shetlandpeat

The community council should over see the finer parts of the service. A two tier authority can be very beneficial. After all, you complain that SIC (councils) are a waste blah blah, yet you want the money for community projects handed back to them along with the money. What I have found is that certain types do not agree with community, parish or town councils as they can lose control over them. It is a shame really. The Environment Dept of SIC do have to investigate if a complaint is made directly to them. That has nothing to do with community counclis. But, they can organise at a more local level and perhaps find ways to stop any future dumping. As for the SIC getting paid, you get quite a bit for your money considering how much is spent by the council (SIC) compared to how much Council Tax you pay. I suppose it depends what you want, to be continually fed services from the teat of the council at the same level will cost I would guess. Hand it over to Serco, problem solved????

The system will never be perfect while folk can think. Whatever shackles are put onto people, they work out how to make the best of it, be it right or wrong. The human bean is after all a mammal built to survive in all climes. What we are making the difference is on our own values. You may find that "she" may work quite hard with "her" persona. However, without knowing the "finer" details we can only guess, however, the first think thought of is the worst. Small communities, self contained as Shetland is in ways will as well soon identify those they want and do net want as employees, word I guess soon gets round, after all, the local paper is quick to publish every detail af a person who has been accused of, or has made some mistake, I would bet that some do try but are tarnished with a past they have worked away from.

Past accusations GR, we all post to get a reaction, what would be the point, because of this, threats were made to terminate accounts for no real reason. Community councils can be very useful, it does however take folk with drive to take on the role, they can also be a vehicle for other projects within the community. Refuse is one problem they can help with, they have in the past paid for skips, it is about thinking differently. I agree that they can appear to be of little worth, that can sadly be their demise of lack of drive. Community involvement is on the increase throughout the country, many do good things. They, because they constitute themselves can be involved in writing bids for external funding as well as from SIC (councils). If they can take on a role within the community that saves the council money, they can, in most instances get some funding. The Lotto have been awarding community millions of pounds recently, generally, £100,000 per year for 10 years if the plan is right. Community councils and other neighbourhood groups can apply for this. It is a good start to get onto the ladder to change what a few continually complain about on here. There is an opportunity, why not have a go? One way to get the rubbish from the community removed.

May be the folk have lost interest, as reported in the paper, a lack of community councils cannot help the matter. Hey, thanks for your post it certainly a breath of fresh air. While you are scrutinising me, I guess it leaves others alone. Also, changed the topic... http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2014/10/04/seven-community-councils-stand-to-be-dissolved Sadly, my post is not about how bad the council is or how folk are hard done by, if folk cannot be interested anymore, there is certainly a problem, however, it is tha councils fault, surely. What is the point of representing your community if they are constantly telling you how slester you are. Hence the demise (temp) of 7 bodies geared up to help the community. It is a shame that folk appear to give up. My posts are no more inflamatory than many others on here, however, I await the threats.

Small communities always suffer with drink and drug addictions, it is sad, but a fact. There are many factors. However, generally, if you are registered as an addict, you move away from JSA. The issue now than, if these folks are so much of a bain to folks lives, change the situations that causes them to turn to other methods of time consumption. Alcohol is the far worse, it cost society vast sums in people waste and looking after to cash and services. We tend to concentrate on the drug side purely due to legalities and for some, a distraction from their own issues. The legalities therefore make alcohol addiction far worse as it can be so easily hidden. Alcoholics will go to great lengths to hide their addiction, but do not have to skulk around to obtain their drug and mix with folk they never know, it can, in a way appear more sociably acceptable. The flip side, about lazyness is a possibility that this "hardcore" of job seekers may be better to stay on the benefit system, I have seen and heard of many who have been forced to go to work that have cost companies dearly. I know of one who single handedly almost closed down a thriving business due to his acts. I know of several who, due to their lazyness have caused physical harm to fellow workers through their omissions, thrusting someone who works into a similar situation of unemployment and the subjection of scorn from the media, public and employers. It could be better for society and the business world that the masses keep them away from companies. The singling out of those who claim benefits by the ruling parties has also been an issue. As mentiond above, those on benefits are deemed to be low in society and subject to ridicule. I would guess that this has not helped when even a future employer thinks this, I have met a few who do.

