of scrutiny, which other professional groups are more used to. "Most have accepted there is some kind of mechanism to scrutinise their conduct. That doesn't mean that we don't have a free and independent judiciary."

Ali also revealed that she has still not met 70-year-old Lord Gill, who was appointed to his £214,165-a-year post last June, and did not meet his predecessor Lord Hamilton.

She said: "I'm not overly concerned but I'm slightly surprised that the Lord President did not proactively suggest a meeting. I don't need to meet him but I think it would have sent out a positive message."

Ali is more concerned at the decision to block her access to documents.

She said: "This came to light because in review number one I was sent all the documents but then I didn't get the same ones for the second review. "At that point I discovered that I had been given them in error the first time. "I can't see any reason why and that worries me because I can't understand it."

Ali also voiced concerns that judges being investigated could evade punishment by quitting before the probe is complete. And she found there has been a breach in the rules in the way one of the four complaints she reviewed had been handled. Ali also urged the judiciary staff to use plain English when dealing with the public.

Her lack of administrative support was also highlighted - on her first day, she did not have a computer, printer, phone, email address or stationery - and she said it meant she was "unable to give the level of service that I would like to provide".

A Judicial Office for Scotland spokeswoman said: "In the short time the JCR has been in the post, we have worked very closely with Ms Ali in implementing, developing and reviewing the rules and how they are applied.

"With any new system, there is always a period of adaptation and adjustment and we are grateful to Ms Ali for the helpful suggestions and recommendations she has put forward and which, for the most part, have been implemented.

"A review of the rules is due to take place shortly and the Lord President is committed to working constructively to ensure the complaints procedure develops effectively."

TOP JUDGE REJECTS REGISTER OF INTERESTS

Lord Gill has rejected calls for judges to register their interests - because he fears they may be harassed by "aggressive media".

A petition lodged with the Scottish Parliament is calling on the judiciary to reveal any commercial, business or legal links in case they raise possible conflicts with their cases.

But in a letter to the public petitions committee, Scotland's most senior judge said current safeguards are enough.

Lord Gill said: "In practical terms, it would be impossible for all judicial office holders to identify all the interests that could conceivably arise in any future case.

"The terms of the judicial oath and the statement of principles of judicial ethics ensure that such a difficulty does not arise and that the onus is on the judicial office holder to declare any interest at the outset."

He said details held on a register could be abused by "aggressive media or hostile individuals, including dissatisfied litigants".

The call for a register has also been rejected by the Law Society of Scotland.

Fears Crown Office are prosecuting Religious Minorities ‘to balance books’ as MacAskill refuses to release crime figures, praises Anti-Sectarian Football legislation

Lock em’up - Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill happy over sectarian hate law progress. ANTI-SECTARIAN legislation brought in by the Scottish Government to tackle incidents of sectarian songs & religious hate crimes connected with football matches “is working well”, says Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill today on the first anniversary of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012, passed by the Scottish Parliament during December 2011 after an arduous consideration by MSPs.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC joined the Justice Secretary in praising the SNP’s hate crime effort, saying the legislation is being used to good effect by police and prosecutors The Lord Advocate claimed that 89% of cases reported to the Crown Office have been prosecuted, with an 83% conviction rate yet offered no breakdown of the figures or detail to substantiate his claims.

Both the Scottish Government & Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have so far refused to answer questions relating to the figures including queries over the religious denomination of those arrested and the specific nature of the crimes, stating that the Crown Office were still collecting the data for analysis. The Justice Secretary claimed : “Figures from the first full year of the act are still being collated and analysed and will be published after the end of the football season.”

However, while the Crown Office may still be “collating data”, leaks to the media have suggested the as yet unreleased figures contain a significant rise in the numbers of Catholics being arrested for what appear to be incidents previously considered to be minor in nature.

This has lead to claims the Crown Office has embarked on an operation to balance up the statistics after earlier reports revealed Crown Office data containing a disproportionately high arrest & conviction rate for Catholics was destroyed on orders of Scottish Government law officers to prevent it being considered by the Scottish Parliament during its investigation of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill

Scottish Government Press Release :Offensive Behaviour Act first anniversary

Legislation designed to tackle sectarian behaviour at football matches is working well, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said today. The Scottish Government brought in the Offensive Behaviour and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act a year ago today to give police and prosecutors additional powers to crack down on sectarian songs and abuse at and around football matches and threats posted on the internet or through the mail.

The Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland QC, has said that the legislation is being used to good effect by police and prosecutors. So far 89 per cent of the cases reported to the Crown Office have been prosecuted, and the conviction rate stands at 83 per cent. Figures from the first full year of the act are still being collated and analysed and will be published after the end of the football season.

The Scottish Government is currently commissioning  an independent evaluation of the legislation, which will help meet our statutory requirement to inform parliament on the operation of the act.  We have invited six research organisations to tender for this work. The evaluation will provide a detailed picture of the impact and effectiveness of the legislation, examining how the new powers have been used on the ground, including whether there have been any barriers to successful implementation of the legislation. It will also explore the impact the legislation has had on the attitudes and behaviour of Scottish football fans.

Mr MacAskill said: “The charge and conviction rates for people arrested under this legislation show that it is working well. This legislation was introduced in response to Scotland’s police and prosecutors, who told us they needed greater powers to take a hard line on sectarianism associated with football.”

He continued : “We have made clear that bigotry and religious hatred have no place in modern Scotland and we will stamp out on it wherever and whenever it occurs. The majority of Scots - 91 per cent -  supported tougher action to tackle the problem. The overwhelming majority of football fans are law abiding and want to enjoy the friendly rivalry that is part of any game without this being marred by the actions of a mindless minority. We are under no illusions – the problem of sectarianism isn’t just a football issue. That is why we are spending £9 million over the next three years on a range of projects to tackle sectarianism across society.”