1. Edinburgh, in my opinion, has some of the worst new building in Europe. Why is planning law is so slanted towards the developer when decisions arising may put the UNESCO World Heritage status at risk? (My specific concern as local resident is the RBS proposal to develop the site bordering Eyre Place, Dundas Street, Royal Crescent, Fettes Row, Dundonald Street and overwhelming King George V Park. The RBS proposals suggest overdevelopment of the site that will place unrealistic pressure on local services and the environment.)
One of the biggest challenges facing communities in Edinburgh is fostering any sense of social awareness among developers. I was speaking to the Cala during their public consultations over the 450 proposed dwelling places opposite the Ocean Terminal site. I asked them about extra medical facilities required by the increase of population. The answer was that this is very much a matter for Edinburgh Council. They were however more willing to take on board my comments about any lack of play facilities for young children and keen to focus on minimising the traffic impact.
This last point shows that developers address the issues that planners address. They know that under the current system, public views rarely matter: it is the council planning committee that they have to satisfy and that is everything. Another example would be the redevelopment of the Edinburgh Academicals stadium in Stockbridge. The local residents are overwhelmingly against the scheme as it stands but it is being pushed through by the council nonetheless. It seems that the threat of losing the next election is not enough of a threat to hold over politicians.
This is something that perhaps can be addressed by the Scottish Parliament. When it comes to housing, the first thing I would look at is housing density. There are minimum standards for room size here in Scotland but I am not aware of any minimum standards of dwelling density. It is in a developer's interest to maximise the return. It is in the power of Holyrood to set maximum numbers of dwellings in a given area for a given city zone if the council is not providing suitable local standards.
The right of counter-appeal can also be looked at, although there are dangers if this becomes too powerful, resulting in neighbourhoods refusing any form of development. Some may say that the Edinburgh trams should not have gone ahead at all but imagine if each neighbour the line goes through had to grant the scheme access.
The main point though would be to make any appeals scheme affordable. At the moment, the residents of Stockbridge have only the option of spending tens of thousands of pounds if they want to launch a judicial review. That probably is not going to happen.
As for the point over UNESCO World Heritage status, I have mixed feelings on this. True, it does identify areas of outstanding character across the world (thus bringing in tourism and revenue) but some cites complain that it also halts necessary development. Now I am not saying that Edinburgh is getting it's planning right; just highlighting the potential conflict between UNESCO standards and city needs.
In the end, cities are for people to live in. Not just for the people already there but also for those who need to come and live here. It is the politician's job to find the best way through the possible areas of conflict.
2. What concrete measures will you put in place to alleviate poverty and inequality in Scotland?
As a Scottish Liberal Democrat, I believe that not only should every person have equality of opportunity but we as a society should be there for whenever a person seeks to do better for themselves and their family.
The key to this on an individual level is education. Scottish Liberal Democrats believe that education is the first and arguably most essential investment when it comes to tackling any form of poverty. That is why we have proposed a Penny for Education - a penny on income tax to enable investment in a transformation in Scottish education that will make it the best in the world again and enable people to get well paid jobs. This is fair because the rising personal allowance will mean that anyone earning under £21,500 will actually pay less tax next year. Those at the top will pay 30 times more than someone on an average income.
For those already in work, we have sought to ensure work pays and that the system is fairer to those on low and middle incomes. In government we raised the income tax personal allowance, cutting the bills of 2 million Scots by £800 and lifting 2.7 million across the UK out of paying income tax altogether.
We will pay the Living Wage for all public services and stop giving government grants to companies that don't pay the Living Wage. The Scottish Government has given £5 million to Amazon, even though it pays its workers more than £1 less an hour than the living wage and there have been real concerns over working conditions at their base in Dunfermline.
Scottish Liberal Democrats have committed to working with the other parties and stakeholders to ensure that the new Scottish welfare system is fair to those in and out of work and has the full confidence of users.
I believe that fuel poverty in a major issue in our city and across Scotland. Liberal Democrats will work with other parties to see the energy efficiency of our nation's entire housing stock, not just new builds, but all our nation's homes improved. This will be a major, long term project but a necessary one. If we leave this to the free markets, it will never happen for all. The nature of Scotland's housing, especially for the older buildings, means that there are people living in older property will can never really afford the major improvements required for their homes to truly become energy efficient. As we undergo the transition towards a low carbon, more energy efficient future, it is important that our homes and, indeed, our businesses too, are fit for purpose. Frankly, we are a northern nation but previous generations of regulators and builders did not seem to appreciate this, especially when it came to mass-market housing.
3. Tonight, women and girls in Edinburgh are afraid to go out in the dark alone. At this moment, women here are afraid to stay in their own homes, through fear of violence and abuse. What specific measures will your party bring forward, in the next parliament, to ensure that women and girls in Scotland are safe in their own homes, and are able to go out freely and confidently into the world? What will you do to stop women in Scotland living in fear?