Really though, to prove that it is the case that these items were dumped because of a lack of a skip provision, the offenders need to be caught. To go on it now, you will have to demonstrate that there were no dumping incidents when the skip was there. We here have systems, they also cost to use, it is however, the community that has discovered who the offenders were. Detailed images of items published in a public forum that is well read is a good way. We have also found that actively pushing the free sites similar to FreeServe and Freegle have helped a great deal. It cannot be the councils fault in many ways, folk are really responsible for how they dispose of their waste. Consumers need to be a bit more proactive, under WEEE regulations and packaging laws, the consumer can expect the supplier to take these upon delivery. It would be something to work with the council with. It does work, you need to find folk who are willing.

If folk go for interviews, and do not get the job, and this continues, through no fault of the job seeker, it really is not their fault. However, there are more opportunities south. You have to keep in mind as well that some of these folk may have been thrown of disability allowances/benefits, they will have specific needs that employers may not want the cost to cater for. You have to think about those who you are sacking from the council, tax payers paid for them to develop their skills, they may be snapping up the jobs. It is not as simple as there are jobs so there cannot be any unemployed. I am sure you have kept up with the JSA and the criteria, you cannot just claim it for years, there are hoops to jump through. You will also, every year have an influx of young folk, they all need jobs if they are not studying.

There has always been dumping, regardless of skips being there or not. No matter how fantastic or diverse a population is, there will always be those who spoil it for others. The blame is only atributed to the person who broke the law, it was their choice.

Are there 110 jobs mot filled in Shetland?

^ aww, I am touched. Happily, I agree with the above comment, and with out any pain what so ever. There needs to be different ways of achieving this. You can still have this and improve the lot of the tax payer, without causing one section of them to stagnate in order to maintain the system. Yup, there are those slester jobs. If folk do jobs you would not do, why then force them into poverty, if anything, you should pay them more and the minimum. Without them, where would you be?

It is though, how it is managed. For instance, if we forget the profit of the self employed, that is, you earn enough to sustain yourself and no more (this includes living costs) then, if I were to run my self employed business, as described above, from a 3 bed semi that costs, it would be far more expensive than say a one bed studio flat. If I move that 3 bed semi to India, then of course, I could charge far less. The senario is, regardless of your GLOBAL needs, the cost of living in this country prohibits the lower costs. There can only be one way to do this, that is, to pay similar wages as they do in India and let the rest of society pick up the cost. You do however have to look at the future costs as well. We will be in a situation where folk will think more of the money than their health, as we know, when we had a similar system where folk were paid a small wage, the health of the nation deteriated. The health inequality will seriously widen, it is already about 8 years in some areas, no less than 1 mile from extremes. Add to that, if there is less money in the community, less taxes are collected, but those on the lower wage will pay propotionally the most tax. If we are to keep the same level of services, then the burden of cost for those services will shift heavily over to those who have the money, this then will take us to the situation where the money is sent overseas to tax havens or the like, this is already happening with Virgin Care and Circle Health, both of which have substantial NHS contracts. It seems that there is more however to the wage system, for instance, a current job advert for a call centre bod in India, pays a hundred thousand INR but, you need to be the minimum of bi-lingual and have deplomas. http://www.placementindia.com/job-detail/telecaller-jobs-in-for-proficio-325881.htm However, there is now problems, as reported in this.... http://www.callcentrehelper.com/working-in-indian-call-centres-147.htm It is a fine balancing act, I personally would prefer healthier people than to go back to an age where birth dictates longevity. The minimum wage is a protection, not a standard. Companies though do take advantage of the minimum wage, taking folk on as appretices reduces the costs down to less than £3 an hour for the first year.

