School closures... now I've calmed down

I've waited until now to post so I could do so with a clear head. I was incandescent on Thursday, angry, upset and frustrated at the way in which Labour behaved in the Council meeting. If I had posted straight away, I'd almost certainly have been carted off to the Standards Commission. I am still incredibly disappointed at the stage management of the Labour Group, where they were permitted to move against closures in their own wards, but obliged to support closures everywhere else. This was particularly ludicrous when some of the arguments in each case were so similar.

The way in which Labour acted does a huge disservice to those who campaigned, marched, occupied and petitioned. I spent time in Wheatley House reading each and every response for St James' Primary, Queen Mary Street Nursery and Mile End Nursery. I was moved and impressed by the responses, and they strengthened my resolve. I know from the sign-in sheet in the reception that not many Councillors bothered to read these. As far as I could see, no Labour Councillor had done so. This is a huge derogation of their responsibility to their constituents and the people of this city.

By contrast with my feelings about the callous way Labour Councillors acted, I was very proud of my colleagues in the SNP, and fellow opposition members from the Greens, Lib Dems, and the Conservative. We challenged, we reasoned, we let the world (or at least the public gallery) know why the proposals were flawed and wrong. I've since had emails from those in the gallery, and I know how they saw things. The Save Merrylee Nursery website has a good synopsis.

I met with some staff and parents from St James' Primary on Friday morning and the sense of betrayal was palpable. They know how damaged their community will be; this blow is the last thing Calton needs. The challenge now is to see pupils through to the end of term and ensure their education doesn't suffer as a result of this decision.

I know that all SNP politicians are now looking to find some way of appealing and overturning these decisions. The guidelines for this are narrow, but if there's a way, we will find it.

Closure vote today

The Council will meet at 1.30 this afternoon to discuss and vote on the closure proposals. I remain hopeful that enough Labour Councillors will see the error in some of the proposals to change their minds.

I've had a lot of emails from parents from different schools and nurseries across the city, and I've been hugely impressed by the very reasoned and researched points they have made. They know that these proposals, and this process is flawed, but they've stayed determined. I am sure your views will be put across in the chamber this afternoon. It could be a long day.

Consultation Response Update

I'm deeply disappointed that the establishments in my ward, St James' Primary, Queen Mary Street Nursery and Mile End Nursery have all been recommended for closure.

The consultation responses and their appendices (where the interesting stuff is buried) have now made it on to the Glasgow City Council website. I have heard that the Lib Dems got a rougher deal than the SNP Group, not having received the information on the responses before lunchtime. The Greens may have had them by mid-morning. Nice that we're all treated consistently...

The Evening Times reports that;

Despite 96% of those who responded being against the proposals, the ruling
Labour group on the city council voted 31-6 to press ahead with the proposals.

All parents in the City should make a point of speaking to their Labour Councillors, and demanding to know how they voted, and why they failed to persuade their colleagues. They should also double check the lists of respondents in the appendices to see whether their Councillors put in an objection to these closure plans.

450 responses were received by the Council for St James' Primary, 251 for, 188 against and 11 unclear. It's deeply interesting that the receiving school, Alexandra Parade Primary, had 280 responses filled in by pupils. They will receive £75,000 towards improvements to accommodate the pupils from St James'. I'm going over to Education shortly to see the responses for myself, and am sure they will make interesting reading.

145 responses were received by the Council for Queen Mary Street Nursery, but parents have told me that a 20 page petition was also submitted. This isn't mentioned anywhere, and I'm very concerned at the thought that this could go missing.

I'll post another update later, once I've seen the responses in the flesh.

School closures -rumours abound

Rumours are flying around the office this morning about which schools Education have proposed to save. We knew Labour were being briefed yesterday afternoon, and the SNP were due to have the proposals for 9am this morning. At 9.56, these have still not arrived. The Evening Times has a scrolling banner headline saying they have the details, and we've got any news we have through them.

This is totally unacceptable behaviour by the Labour administration, aided and abetted by the Education Department. We meet with Education officials at 10.30, by which time the early editions of the Times will be hitting the streets with no chance for us to comment.

The worse thing about this is the abuse of democracy. The full meeting of Glasgow City Council will take the final decision on these proposals next Thursday. I am appalled at the way this has been spun to make it look like the decision - which lies in the hands of democratically elected Councillors, not Education officials - has already been taken. Labour majority or not, that is wrong and makes a mockery of democracy in this city.

Education Consultation Responses to be Released

Big day today in Glasgow City Council; the responses to the schools closures consultation will be released on the web at 9am. This will give some kind of indication of those still on the closure list, and if any will be saved. I hope to give an update during the day.

Timing is everything, and this isn't it

I get a fair amount of email dropping into my inbox every day at work. Some of it is from constituents, some from my colleagues, and some of it is unsolicited and gets deleted after I've had a quick swatch. Late yesterday afternoon, I received a mass email addressed to all Council staff that surprised me so much I had to read it again. Here it is:

I'm sure we all have our own special memories of life at school - some good, perhaps some not so good. But when was the last time you were actually in a school? How much has changed since you walked out of the school doors for the last time?