At this election, Scottish Liberal Democrats are proposing among other things to:
Introduce a new offence of domestic abuse
Support early intervention with those at high risk of first-time offending
Take major action to improve conviction rates for sexual offences, including consideration of legislation to allow research to be undertaken with jury members; the right of juries to be able to ask questions of expert witnesses or the provision of an expert adviser to assist juries with expert evidence, together with suggestions made in the Bonomy review.
Legislate to prohibit physical punishment of children. The evidence from dozens of studies is now indisputable on what our law describes, in Victorian fashion, as the "justifiable assault" of children. It damages their wellbeing, increases aggression and antisocial behaviour which can continue into their adult lives, and risks escalating into physical abuse.
My colleague Alison McInnes, the Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson, did a great deal in the last Scottish Parliament to help protect women and girls from violence and abuse. You can read a recent speech she gave on preventing violence against women at http://alisonmcinnes.co.uk/en/article/2015/1125822/speech-on-violence-against-women-16-days-of-activism.
My personal view is that some of it comes down to early education, both in schools and in the examples from parents and carers. Some people, usually but not exclusively women, are simply more vulnerable to abuse. Recently schools have done a great deal to tackle bullying in our schools but until we live in a society where signs of weakness does not trigger an oppressive response in some others, the challenge will still be ongoing. Peer pressure has a lot to do with this. When it is not done for a group member to cat-call or abuse a passing stranger in the street and the peers turn upon others for doing so, progress will have been made. We do not yet live in such a society.
4. In the light of the current PPP scandal, how do the candidates see future funding for large infrastructure projects?
Following the schools crisis here in Edinburgh, Scottish Liberal Democrats have been calling for a full inquiry into how we got to this point. We would also make the companies that build and maintain our schools and hospitals subject to freedom of information laws so that the public can check they are being run properly.
Our fully costed manifesto sets out the infrastructure projects we plan on taking forward and how we will pay for them. For example:
We will establish a Fit For The Future Investment Fund, drawing on the earmarked resources from half of the Scotland Act borrowing powers (more than £200 million a year).
Action to reduce the persistent underspending of the Scottish Government's budget to ensure underspends are redeployed into other projects that are waiting for the green light.
The Scottish Government's capital budget is increasing.
Our Help to Renovate loans will come from the special financial transaction consequentials in the Scottish budget.
We will expand the Housing Fund for Scotland model that has seen investment in rented homes pioneered by a local government pension fund.
In view of Liberal Democrat commitment to local democracy and councils being responsible for raising and spending funds locally and transparently, I would be open to ideas on other alternatives, such as funding of city projects through the issue of bonds.
5. Although the independence referendum was the occasion for great political involvement, it has also led to a very polarised political environment in Scotland. (As anyone who follows social media will be aware!) How do the candidates intend to heal the political divisions of post-referendum Scotland if they are elected?
As far as I am concerned, these elections are about the best delivery of services and improving the standards of living for everybody living in Scotland. It most certainly is not about a second referendum, which is what the SNP want to make it about. Nor is it about cries of defending the Union, which is what the Conservative party would have us believe they are about. Both of these parties are cynically exploiting and deepening the polarisation which the question, correctly, refers to.
We are living in exciting times here in Scotland and we have an opportunity to use the new powers coming to us to make a real difference to all our lives. We can show the rest of UK that there is a different way to do things than the old Labour - Conservative Punch and Judy show but, to my mind, nationalism is not helping in this. It is, in fact, a distraction from us as a society making use of the the powers we already have.
I say that instead of blaming others or calling upon any form of jingoism, let us focus on the task at hand, right now. Goodness knows they are big enough. Education, housing, the NHS and a myriad of others, just as vital. How does either cries for either a second independence referendum or claims to be the protector of the Union help? They simply don't.
If on Thursday I were to become your MSP, my pledge would be to focus on the issues, encourage others to do so, take responsibility for our own actions here in Scotland and work, constructively and transparently, with others in finding and delivering fair, democratic and liberal solutions for the people of Scotland.
Showing posts with label #SP16. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #SP16. Show all posts
Monday, 2 May 2016
Friday, 29 April 2016
Seven Questions. Greener Leith.
1. In your opinion, what is the most pressing environmental issue facing the Edinburgh Northern and Leith constituency?
The two most pressing environmental issues facing the constituency is cleaner transport and warmer homes.
Of these, the transport one is the easier to tackle. We can encourage cycle use by upgrading cycle lanes on streets, like Leith Walk and Lower Granton Road, wide enough to handle them. 26,000 people live with 800m of Leith Walk and in storage right now, there is enough materials to have the trams run to the Foot of the Walk. Let's get on with it.
2. If elected, how will you use your role as MSP to encourage the Scottish Government and Edinburgh Council to improve how they work together on environmental issues facing this constituency?