Many private companies pay the Living Wage, reading why they have done it and the benefits they report can be quite exciting. The public sector (which does include a council), may not be all to blame. I agree that there have been some issues in the past that jaded the perception of these folk who have work, but chose to become the subject of the will and whim of a few claiming to represent the many. Most of the time, it is aspirations and they have not always been thought through. Public sector employees include everyone who is paid from collective taxes. As I say, councils have capped wages, no one from the masses are getting these huge pay rises. I read, just as a thought, that if the minimum wage were to rise as has the stock exchange over the same time, it would now stand at about £18 an hour. Anyhow, while public sector employees are now having their wage reduced, either by capping in restrictive grades and/or by pay rises below the inflation rate, folk who work for them will feel agrieved. What I have also noticed ove the recent years, is the attitudes of the public sector have been changing, as has those who negotiate on behalf of the employees with this machine. I am heavily involved with this. It is quite an odd senario, me, a lowly grade four employee working with those on grades 3 and four times my level to improve our collective lot. My employer has had half a billion in cuts over the last few years, the final 300 million over the next 2 years. While this is going on, we are told that the situation in the "real" is improving, though, what is noticable is that these "real" world people are making off the council due to a lack of provision, this is to do with staffing levels. As we know, councils are not the only public sector, though folks seem to think they are. The NHS are being primed for take overs, this is clearly evident, the same is going on with them, a reduction in pay structures to make it an atractive TUPE agreement, which they will still have to top up the difference from the "real" employers existing T&Cs. Money has only a percieved worth, that is why we think we need more of it. My thoughts are more about having an equal worth, and one that can be improved upon. Working with timebanks is an interesting way of working. Something I would recomend, I have contributed to the bank, so far, have never needed to take. Though, as someone not in the "real" world, I could get three months notice and be sacked, at any time. The Public Sector is changing, it is now up to the "real" world to work with that, rather than exploiting the situation. Folk are still fighting for jobs that can sustain them, in both worlds.

That is one possibility, though I would guess some would say that would affect those who should be rewarded for skilled and/or creative work. The council has that policy already, they use pay banding, even though I am expected to do a skilled job which takes a high level of training and exceptional risks, I will never get any more money by adding any new skills. Sadly, this sort of policy is forcing skilled folk, who, in this instance the public have paid to train, to leave and then contract their skills back to the council via private companies. During a recent EPR (Equal Pay Review) organised and managed by the Blue administration at the time, capping the lower grades enabled the higher grades to increase their lot, and also give them the ability to reorganise to suit themselves, at the lower grades cost. This caused bad feeling and a lower moral, which we are still feeling 4 years later, whilst we struggle to get folk with similar skills for such a capped rate. I would wonder if that capping in the private job scene would also lead to that senario. Could a small business afford it? The money then would have to be right in the first place.

Yes, Scalloway has that capital city buzz about it! That then is certainly an improvement then. Hence the bus service, oops forgot the sooth ferry.

As you know the answer already, I do not need to answer, however, there should be reductions in business taxes that will allow the cost to be burdened. Many large employers do reap the benefits with a lower level of staff turn over which anyone knows becomes an added cost. Small businesses are striken with crippling taxes, this should be addressed. Where the thought of yours is due to individual status, the collective benefit will roll out, it does however need some forward planning. As you know, there is a gread deal of advantage in employing young folk. Some of the cost of that is taken on by the Government. This will put more money into the community, which much of which is put back into the community. It can only be wrong that folk are paid so little they have to claim benefits, far better to turn it around, give what would have been the benefit claim to the employer to alow employees the greater choice. They may opt to stay in cheaper accomodation and spend the difference back into the community. The issue does come to a community if a large emporium dominates it and removes the money to other climates. This is where communities need to support community ventures and businesses.

The minimum wage increase is not to £10 but £8. The benefits of paying a good wage far outweighs paying a poor wage, as we know, currently, most of those claiming housing benefits are employed or retired. So, business is being subsidised by the tax payer anyway. I would rather the better wage and pension to the employee and the cost of that taken from the sometimes high rates businesses have to pay. The happier the employee, the more they will be willing to do better. Of course there will be a few who are shirkers, they survive because of poor management and that only.

There are many vehicles sold without tax, I for one never passed on a vehicle with a current disk. If I were, I would add the cost, if any (many cars are not subject to duty but we still have to pay as a collective to produce the disk) to the sale price. In a way, this can help those buying, they may not want to pay for 12 months duty if they can get 6 at their own lesure. This system also ensures that the new owner has insurance to drive the vehicle, or arange delivery. For instance, these few you mention must include the owners of the 7,052,078 vehicles scrapped from 2006 - 2011, about a million a year. There are some advantages, there will of course be a few problems, while you whine about the cost to yourself, it is estimated that up to £160,000,000 worth of duty can be avoided, at a cost to us all. That should be the real issue, not the few pounds lost by the odd individual or the mass conspiracy of the DVLA making money on bad planning.

