Accounts Commission to hold public hearing about the SIC

[jz]

Both Shetland News and Shetland Times have announced that a public hearing is to be carried out into the running of the SIC.

 

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/2010/May/news/Accounts%20Commission%20to%20hold%20public%20hearing.htm

 

http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2010/05/13/public-inquiry-to-be-held-into-council-following-critical-audit-scotland-report

 

So is this a chance for a new start, or by washing our dirty laundry in public, a fresh embarrassment?

[Spinner72]

It should only be a fresh embarrasment for those involved who have been able to hide behind the "whole council" up 'till now.

 

I think this is essential before recruitment of the interm CE is decided.

[Ghostrider]

An awful lot of "ifs"....

 

"If" it can be thorough, unlike the earlier "diary of events" report, which said next to nothing new, and helped less. It will likely be a fresh embarrassment to the guilty insofar as it would put names and faces to those who soiled the laundry in the first place. Right now all 22 are being tarred with the same brush, and outwith the islands, Shetland by extension, which is neither right nor fair, but the public can do nothing else at the moment, and its something I don't think the public are going to let lie until they better know who to hang and who to let off, regardless if a few are embarrassed in the process. I don't see any "naming of names" as a potential embarrassment to "us", rather its allocating embarrassment to where it belongs, the culpable, and removing it from the remaining Councillors and by extension Shetland. I would expect it to be seen as "us" putting "our" house in order, by allocating blame where it belongs, and showing "us" in a more positive light. "If" we can get that, then it might just finally draw a line under the fiasco after fiasco that's grown year on year and ended up in the total debacle of the last 12 months. I doubt we'll get that level of thoroughness though, I suspect the previous "whitewash" report set the benchmark for where this is going to go.

 

As for a new start, I very much doubt that's possible with the present incumbents holding on to their jobs. At the very least a wholesale reshuffle of council office bearers *might* just pull off a new start, but I'd not put my shirt on it. I rather doubt any "new start" will need an election, whenever it happens. The most I think we can realistically expect before that is to stop the present council digging the hole any deeper, things I fear have sunk far too low to resurrect anything of worth from what's there right now. Three years down and they're still a bunch of small fragmented groups and a handful of lone loose cannons all pulling in different directions, they have never managed to mould themselve in to a cohesive productive decision making unit, and I doubt it can happen now after this. Chaos in the ranks is usually the fault of a weak leadership, but without an inside line its impossible to state that categorically, the alternative being there are too many round the table that'll neither "laed nur caa", whichever as a single unit they can go no place.

[north]

This is an excellent step in the right direction.

 

Let's air a few facts and get to the crux of the entire matter. Then we can see if those responsible take responsibility for their decisions and actions, or if they intend to shirk the matter onto the group as a whole, or specific individuals or groups.

 

I see COSLA being a great way to deflect all responsibility and liability from the incumbent cabal, but time will surely tell.

 

I can't wait!

[keetiebairdie]

I think this has much to do with misuse of public funds, £306k pay-off of 'serious concern', etc.

 

Where to find a copy of this year's 2010-2011 SIC budget, said to be about £110mil. Is it in the public domain?

 

It will be interesting to see how they plan to spend our money, and the expected income for the year.

[MuckleJoannie]

The SIC Report and Appendices can be found here

 

http://www.shetland.gov.uk/coins/submissiondocuments.asp?submissionid=10206

[keetiebairdie]

Thanks MJ. Will spend the weekend studying it....