The Flag in the Wind
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CAMPAIGNING FOR SCOTLAND
(Owned, Edited and Printed in Scotland since November 1926)
Compiled by Jim Lynch
[25 August 2000]

WE SHALL NOT, WE SHALL NOT RESIGN!

As the affair of the Scottish Qualifications Authority rumbles on, it is becoming clearer each day that the warning signals over the last year must have been deafening. While the Minister for Education, Sam Galbraith, says he is not responsible, he also claimed that his officials were in daily contact and had weekly meetings with the SQA; he says they were constantly asking questions and receiving assurances. It would seem from this that he obviously felt he had a responsibility, and were his officials asking the right questions, or were they being told a pack of lies? Some admissions would be in order.

The fiasco has so many different aspects that it is difficult to believe that so much could go wrong accidentally; the Maths Higher paper had three Higher Still questions in it, which had not been covered; the people required to mark were not contacted in January as usual, but late in March; while attendance at the Markers’ Meeting is mandatory for all markers, because of the late notification, this was ignored; people who had not taught the subjects were used as markers; markers were brought in from outwith Scotland; each pupil was supposed to have a Smart Card on his desk while sitting, to deter cheating, but most of the Smart Cards were not delivered; markers were given more scripts (that’s the official title for an exam paper, I believe) and less time to mark them. If this was a book all aspects could be covered.

The reduction in the rate paid to markers shows that this is really all about cost-cutting, and not Education, Education, Education.

WHAT SHOW DID THEY WATCH?

The programme "Failing the Test" on BBC1 on Tuesday 22 Aug was scathing in its approach, and Anne Mackenzie the interviewer "Didnae miss them " as the saying goes. It was quite puzzling to read the Scotsman report the next day and find Brian Monteith, the Tory spokesman, being critical of Sam Galbraith; he did not speak at all in the programme, but Nicola Sturgeon , the SNP spokeswoman, did. Just a Scotsman oversight. I suppose.

The Tory Chairman, Raymond Robertson, admitted thay they has set up the whole SQA operation when they were in power, as a quango, and Sam Galbraith said he would have done exactly the same! It was not a mutual admiration society, as Mr Robertson was severely critical. There was a notable absence of New Labour spear carriers there to cheer on Mr Galbraith, so the chickens are coming home to roost, and Sam will be left lonely out there.

Incidentally, although the SQA is a quango, where are all the Board members? There is a Chairman, David Miller, whose name I have seen mentioned once, but there is a Board, appointed by Mr Raymond Robertson, and re appointed by Mr Donald Dewar. An ex member who was on the programme rebutted Raymond Robertson’s claim that he had attended Board meetings, but apart from that, and a passing reference to Ann Hill, all the members must have gone overboard.

The next programme for Sam Galbraith will be "Desert Island Discs"; it’s lonely out there.

 AN INDEPENDENT MINDED COVE???

The diatribe against the SNP continues, this time on the leadership campaign. One Tim Luckhurst, writing in the Herald , labels Alex Neil and John Swinney as nonenties, fighting a losing battle against apathy. He also says that Devolution has worked, but in an article in the Independent (Not the Scots Independent, please) he says that Devolution is a failure, and that Scotland’s problems can only be solved by London; I always wondered what lateral thinking was.

Mr Luckhurst appellation is "A former editor of the Scotsman". Can this be the same Timothy Colin Harvey Luckhurst who was a research assistant to Donald Dewar in 1985-87, and Labour Candidate in Roxburgh and Berwickshire in 1987; I think we should be told.

WE CARE FOR PENSIONERS - BUT NOT A LOT

Following on from the SQA debacle, the politicians must be very conscious that the almost 150000 pupils involved have parents, brothers, sisters. aunts, uncles, cousins, and the most dangerous of all, grandparents, for while a lot of votes are involved, the most likely voters are the grey ones. This government, and its previous soulmate, the Tory government, have shown a criminal disregard for the elderly. The Scottish Executive have as yet to make any decision on the Sutherland report, which their political masters in London have decided to more or less ignore. If there is a problem, set up a Commission; when it reports, if you do’t like the results, defer it, give it great consideration, and then find some other way to delay making any decision until after the next election. So, Mrs Thatcher’s aim of selling off council houses, and then withdrawing basic health care, means that the owners of these houses may have to sell them to pay for residential care, and New Labour doesn’t care.

This is not a great problem for New Labour in Scotland, but it might be for the Liberal Democrats; Christine Grahame, SNP MSP, and Shadow Minister for Older People highlighted this last month. She quoted the Liberals’ policy document, which states they intend to "end charging for personal care as defined in the Royal Commission report". So what do they do if Susan Deacon follows the London lead? Well they’re still claiming that they abolished students’ tuition fees, not being able to tell the difference between deferment and abolition. We will have to ask the SQA to give them an A for Ambivelance.

 STATE EARNINGS RELATED PAUCHLED SUPPLEMENT*

In 1986, the kind and generous Tories, who brought us pensions mis-selling in the private sector, decided their friends in the City would make more money if they could reduce the State Pension. They had already taken away the link between pensions and earnings, which very much disadvantaged pensioners (They cared for them as well) and they quietly slipped through a measure to reduce the State Earnings Related Supplement. When a pensioner dies, the SERPS part , if any, will be halved. It was paid for, by worker and employer, by National Insurance deductions, and it was to help those who had no occupational pension. However, no one was told about this, due to failure in the Social Security Department and the Benefits Agency, so those in receipt of SERPS could not make any alternative financial plans, they thought it was their properly earned pension.

 The changes were due to come into effect this year, but have been deferred until October 2002; pensioners, if you want to preserve your pension for your spouse, please die before October 2002. This will also help NHS waiting lists.

*(Pauchle- something taken surreptitiously from an employer (the taxpayer) by an employee (the state).

 THE LOYALTY BONUS

 The miners always claimed to be Labour’s bedrock supporters, but this is becoming increasingly difficult, as mines are in short supply. The number of retired miners must be considerable, about 26000 in Scotland, and they are not pleased at what the Government are doing with the Miners’ Pension Fund. Ther is a surplus of £1 billion in the Fund which the miners hoped would be paid out in the form of a pension increase, around 9%, to every miner. However, the Government will take half of the money, because they act as guarantors, a wheeze brought in by the nasty Tories, who hated the miners anyway.

It’s nice to see loyalty reciprocated.

THE DEAR GREEN PLACE

Glasgow Councillors, well the Labour ones anyway, are beside themselves with delight; the largest PFI project in education, costing £1.2 billion, is going ahead. Over the next three years, 11 secondary and one primary will be rebuilt, and 17 secondaries will be comprehensively refurbished. The council will pay £40 million per year for 30 years for the building, refurbishment and maintenance of the schools. The bidder for the project was 3 Ed Glasgow Ltd. comprising Halifax Projects Investment Ltd, Miller Group Ltd and Amey Ventures Ltd. It is believed that the cash for the deal was put up by Nomura, the friendly Japanese investment bank, who also own William Hill the Bookmakers, The Millennium Dome, the Army married quarters, and anything else they can make a bob on.

How seldom political principles survive election. This is the SQA of a few years hence, as the Dear Green Place gets dearer and dearer!