Edinburgh Council is currently undergoing severe levels of cuts and while the Scottish Government always demand more services, it's no good if there is no funding for the changes. Liberal Democrats would free councils to raise and keep more money to spend in their local communities instead of having to be dictated to by central government.
If elected as your MSP, I will ensure that I keep good lines of communication open with Edinburgh Council. It is important that each level of government understand each other and, despite any party differences, common ground is found to work together for the good of all.
The main environmental issue affecting the city (and nation as a whole) will be to bring up the energy efficiency of our existing homes. We will need transparent communications between central government and local authorities to achieve this.
3. How will you use your role to inspire and encourage greater pride and civic engagement in our public spaces?
It would be great if we have more of them! We really need more green spaces and play spaces incorporated in the new residential plans for the Port of Leith.
What parks that we have are well used and I would be sympathetic to turning over more space to allotments. This is already been done in Victoria Park for instance. For public health and fitness, I would also like to see more outdoor gyms, as already exist in Musselburgh and Silverknowles. These can be put into quite small spaces that would otherwise be neglected.
I want to see Stedfastgate brought back up to some form of good use. The fountain monument there has been vandalised, brick paving ripped up and seating damaged. If areas like these had some form of dual usage then they are more likely to be appreciated.
4. When local issues are so important for many constituents, how will you ensure that the global issue of climate change, and our impact, is always kept front of mind?
I spent twenty years travelling the world in energy so know the reality of global energy generation first hand. We live in exciting times however because even the industry itself realise that the time of oil is drawing to the end. Our energy is moving over to electricity and that means more local generation. It does not mean however that Scotland is isolated from the rest of the world. We will be still importing gas for the next twenty or thirty years while our renewable industry grows. Scotland will still be a part of the UK and European-wide power network and will, at different times, be an energy importer and exporter.
It is for these reasons that Scotland cannot be isolationist in outlook. How the UK and Europe generates energy will continue to affect us and greenhouse gas emissions, regardless of what we do here. We have to continue to take an interest in the global energy picture.
5. Which environmental policy do you think the current Scottish Government has been successful at implementing over the last 5 years, and which policy could do with some improvement?
Liberal Democrats do welcome the start made by the Scottish Government on land registration, with private land being registered by 2025 and public land by 2020.
I wish I could be more generous but I can't think of another damn thing that has been successful. Great and ambitious environmental targets are set but are never reached. The Scottish Government has a statutory duty to eradicate fuel poverty by November 2016. It refuses to accept this is going to be missed despite the fact a third of households (845,000) are in fuel poverty. In some rural and remote areas (Orkney for instance) it is almost two-thirds.
I have been at hustings where the SNP claim that the nation is on target to meet our renewable heating targets by 2020. The target for that year is 11% and currently we are at 3% renewable heating production. How is that even near being "on target"? If we are going to be anywhere near the 40% target set for 2030, we have to move on this immediately.
If the SNP are serious about reducing Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions, why is it that at a Spectator event here in Edinburgh on the 28th of April, George Kerevan MP, SNP representative on the Treasury Select Committee, appeared on stage with Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, and agreed to half tax on Air Passenger Duty by 2018? Anybody with environmental awareness knows that that air travel is the worst method in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and that aviation fuel is otherwise untaxed at any level.
6. Where do you stand on amending the current law on ownership of Scottish land or property by overseas companies to say that the land must be owned through a UK registered company or other organisation? (E.g. Much of the ownership of brownfields land in the constituency is by offshore companies who are hard to trace.)
The law needs changing. Where I live in Newhaven Harbour, I look over the brownfield site whose exact ownership is only known to the lawyers involved.
Liberal Democrats will work with other parties to ensure:
An effective and transparent land register for Scotland
We will work with other parties to establish fair taxation based upon land value in order to replace the council tax.
Liberal Democrats would like to see the right for local communities to purchase land extended to urban communities, and especially applied to neglected or abandoned plots.
7. What is your stance on equal rights of appeal under the planning system? Currently only planning applicants can submit appeals, not councils or other community organisations.
I see the need for reform, especially when councils fail to represent the views the local community. The redevelopment of the Accies site in Stockmarket was railroaded through by the council in the teeth determined local opposition. In these circumstances the local community should indeed have the right to appeal and that any process should be affordable.
Local communities cannot have the right to veto in all circumstances however. Now it is debatable whether the trams were a good idea or not but imagine if each neighbour had the right to appeal the route.
A balance is required between local effects and greater needs. Thus the effects of a retail development (such as Accies) is local and should be able to be appealed. I would want to look at the effects upon developments that have wider applications and am open to ideas on the issue.
The two most pressing environmental issues facing the constituency is cleaner transport and warmer homes.
