Blueprint for Education Update - Closures Again - Aith

[daveh]

...of course the decisions haven't been taken yet but the debates of how to avoid things like closing Freefield etc are already well underway).

The costs of running Freefield are pretty small in terms of the SIC annual spending but, of course, the small projects all add up to a sizeable total and each one eventually chosen to be pruned has an effect on various parts of our community.

 

In making my administrative centralisation suggestion, I was looking to highlight much bigger achievable savings that would affect hardly anyone at the sharp end of SIC services (apart from the affected SIC employees) whilst allowing many of the threatened facilities to be retained.

 

Tough decisions certainly lie ahead.

[Colin]

You are living in the past and have adopted the "sacred cow" approach. Until I retired, several years back, I worked in a variety of industries and also in the public sector. In virtually all of the jobs I was involved in, there were almalgamations and centralisation of functions in order to produce savings as well as become more efficient.

 

Not living in the past at all. Orkney Islands Council already run a pretty efficient operation with roughly 1/3 fewer staff than us.

Now, do you honestly believe that they would be willing to get into an arrangement with us that would threaten their fairly stable position? They just don't need us or our problems and, if they were 'forced' into any kind of arrangement, you could probably kiss goodbye to a large chunk of our reserves..

 

As for centralised purchasing (and if my memory serves me correctly), for years Local Authorities have been able to purchase office materials and supplies from HMSO at mouth wateringly low prices. I doubt very much if any significant savings could be made in that area.

 

Sadly, the only way in which the SIC can save any real money is by shedding a large portion of it's workforce.

 

Closing schools is only going to work if teachers and back office staff go as well. Then, of course, they would have to maintain an empty building. Solution, sell that as well.. Get it off the books..

 

Presumably, according to your CV, this scenario would fit in well with your line of thinking.

 

This ignores the niggly little problem of 'how do we educate our kids' if we have no schools or teachers. Got an answer to that?

 

The unavoidable truth is that, for years, the SIC has inflated the local economy by creating a vast amount of 'non-jobs' and by throwing large amounts of cash into a number of hair-brained schemes that were destined to fail from their outset.

 

They have also allowed uncontrolled expansion of various departments that they are now finding very difficult to cut back because people's expectations will not permit them to.

 

Now that the bubble has burst, they have realised that they just do not have anyone competent enough to sort out the mess and that there is barely enough cash left for any kind of long term security.

 

You cannot spend £100,000 per day more than your income and pretend that all is going to be well in the long run.

[shetlander]

From what we have seen so far this is far from the case. The officers, those with extensive experience and relative qualifications and who understand what their departments do, are presenting options which DO meet the targets set by the councillors.

 

I was just going to post something similar spinner. In echoing what others have already said, yes these proposals are radical but only because successive groups of councillors have largely failed to heed the advice and recommendations of their officials over many years on where to make cuts.

 

I truly do believe that if the new councillors don't bite the bullet and make the radical decisions now needed to cut expenditure on ferries, social care and schools in particular that the council is rapidly approaching end game in terms of retaining local control over its spending. Enter then a government appointed commissioner who will have no hesitation in implementing deep, immediate cuts that will have more far reaching social and economic impacts than anything the council is now proposing.

 

Your suggestion about administrative efficiencies is a good one in principle daveh but I'm just not sure how easy it is to implement across two completely separate organisations. As an aside, Glasgow City Council and some of its neighbours investigated the idea of sharing administrative functions a year or two ago which was eventually ditched - partly (if I recall correctly) because the savings would have been minimal.

[Shoogler]

^^^

hits the nail on the head , absolutely!

 

You've covered the Orkney option perfectly and summed up the scale of the issue for Councillors to get a grip of too - however there is a small consideration of how to carry out a cuts programme without completely destabilising the Shetland economy. In other words, the real challenge is in keeping to a coherent cuts plan over a prolonged period, i.e. more than one council term of office!

[Shoogler]

^^

Again, sorry above post was a reply to Colin

[crofter]

I just do not believe the figures - look at the schools which have already been closed, eg scalloway and uyeasound, then compare the savings with the claims put forward by Hayfield originally. Schools are an easy target, but are the savings real? No, they are not.