The DVLA have never, in my years of driving, refunded a part month of the tax paid on emmissions or class of vehicle. Nothing has changed there. I am sure folk will adapt, both legally and the opposite. It may also encourage folk to transfer details of ownership quicker.

On balance, if I were able, it would have to be a no vote. Many of the questions about the yes vote have not been clearly answered, when the SNP are asked a question they do not like, they point at a flag and exclaim about the great opportunity. May be there is one in the future, I would rather vote no now, and spend a while weighing up the information as it progresses and have another go later than blow on a Yes vote and it being wrong (no going back me thinx). Though, it is the residents of Scotland who can decide, where ever they have come from.

I have never trusted Apple, though my thoughts go back to software issues. Most of my friends use PCs Windows or other based but not Apple, yet many got sucked in with the IPhone and bought updated more powerful phones but still had old battery tech and specs. To me, that is a rip off.

Ok for the radio show?

Extract from Compassion in Dying website.. End-of-life rights in Scotland Your rights in ScotlandThe Mental Capacity Act is only applicable in England and Wales, which means that end-of-life rights are different in Scotland that they are in other parts of the UK. If you have questions about rights at the end of life in Scotland call us on 0800 999 2434. Advance directivesAn Advance Directive is a document that contains your wishes for future treatment. You can use it to tell doctors what you would want if you lost the ability to make or communicate decisions - for example, if you had severe dementia or were in a coma. Advance Directive is a Scottish term, but these documents are also called Advance Decisions in other parts of the UK. "Living will" is also sometimes used informally to mean advance directive or advance decision. Are Advance Directives legally binding?Advance Directives are binding under common law in Scotland but they don’t have statutory force. Judges in the past have ruled that an Advance Directive should be followed, however there is no law that makes them legally binding. This means that doctors should follow your Advance Directive if they can. If you want to make sure that your wishes are legally binding, you might want to consider making a Welfare Power of Attorney. See our factsheet for information about how to make an advance directive. You can use Compassion in Dying's template Advance Decision, although this is not legally binding in Scotland. Welfare Powers of AttorneyA Welfare Power of Attorney is a legally binding document under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 that gives someone the power to make health and welfare decisions for you in case you can’t do so yourself - for example, if you had severe dementia or were in a coma. The person you appoint is called your Attorney. You can choose to give your Welfare Power of Attorney extra powers so that they can make decisions about life-sustaining treatments. Welfare Powers of Attorney can only be made through the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland). There is a charge of £70 to set it up, although you may be eligible for reduced costs if you are on a limited income. See our factsheet for more information about how to set up a Welfare Power of Attorney. http://www.compassionindying.org.uk/scotland The site is full of interesting and informative information, it is worth a look. Thank you

How is Scotland going to remain in NATO when it has an Anti-Nuclear Weapons Policy? NATO is part of the nuclear weapons club.

There is still an issue with multi-nationals and pensions. I have been in a meeting with BAE people and this is still problematic. BAE Scotland, if it happens will have to, as an off shore part of BAE will have to self sustaining. This will in turn have to be paid for. Either the English section of the pension pot will have to give the Scottish pension of Scottish BAE enough cash to enable this, leaving it very short of funds. The pension fund, due to issues in the past had much of the infrastructure signed over to it to keep it afloat and viable, this includes the main manufacturing areas and runways. The other option is to dramatically increase contributions from both employee and employer, of course, this will have a tax implication, of the Scottish tax payer bails it out. This however may be by the by, BAE have already started to look at removing its ship building operation from Scotland, the work will be pulled, this is due to a number of issues. A number of other companies that work with BAE will also reduce their presence. Scotland wants Trident off Scottish land within 5 years, however, this will not be logistically easy, the quoted times are at least 10-15 years, Scotland will have to look at NATO and UN membership. There is a possibility that they may not be able to become members. The NHS in Scotland will not have the same buying power as they do now. National contracts will not be applicable, the costs will be more. One serious issue is there are some sevices that Scotland needs in the South, some specialised areas such as Tropical diseases. Thankfully, the oil will pay or compensate for all of this.

And we are off.... http://www.navanhireanddiy.ie/media/catalog/category/cement_20bag_1.jpg