Of these, the transport one is the easier to tackle. We can encourage cycle use by upgrading cycle lanes on streets, like Leith Walk and Lower Granton Road, wide enough to handle them. 26,000 people live with 800m of Leith Walk and in storage right now, there is enough materials to have the trams run to the Foot of the Walk. Let's get on with it.
2. If elected, how will you use your role as MSP to encourage the Scottish Government and Edinburgh Council to improve how they work together on environmental issues facing this constituency?
Edinburgh Council is currently undergoing severe levels of cuts and while the Scottish Government always demand more services, it's no good if there is no funding for the changes. Liberal Democrats would free councils to raise and keep more money to spend in their local communities instead of having to be dictated to by central government.
If elected as your MSP, I will ensure that I keep good lines of communication open with Edinburgh Council. It is important that each level of government understand each other and, despite any party differences, common ground is found to work together for the good of all.
The main environmental issue affecting the city (and nation as a whole) will be to bring up the energy efficiency of our existing homes. We will need transparent communications between central government and local authorities to achieve this.
3. How will you use your role to inspire and encourage greater pride and civic engagement in our public spaces?
It would be great if we have more of them! We really need more green spaces and play spaces incorporated in the new residential plans for the Port of Leith.
What parks that we have are well used and I would be sympathetic to turning over more space to allotments. This is already been done in Victoria Park for instance. For public health and fitness, I would also like to see more outdoor gyms, as already exist in Musselburgh and Silverknowles. These can be put into quite small spaces that would otherwise be neglected.
I want to see Stedfastgate brought back up to some form of good use. The fountain monument there has been vandalised, brick paving ripped up and seating damaged. If areas like these had some form of dual usage then they are more likely to be appreciated.
4. When local issues are so important for many constituents, how will you ensure that the global issue of climate change, and our impact, is always kept front of mind?
I spent twenty years travelling the world in energy so know the reality of global energy generation first hand. We live in exciting times however because even the industry itself realise that the time of oil is drawing to the end. Our energy is moving over to electricity and that means more local generation. It does not mean however that Scotland is isolated from the rest of the world. We will be still importing gas for the next twenty or thirty years while our renewable industry grows. Scotland will still be a part of the UK and European-wide power network and will, at different times, be an energy importer and exporter.
It is for these reasons that Scotland cannot be isolationist in outlook. How the UK and Europe generates energy will continue to affect us and greenhouse gas emissions, regardless of what we do here. We have to continue to take an interest in the global energy picture.
5. Which environmental policy do you think the current Scottish Government has been successful at implementing over the last 5 years, and which policy could do with some improvement?
Liberal Democrats do welcome the start made by the Scottish Government on land registration, with private land being registered by 2025 and public land by 2020.
I wish I could be more generous but I can't think of another damn thing that has been successful. Great and ambitious environmental targets are set but are never reached. The Scottish Government has a statutory duty to eradicate fuel poverty by November 2016. It refuses to accept this is going to be missed despite the fact a third of households (845,000) are in fuel poverty. In some rural and remote areas (Orkney for instance) it is almost two-thirds.
I have been at hustings where the SNP claim that the nation is on target to meet our renewable heating targets by 2020. The target for that year is 11% and currently we are at 3% renewable heating production. How is that even near being "on target"? If we are going to be anywhere near the 40% target set for 2030, we have to move on this immediately.
If the SNP are serious about reducing Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions, why is it that at a Spectator event here in Edinburgh on the 28th of April, George Kerevan MP, SNP representative on the Treasury Select Committee, appeared on stage with Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, and agreed to half tax on Air Passenger Duty by 2018? Anybody with environmental awareness knows that that air travel is the worst method in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and that aviation fuel is otherwise untaxed at any level.
6. Where do you stand on amending the current law on ownership of Scottish land or property by overseas companies to say that the land must be owned through a UK registered company or other organisation? (E.g. Much of the ownership of brownfields land in the constituency is by offshore companies who are hard to trace.)
The law needs changing. Where I live in Newhaven Harbour, I look over the brownfield site whose exact ownership is only known to the lawyers involved.
Liberal Democrats will work with other parties to ensure:
An effective and transparent land register for Scotland
We will work with other parties to establish fair taxation based upon land value in order to replace the council tax.
Liberal Democrats would like to see the right for local communities to purchase land extended to urban communities, and especially applied to neglected or abandoned plots.
7. What is your stance on equal rights of appeal under the planning system? Currently only planning applicants can submit appeals, not councils or other community organisations.
I see the need for reform, especially when councils fail to represent the views the local community. The redevelopment of the Accies site in Stockmarket was railroaded through by the council in the teeth determined local opposition. In these circumstances the local community should indeed have the right to appeal and that any process should be affordable.
Local communities cannot have the right to veto in all circumstances however. Now it is debatable whether the trams were a good idea or not but imagine if each neighbour had the right to appeal the route.