[crofter]

Orkney Islands Council already run a pretty efficient operation with roughly 1/3 fewer staff than us.

 

Although primary education costs in Orkney are higher than Shetland, per pupil.

 

Sadly, the only way in which the SIC can save any real money is by shedding a large portion of it's workforce.

 

 

That is correct.

[Guest CyprusPluto]

The above conversation is symptomatic as to why nothing ever progresses in Shetland and why many of the administration systems are operating in the dark ages.

 

Too many cooks .......

 

The Council should just make a decsion and everyone should just have to put up with it or get out!

[daveh]

^^

The art of conversation is not dead and, being Shetland residents and ratepayers, it is right that we should discuss such matters. I mentioned my thoughts to the two councillors (out of 4) who bothered to canvass my vote at the council elections. The decision is, of course, down to the elected councillors to make but they are our representatives and should be aware of all areas of thought.

 

Like many others, I am deeply concerned at the devastating effects that school closures and ferry services cuts have upon the future wellbeing and survival of communities and would always choose to look at any other alternatives first. Hence my centralisation thoughts.

[Guest CyprusPluto]

Daveh

The councillors cannot please everyone and the inactivity over many years has undoubtedly added to the problem.

 

It's about time they made a decision and stuck to it. They've canvassed opinions on many occassions in the past, it's time to act. Will we still be talking about it in another 10 years time? Nothing ever happens with certainty in Shetland, too many rules and regulations to follow.

Perhaps that could also be levelled at Scotland. There's is too much Interference from central Scottish government. The councillors get paid to make these decisions, so for for goodness sake make them and get on with it.

 

It's all about 'you can't blame me, I was only following the rules' syndrome

[daveh]

Daveh

The councillors cannot please everyone and the inactivity over many years has undoubtedly added to the problem.

 

It's about time they made a decision and stuck to it. They've canvassed opinions on many occassions in the past, it's time to act. Will we still be talking about it in another 10 years time? Nothing ever happens with certainty in Shetland, too many rules and regulations to follow.

Perhaps that could also be levelled at Scotland. There's is too much Interference from central Scottish government. The councillors get paid to make these decisions, so for for goodness sake make them and get on with it.

 

It's all about 'you can't blame me, I was only following the rules' syndrome

 

I agree with what you say about the councillors. They are there to canvass opinion and take account of all known factors and forecasts but, in the end, make the decisions that they think are best at the time that they make them. Sometimes, as the coalition down south are currently experiencing, the right decisions are very often not popular but that is a sign of strong leadership in following the right course and having the courage to do so.

 

The clock is certainly ticking up here and the current crop of new councillors will surely want to show that they are a more decisive bunch than the rabble that they replaced. It is not as if they were unaware of just what they were taking on just a few months ago.

[nortower]

Best the council just say "f*ck" it, build a few thousand houses around lerwick, shut down all other communitys, close all schools, shops and have one big super school to teach of the the young ones.

 

Its fine, we dont mind that your plans are going to rip hearts out of communitys.

 

Centralisation is the way ahead, no doby likes staying in small places like north roe or sandness anyway.

 

Its a shame the the neglect of small areas like this over the years by all councils is eventually going to destroy them.

[Guest CyprusPluto]

I agree with what you say about the councillors. They are there to canvass opinion and take account of all known factors and forecasts but, in the end, make the decisions that they think are best at the time that they make them. Sometimes, as the coalition down south are currently experiencing, the right decisions are very often not popular but that is a sign of strong leadership in following the right course and having the courage to do so.

 

The clock is certainly ticking up here and the current crop of new councillors will surely want to show that they are a more decisive bunch than the rabble that they replaced. It is not as if they were unaware of just what they were taking on just a few months ago.

 

Very well put

[Ironwithin]

^^^^ Here Here!

[trowie246]

At last, the education dept or whatever they call themselves now, children's services I think, have come clean and published their 'vision' for the future of education in Shetland. It comes as no surprise to anyone with an interest in the blueprint that they are proposing a massive reduction of the school estate (therefore a huge increase in transport/hostel costs) which amounts to one thing and one thing only - centralisation and decimation of rural communities.

 

Now it is up to the councillors to agree or not that centralisation is the right thing for Shetland. Personally I think it would be a disaster.