When you were at school, did you have Interactive Whiteboards, Media Suites, Social Streets? Or are you reading this and thinking "what are you talking about"? Well here is your chance to find out for yourself. A new exciting initiative is being offered to staff in 2009. Education Services are organising a number of 'Back To School' events, open to all Council staff and staff from the Councils' Arms Length External Organisations (ALEO's).

Glasgow's School Estate

The Council has radically improved the condition and quality of its education estate in the past 8 years. Since 2002 the Council has invested approximately £550m to ensure that children, young people and staff have high quality, vibrant learning and teaching environments that support the core objectives of raising attainment and achievement. A high number of schools in Glasgow have been transformed. Project 2002 resulted in Glasgow's secondary schools undertaking the biggest rebuilding and refurbishment programme ever seen in the United Kingdom. Project 2002 underlined the commitment of the City Council to investing in education. The end result of the project was 11 brand new secondary schools and 18 secondary schools totally refurbished, some with major extensions built.

The Council recognised that the reform could not be restricted to the secondary sector and therefore brought forward the Pre 12 Strategy. We are currently in Phase 4 of this project - full details are available at - http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/GoingtoSchool/Pre12Strategy/

Education Services want to increase awareness throughout the Council of the positive impact of the investment in 21st century schools. So we are 'opening the gates' to our schools to allow council colleagues the chance to visit and see for themselves classrooms of the 21st Century. These proposed visits will also allow colleagues to have an increased awareness of the educational opportunities now on offer to our children and young people.

How to Apply for a Tour

Full details of this exciting new project, along with an application form for anyone interested in visiting a school, are available on Connect.

Tours will commence at 10am in specific schools and will finish off just before midday with a complimentary meal in the 'Fuel Zone' - the catering service provided by Direct and Care Services that has revolutionised catering in all primary and secondary schools - www.fuelzone.co.uk This will allow you the chance to compare school meals today with yesteryears delights such as mince, semolina and lumpy custard!

Staff will also have the option of making their own way to the school or alternatively Land and Environmental Services will arrange for transport to and from the school - leaving from, and returning to, Wheatley House on the day of the visits.

This message has been authorised for all Council distribution by Margaret Doran, Executive Director of Children and Families.

For a significant number of Council staff, it's part of their job to know what's going on in our schools. Some Council staff may get access to schools as parents, and will have an idea of what they're like. As an elected member, I'm in the schools and nurseries in my ward on a regular basis and I try to keep a handle on what's going on.

For the rest, I wonder what value a trip round Glasgow's schools will bring. Will staff will get time off their work to go on this jolly outing? Why not wait for Doors Open Day? The campaigning parents of St Gregory's and Wyndford Primaries certainly didn't need an invitation!

I'm less than convinced that in these times of austerity what is needed is Education spending money on an open invitation to all Glasgow City Council employees to come and wander around school buildings. It sounds like there will also be cost implications to Land and Environmental Services for the minibuses and DACS/Cordia for meals.

The point of this exercise clearly isn't to give staff a true impression of the conditions children are taught in. It's not about nostalgia or letting staff go back to school. The schools that have been selected aren't among the five "Category D for Dangerous" school buildings, or even among the Cs and Ds. These tours won't show flaky paint, leaking roofs, pitted playgrounds, or point out the foliage sprouting from the gutters. Visitors won't get the chance to sit in drafty classrooms with their coats and mittens on to keep them warm.

They'll be visiting these selected schools:

Primary - 22nd April

• Ashpark Primary
• Avenue End Primary
• Castleton Primary
• Merrylee Primary
• St Maria Goretti Primary

Secondary - 23rd April

• All Saints Secondary
• Drumchapel High
• Knightswood Secondary
• St Andrew's Secondary
• St Thomas Aquinas Secondary

• 
  

I don't seek to do Glasgow schools down by this post. The effort and high standards of the vast majority of teaching staff in sometimes difficult circumstances is admirable. The new schools Glasgow has invested in are impressive. For older schools, however, basic maintenance has been skimped over years. In some cases, we don't need new schools; we just need to look after what we have.

For me, the timing is pretty tactless. In a matter of weeks, Councillors in Glasgow will decide whether to close dozens of schools and nurseries across the city. This a diversionary PR exercise, nothing less.

Meetings and events

Today's going to be hectic - and very conversation-heavy. It sounds odd to my other half, who speaks mostly to computers, but a significant part of my job is listening to people. Speaking too obviously, but the listening's the really important part. Remembering what was said by whom and when, and what action I've to take when I get back to the office is a bit more challenging, especially when all the meetings are back to back.

This morning, I've got a meeting with parents from St James' and Queen Mary Street at 9.15, and a Royal visit to the opening of the Community Fire House at Calton Fire Station at 10.15. This afternoon, I've got the pantomime of Full Council at 1.30 and then casework to catch up on with several constituents to call back. I'm also still trying to get hold of some facts'n'figures for the school closure meetings next week.