A balance is required between local effects and greater needs. Thus the effects of a retail development (such as Accies) is local and should be able to be appealed. I would want to look at the effects upon developments that have wider applications and am open to ideas on the issue.
Saturday, 23 April 2016
Protecting the NHS in Edinburgh
Thank you for your email on protecting the NHS and the specifically-targeted question of what I would prioritise if I were to become our community's MSP.
In order to answer your question, I will have to refer to both Edinburgh-wide and larger national issues but I will do my best to stick to the brief!
My main concern with health delivery in Edinburgh is the ongoing rollout of combined health and social care services. I, along with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, understand the need for this process. In general, the population is getting older and this means more long-term, chronic illness. The practice of relying upon long hospital stays has become increasingly difficult. In response to this challenge, there has been various pilot schemes set up across Scotland. Known as Hospital-at-Home, the purpose is to keep the patient in their own home for as long as possible while under the same level of medical care they would receive while in hospital. This means that the GPs, hospital doctors, nurses and pharmacists would come to them.
Hospital-at-Home has several advantages. First of all, the patient is able to maintain a higher life quality and level of independence than if they were staying in hospital. It amazed me when I learned how quickly people forget even basic things like washing up and making a cup of tea when they have been in hospital after a long stay. While in the person's home, changes in social care needs can also be quickly identified by the visiting health professional and packages tailored appropriately. What is most important is when the person does need to go into hospital, the visit can be planned and a bed made ready. The most costly manner of hospital admission is through the A&E system, which are unplanned, meaning that there can be long and costly delays while a bed and staffing is found.
From reports that I have received, the integration of health and social care in Edinburgh is not going well. There was supposed to be extra budget set up for Hospital-at-Home but the money was not provided. Instead staff was transferred from ward duties and based in Liberton Hospital, resulting in the closure of a physiotherapy gym. The hospital staff were not replaced.
Unlike other Hospital-at-Home schemes in Scotland (i.e. Fife), there is no provision for pharmaceutical services to be part of the home visit scheme here in Edinburgh. Fife found that it is far more efficient to include pharmacists as patients' drug needs can be monitored and, if necessary, changed thus avoiding unnecessary crisis situations. In Edinburgh it seems that frequently a patient has to return to hospital before an effective review can take place. This can result in the postponement of planned surgery, delays in admission and bed-blocking down the line.
It seems that the care side of the package is not being effectively handled either. Agency staff are not being used (deemed too expensive) and there are problems in both recruitment of new staff and retaining existing personnel. Neither staff nor patients like the 15 minute visit but these still happen, resulting in poor service and sometimes leaving patients flustered and upset. People can pay the difference to ensure better care but only if they can afford it, leaving the poorest with a take-it-or-leave-it service.
Add to all this the planned closure of Liberton Hospital, due for early 2017, resulting in the loss of vital rehabilitation services. Astley Ainsley hospital had its orthopaedic recover services moved to Liberton in 2015, so with the closure of Liberton it looks like that Edinburgh would lose this as well. Astley Ainsley itself is due to be remodelled as a care village but there is no clear timetable as to when this will take place. In the meantime Gylemuir to the west of the city is being used as an interim rehabilitation venue but people have to pay the current national care home rate to use it. The 60 beds announced by health minister as being new were in fact already in use.
One has to remember that this situation is taking place against the background of long-term and continued cuts made by the SNP Scottish government. Once inflation and capital spending has been accounted for, Audit Scotland found that in real terms health spending in Scotland since 2008/09 has decreased by 0.7%. While the SNP claim they are spending record amounts on the NHS, they are not matching the ring-fenced amounts made for NHS England by the Westminster government, although the budget we receive reflects this protected spending.
If Scottish Liberal Democrats are part of the next Scottish government, we will seek to address three areas of Scotland's NHS:
It is to this latter point that the problems with Edinburgh's integration of health and social care lies.
So to answer your question:
The first thing I would certainly do as an MSP is to postpone the closure of Liberton Hospital, at least until the problems of Edinburgh's Hospital-at-Home and social care deliver have been suitably addressed. Following the Fife example, I want to see pharmacy services included as part of Hospital-at-Home. Only after those services are running properly can we review the hospital bed situation across the city.
I would also seek to get the Astley Ainsley remodelling into a care village underway. It cannot be allowed to continue in it's current state of limbo and, with our aging population, it will certainly be needed.
Later this week I am meeting with a local GP who is also a representative of the British Medical Association. I will listen very carefully to what is said and how we can improve GP services across the city and what can be done to improve frontline mental health services city-wide.
In order to see an improvement in the state of our local health and care services, I hope I have convinced you that both the Scottish Liberal Democrats are aware of the challenges that we face and have the resolution to tackle them. If so, please support us in the upcoming election by casting both votes for Scottish Liberal Democrats.
In order to answer your question, I will have to refer to both Edinburgh-wide and larger national issues but I will do my best to stick to the brief!
