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SLG
Born Again..........and still Scottish!
Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 5515
Location: Dùn Eideann
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 Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:59 pm Post subject: Pressure grows over spending review |
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This report must be pretty damning. They're starting to get some pretty bad press over refusing to release it, but the must be thinking it's worth it to keep it under wraps.
| Quote: | Pressure grows over spending review
TOM GORDON, Scottish Political Correspondent
Jack McConnell was last night under intense pressure to publish the findings of an independent review into how the Scottish Executive spends its £23bn core budget, amid claims of a cover-up by the Finance Minister.
The review, which cost taxpayers £134,000, was commissioned by the Scottish Executive last year.
Finance Minister Tom McCabe told MSPs in November that he intended "to publish a report in spring next year, although that timescale is not set in stone".
However, after the report was delivered to him, Mr McCabe changed tack, redefining it as confidential advice to ministers and postponing its publication until September 2007 - after the next Holyrood elections.
The suspicion among opposition MSPs is that the findings are so embarrassing for the executive the report has been buried until a less politically sensitive time, a claim which the executive denies.
At First Minister's questions, the SNP and Tories mounted a two-pronged attack on Mr McConnell.
Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader at Holyrood, was first to demand why Mr McCabe was not letting the parliament or taxpayers see the review findings.
"What exactly is it in this independent report into how the government has spent
taxpayers' money that the Finance Minister doesn't want the Scottish public to see?" she asked.
Despite the remit of the budget review being to examine spending in 2005-06 with an eye to the future, Mr McConnell said that the report was not into how the executive had spent the money .
"It is an independent report, commissioned by us, into how we can look at the future budgeting of the executive in creative ways that might actually assist Scottish taxpayers and service users to enjoy better services at more efficient rates."
When such an expert group reported, it was "imperative" the executive had the chance to discuss its implications with departmental heads and ministers as part of the work on next year's budget, he said.
"That would seem an entirely sensible way to take matters forward. This report . . . will be published when the spending review outcome is available and when the budgets are properly published in due course. There will be no attempt to hide either this report or the individual decisions that ministers have taken on these recommendations."
Ms Sturgeon said the timing of the report's publication went against Mr McConnell's early promise in office to open and transparent government.
"When he has an independent assessment of his record what does he do? He suppresses it, runs away and hides in a corner."
To cries of "whitewash" and "cover-up" from the SNP back benches, the First Minister said the budget process was open, and accused Ms Sturgeon of trying to deflect attention from the executive's successes.
Tory leader Annabel Goldie then continued the attack, asking: "What is in this report? Why is the information not being disclosed? Does the First Minister think the information is too trivial or too embarrassing?"
She accused him of "wriggle, squirm and prevarication", and hiding the truth from the public.
The First Minister said the report would be issued before the 2008-09 budget was set and accused Ms Goldie of focusing on trivia.
The budget process was about ensuring money was spent wisely on areas such as health, education, justice and growing the economy, he said.
"That is what this budget is all about. It is not about this sort of trivia. It's about real people, real services and real results."
A source in the executive later said that the report being kept confidential was standard and should have been expected, and Mr McCabe had been unwise to promise an early publication. |
http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/71060.html
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neil8r
Helping with the Count
Joined: 15 Sep 2005
Posts: 359
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| Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Hopefully someone will leak it |
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FALSYDE
Activist
Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 144
Location: Scotland
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| Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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Don't bet on a leak Neil. The options are either one or more of the following;
[a] the Executive have been told by GB what the spending round will amount to post May's Holyrood election, or
[b] the report flags up where the money has been wasted and where the jobs cuts must come in the light of [a] above and that could cover a LOT of ground, or,
[c] projects promised will now be 'deferred' sine die,
The plain brutal truth is the current executive have really no expertise or gumption when it comes to managing large scale projects, such as our economy. Pidgeons, positively flocks of them, are now due to come home to roost and bad as their results will be on 4th May, the damage, were voters to know in advance, will be a quantum leap in comparison. Labour cannot let this report out or they will be toast.
Some how the voters need to get access to this info.
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Iain |
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neil8r
Helping with the Count
Joined: 15 Sep 2005
Posts: 359
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| Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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| FALSYDE wrote: | Don't bet on a leak Neil. The options are either one or more of the following;
[a] the Executive have been told by GB what the spending round will amount to post May's Holyrood election, or
[b] the report flags up where the money has been wasted and where the jobs cuts must come in the light of [a] above and that could cover a LOT of ground, or,
[c] projects promised will now be 'deferred' sine die,
The plain brutal truth is the current executive have really no expertise or gumption when it comes to managing large scale projects, such as our economy. Pidgeons, positively flocks of them, are now due to come home to roost and bad as their results will be on 4th May, the damage, were voters to know in advance, will be a quantum leap in comparison. Labour cannot let this report out or they will be toast.
Some how the voters need to get access to this info. |
Doesn't need to be leaked by a politician though, plenty of Civil servants out there. |
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FALSYDE
Activist
Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 144
Location: Scotland
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| Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 6:01 pm Post subject: |
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I suppose so but I seem to remember hearing something about how limited distribution docs could be idented in some way and would these folks feel the risk of loosing a job plus pension worth the game, especially as many are part of the over employ gravy train and probably vote Labour / LibDem most likely. We can but hope someone is sufficiently disgusted to give it a try but anyone receiving something like this would need to ensure the sender knew their back was well and truly covered in return.
Should one such minded lad or lass be reading this we could guarantee not to dump on them and go far out to cover their tracks were they to run it past us by snail mail, pigeon post [topical], e-mail or even push come to shove ESP.
That's me slipping into day dreaming again but given some stuff already coming our way in the past few months all things are possible.
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