My main concern with health delivery in Edinburgh is the ongoing rollout of combined health and social care services. I, along with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, understand the need for this process. In general, the population is getting older and this means more long-term, chronic illness. The practice of relying upon long hospital stays has become increasingly difficult. In response to this challenge, there has been various pilot schemes set up across Scotland. Known as Hospital-at-Home, the purpose is to keep the patient in their own home for as long as possible while under the same level of medical care they would receive while in hospital. This means that the GPs, hospital doctors, nurses and pharmacists would come to them.
Hospital-at-Home has several advantages. First of all, the patient is able to maintain a higher life quality and level of independence than if they were staying in hospital. It amazed me when I learned how quickly people forget even basic things like washing up and making a cup of tea when they have been in hospital after a long stay. While in the person's home, changes in social care needs can also be quickly identified by the visiting health professional and packages tailored appropriately. What is most important is when the person does need to go into hospital, the visit can be planned and a bed made ready. The most costly manner of hospital admission is through the A&E system, which are unplanned, meaning that there can be long and costly delays while a bed and staffing is found.
From reports that I have received, the integration of health and social care in Edinburgh is not going well. There was supposed to be extra budget set up for Hospital-at-Home but the money was not provided. Instead staff was transferred from ward duties and based in Liberton Hospital, resulting in the closure of a physiotherapy gym. The hospital staff were not replaced.
Unlike other Hospital-at-Home schemes in Scotland (i.e. Fife), there is no provision for pharmaceutical services to be part of the home visit scheme here in Edinburgh. Fife found that it is far more efficient to include pharmacists as patients' drug needs can be monitored and, if necessary, changed thus avoiding unnecessary crisis situations. In Edinburgh it seems that frequently a patient has to return to hospital before an effective review can take place. This can result in the postponement of planned surgery, delays in admission and bed-blocking down the line.
It seems that the care side of the package is not being effectively handled either. Agency staff are not being used (deemed too expensive) and there are problems in both recruitment of new staff and retaining existing personnel. Neither staff nor patients like the 15 minute visit but these still happen, resulting in poor service and sometimes leaving patients flustered and upset. People can pay the difference to ensure better care but only if they can afford it, leaving the poorest with a take-it-or-leave-it service.
Add to all this the planned closure of Liberton Hospital, due for early 2017, resulting in the loss of vital rehabilitation services. Astley Ainsley hospital had its orthopaedic recover services moved to Liberton in 2015, so with the closure of Liberton it looks like that Edinburgh would lose this as well. Astley Ainsley itself is due to be remodelled as a care village but there is no clear timetable as to when this will take place. In the meantime Gylemuir to the west of the city is being used as an interim rehabilitation venue but people have to pay the current national care home rate to use it. The 60 beds announced by health minister as being new were in fact already in use.
One has to remember that this situation is taking place against the background of long-term and continued cuts made by the SNP Scottish government. Once inflation and capital spending has been accounted for, Audit Scotland found that in real terms health spending in Scotland since 2008/09 has decreased by 0.7%. While the SNP claim they are spending record amounts on the NHS, they are not matching the ring-fenced amounts made for NHS England by the Westminster government, although the budget we receive reflects this protected spending.
If Scottish Liberal Democrats are part of the next Scottish government, we will seek to address three areas of Scotland's NHS:
- Increase spending on mental health services, especially for young and adolescence age group. We will also see that there are 24/7 mental health facilities in all 30 of the nation's A&E units and in every one of Scotland's police divisions
- Address the increasing need for GPs across Scotland. From 2009 to 2013, the SNP government only managed to create 35 new GP positions across Scotland. By 2020, the Royal College of GPs predict a shortfall of 740 positions. Although the Scottish government announced the creation of 400 new training places, of the 315 of these that have been advertised, only 237 positions have actually been filled.
- The integration of health and social care involves the creation of 31 new care boards overseeing £8 billion of NHS and social care resources. In March 2015, Audit Scotland’s report on progress towards the integration of health and social care found: “a lack of national leadership and clear planning is preventing the wider change urgently needed if Scotland’s health and social care services are to adapt to increasing pressures”.
It is to this latter point that the problems with Edinburgh's integration of health and social care lies.
So to answer your question:
The first thing I would certainly do as an MSP is to postpone the closure of Liberton Hospital, at least until the problems of Edinburgh's Hospital-at-Home and social care deliver have been suitably addressed. Following the Fife example, I want to see pharmacy services included as part of Hospital-at-Home. Only after those services are running properly can we review the hospital bed situation across the city.
I would also seek to get the Astley Ainsley remodelling into a care village underway. It cannot be allowed to continue in it's current state of limbo and, with our aging population, it will certainly be needed.
Later this week I am meeting with a local GP who is also a representative of the British Medical Association. I will listen very carefully to what is said and how we can improve GP services across the city and what can be done to improve frontline mental health services city-wide.
In order to see an improvement in the state of our local health and care services, I hope I have convinced you that both the Scottish Liberal Democrats are aware of the challenges that we face and have the resolution to tackle them. If so, please support us in the upcoming election by casting both votes for Scottish Liberal Democrats.
Friday, 8 April 2016
Letter to TRIM and West Pilton
At the kind invitation of the Chairman of the Tenents and Residents of Muirhouse and Friends of West Pilton, candidates are invited to write an open letter to voters of the neighbourhoods.
Here is my letter.
Hello!
My name is Martin Veart and I am standing on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in our constituency of Edinburgh Northern and Leith.
The Liberal Democrats have been taking a bit of a battering of late. I have stuck with the party because out of all the political parties, it is the only one that believes that government should serve people. That is the core of liberalism. Liberals understand we that know our own local communities best of all: knowing both the problems but also the opportunities to improve. The Liberal Democrats want to return power to the most local level possible, to tackle the challenges that we face right now.
At this point I will do something that may surprise you. I will praise the SNP. Alone of all the parties, they engaged and got stuck into the grassroots of civil Scotland: the residents' associations, the voluntary groups and respected community individuals. They have raised hopes that have been long absent from the political scene.
It is the job though of politicians to deliver results and that is where the SNP have failed. Edinburgh is undergoing continuing rounds of cuts: to the council (2,000 jobs), to the health and social services (wards being closed, Liberton Hospital due to shut and staff frightened into silence) and our educational facilities suffering from cuts to places and staff, resulting in overflowing class sizes.
It is little wonder that the only party that have consistently supported the SNP budgets over the years are the Conservatives.
During the post-Referendum talks, Liberal Democrats took a full and constructive part in the Smith Commission negotiations. We helped bring back new powers to Scotland and we now want to use those powers to improve people's lives. Not is some distant future, after a new referendum, but starting right now.
Our main policy to achieve this new start is a rise in income tax of 1p in the £. The extra £450 million raised would be used this to invest in education: from pre-nursery to adult life-long learning. Through the Pupil Premium, a policy Liberal Democrats have already delivered in England, the pupils who are most disadvantaged gain the most benefit. For Scotland that means £1400 for each disadvantaged primary school child and £900 for each young person at secondary school. The funding follows the pupil so if the family moves, the child does not lose out on resources.
The extra money will increase a child's chance of going on to further education and even to university. In some neighbours in Scotland, a young person has more chance of ending up in a young offenders unit rather than at their local university. That cannot be allowed to continue.
The 1p in the £ will see funding returned to pre-2008 levels, returning our education levels to where it used to be: among the finest in the world.
It is all very well providing our young people with a good start in life if, when they are looking for a home there is nowhere they can afford to live. Edinburgh is in the mist of a housing crisis. I want to see the plans for Leith and the Western Harbour reactivated. The city needs more social housing. We also need better planning in the city. I have been listening to residents in Muirhouse and I understand it is not good enough building new homes if there are not the services for people to use. People need nearby places to shop and shouldn't have to travel miles to find health facilities like GPs, pharmacists and dentists. As your MSP, I will work closely with Edinburgh Council to ensure the services that people need are delivered and that new homes are built.
When it comes to health services, the Liberal Democrats want to see better treatment and availability for mental health problems. Only one-in-four young people in Scotland suffering from mental health issues have their first appointment within the 18 week target. There are over 50 children in Scotland who are waiting over a year for their first consultation. For too long mental health treatment has been the Cinderella service of the NHS and that needs to change. We will be listening carefully to Scottish health professionals how we can improve matters here, as well as drawing on the Liberal Democrat experience in England, where we have already delivered real improvements.
Liberal Democrats also want to see the end of criminalisation of drug use in Scotland. Supply of illegal drugs would remain a criminal offence, with suppliers facing long prison sentences, but users are suffering from health and social problems and are not criminals for being addicts. This approach have led to good results in Portugal, which, after fifteen years of following the policy, has seen a decline in drug use among the young.
Liberal Democrats value evidence-led policies and that is what we will deliver for the people of Scotland. For more details, visit our website: http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk
I will just like to end upon a further word or two about myself. With my family, I live at Newhaven Harbour. Previously I worked in oil and gas but, like many in the industry nowadays, I am now looking for new opportunities.
If one looks at the leaflets of any political party, each of them promise to supply a strong voice for the constituency. Very good, but what does a strong voice actually mean? Meekly following the party leadership, despite private doubts? Not rocking the boat in case that means being overlooked for a ministerial post in the future?
My pledge to you would be to use my best judgement on every occasion: to listen carefully, to consider the issues and work for the best outcome possible for the people here. I am a liberal to the core and as such I am not afraid to speak out on the issues: even to be point of disagreeing with the leadership, openly if need be.
In voting for me, Martin Veart, you will be voting for a person, not just a party. In using your second vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, you will be voting for the party with wants use power to serve you, your family and the community.
You can contact me on mm.veart@yahoo.co.uk and my personal blog is at http://martinveart.blogspot.co.uk/
Here is my letter.
Hello!
My name is Martin Veart and I am standing on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in our constituency of Edinburgh Northern and Leith.
The Liberal Democrats have been taking a bit of a battering of late. I have stuck with the party because out of all the political parties, it is the only one that believes that government should serve people. That is the core of liberalism. Liberals understand we that know our own local communities best of all: knowing both the problems but also the opportunities to improve. The Liberal Democrats want to return power to the most local level possible, to tackle the challenges that we face right now.
At this point I will do something that may surprise you. I will praise the SNP. Alone of all the parties, they engaged and got stuck into the grassroots of civil Scotland: the residents' associations, the voluntary groups and respected community individuals. They have raised hopes that have been long absent from the political scene.
It is the job though of politicians to deliver results and that is where the SNP have failed. Edinburgh is undergoing continuing rounds of cuts: to the council (2,000 jobs), to the health and social services (wards being closed, Liberton Hospital due to shut and staff frightened into silence) and our educational facilities suffering from cuts to places and staff, resulting in overflowing class sizes.
It is little wonder that the only party that have consistently supported the SNP budgets over the years are the Conservatives.
During the post-Referendum talks, Liberal Democrats took a full and constructive part in the Smith Commission negotiations. We helped bring back new powers to Scotland and we now want to use those powers to improve people's lives. Not is some distant future, after a new referendum, but starting right now.
Our main policy to achieve this new start is a rise in income tax of 1p in the £. The extra £450 million raised would be used this to invest in education: from pre-nursery to adult life-long learning. Through the Pupil Premium, a policy Liberal Democrats have already delivered in England, the pupils who are most disadvantaged gain the most benefit. For Scotland that means £1400 for each disadvantaged primary school child and £900 for each young person at secondary school. The funding follows the pupil so if the family moves, the child does not lose out on resources.
The extra money will increase a child's chance of going on to further education and even to university. In some neighbours in Scotland, a young person has more chance of ending up in a young offenders unit rather than at their local university. That cannot be allowed to continue.
The 1p in the £ will see funding returned to pre-2008 levels, returning our education levels to where it used to be: among the finest in the world.
It is all very well providing our young people with a good start in life if, when they are looking for a home there is nowhere they can afford to live. Edinburgh is in the mist of a housing crisis. I want to see the plans for Leith and the Western Harbour reactivated. The city needs more social housing. We also need better planning in the city. I have been listening to residents in Muirhouse and I understand it is not good enough building new homes if there are not the services for people to use. People need nearby places to shop and shouldn't have to travel miles to find health facilities like GPs, pharmacists and dentists. As your MSP, I will work closely with Edinburgh Council to ensure the services that people need are delivered and that new homes are built.
When it comes to health services, the Liberal Democrats want to see better treatment and availability for mental health problems. Only one-in-four young people in Scotland suffering from mental health issues have their first appointment within the 18 week target. There are over 50 children in Scotland who are waiting over a year for their first consultation. For too long mental health treatment has been the Cinderella service of the NHS and that needs to change. We will be listening carefully to Scottish health professionals how we can improve matters here, as well as drawing on the Liberal Democrat experience in England, where we have already delivered real improvements.
Liberal Democrats also want to see the end of criminalisation of drug use in Scotland. Supply of illegal drugs would remain a criminal offence, with suppliers facing long prison sentences, but users are suffering from health and social problems and are not criminals for being addicts. This approach have led to good results in Portugal, which, after fifteen years of following the policy, has seen a decline in drug use among the young.
Liberal Democrats value evidence-led policies and that is what we will deliver for the people of Scotland. For more details, visit our website: http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk
I will just like to end upon a further word or two about myself. With my family, I live at Newhaven Harbour. Previously I worked in oil and gas but, like many in the industry nowadays, I am now looking for new opportunities.
If one looks at the leaflets of any political party, each of them promise to supply a strong voice for the constituency. Very good, but what does a strong voice actually mean? Meekly following the party leadership, despite private doubts? Not rocking the boat in case that means being overlooked for a ministerial post in the future?
My pledge to you would be to use my best judgement on every occasion: to listen carefully, to consider the issues and work for the best outcome possible for the people here. I am a liberal to the core and as such I am not afraid to speak out on the issues: even to be point of disagreeing with the leadership, openly if need be.
In voting for me, Martin Veart, you will be voting for a person, not just a party. In using your second vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, you will be voting for the party with wants use power to serve you, your family and the community.
You can contact me on mm.veart@yahoo.co.uk and my personal blog is at http://martinveart.blogspot.co.uk/
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