If I get all my work done, I hope to go and see Motherwell play St Mirren tonight in the cup. Events have kept me away from the football for weeks, so it'd be great to make it along. It has the advantage of being able to switch the conversational part of my brain off for a wee while!

Schools on the march

Today saw hundreds of parents and children descend on to George Square for a city-wide demo against the Labour administration of Glasgow City Council's school closure proposals (or "modernisation strategy" as they prefer to call it).

For the parents from St James' Primary and Queen Mary Street Nursery in my ward, this is a bigger fight than keeping schools open - it's about protecting the community as a whole. Their 2 become 1 campaign aims to move Queen Mary Street Nursery into St James' Primary, which keeps the children in the community and safeguards the future of the school. The parents really did themselves proud today - I'm fairly chuffed too that the BBC have chosen to illustrate their closure coverage with a child holding a banner in support of this particular campaign!

There was a great turnout from the schools and nurseries in the city, despite the grim and overcast weather, and the march went well. I was left with the impression that people who came along were bolstered and strengthened for the fight ahead.

Parkhead closure goes ahead

I've taken some time to get over my anger that Parkhead Fire Station is set to close. I, and other SNP colleagues on the Fire Board, asked the questions that needed asked around safety and service provision. We criticised the public consultation, which had received suspiciously low responses from the public. We queried why those comments which were against the proposals got played down in the response to the consultation. Buried at the back, these included:

"I trust that you will not claim in your ‘full consultation report’ that this event and your ‘business plan’ has in any way the support of this community council - since the event was clearly designed to exclude any meaningful participation by working people in general and by this Community Council in particular."

"The FBU presented a petition with over 2000 signatures asking for the Board of Strathclyde Fire & Rescue to retain Parkhead Fire Station. The petition stated that a slower and less efficient service would be provided and no account was being taken of planned regeneration works. The premise of this petition was therefore misleading."

"Our overall conclusion, then, has to be somewhat guarded:
The Public Meetings did not demonstrate a widespread public opposition to the proposals – because they were poorly attended and because fire service personnel were so influential in articulating concerns that were taken up by others;"

In the end, we still got outvoted 17 - 6.

Credit must go to the FBU, who did so much work to raise awareness in the local community and told the other side story.

I got an assurance from the Chief Officer after the meeting that Parkhead will remain open until the new station is built. This may take around two years.

School closure update

Since I last wrote, things have moved on in the school closure campaign. I've met several more times with parents from St James Primary and Queen Mary Street Nursery, along with local ministers. The group has agreed a date for placard making - this Wednesday at 6.30 in Bridgeton Community Learning Centre - and arranged for two public demonstrations on the 14th and the 21st. The parents have set up a bebo site too, where local people are pledging support.

The parents have suggested moving Queen Mary Street into St James, which would keep both and save a little on the running costs of Queen Mary Street. I've been meeting also with my Labour ward colleagues, and we're starting to put together a business case. There are significant social and educational reasons for keeping the schools, particularly with the backdrop of health stats in the East End.

The details of the affected schools are on the Council website - if you have a view, please please make your voice heard.

School and nursery closures

I was out of the office at meetings for much of yesterday, so it was early evening when I was finally able to read through the proposals from the Labour administration to close a number of schools and nurseries in the city. First off, I think calling it a "modernisation strategy" when it is in fact a series of closures is more than a bit disingenuous. Secondly, I'm a wee bit suspicious as to why the news was released yesterday - while the world had eyes only for Obama. It was a very late addition to the Executive Committee papers (not going first to the Education and Social Work committee) which got sent in error to all Councillors in draft form last week.

There are a couple of nurseries and a Primary school in my ward which are set to close, and I'm really not comfortable with the proposal. The head teachers and staff in these establishments do a great job, and these schools and nurseries are hugely valued by their communities. It's true there are lot of savings to be made from the closures, but there's more than the bottom line at stake. I intend to meet soon with staff from the affected establishments and will keep the blog updated.

FBU Public Meeting

The Fire Brigades Union Public Meeting tonight on the proposed closure of Parkhead Fire Station was lively and well attended. There were meaningful, heartfelt contributions from the floor, both by fire fighters and members of the public. The FBU got to make the presentation that was denied to members of the Fire Board by the Labour Chair, and the public and elected members got to hear the other side of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue's proposals.

Ken Ross, the Regional Secretary for Scotland of the FBU gave a very informative presentation busting the myths and half truths being sold to locals as part of the consultation. The constituents I spoke to afterwards were very grateful to have had the counter-presentation., which really just highlights how things were being spun. The FBU website has a lot of information on this, but the basic points are as follows;

- the number of fire fighters at the new Cambuslang station (which will replace Parkhead and Cambuslang) will be around thirty fewer
- there will be one fewer fire appliance
- response times will increase
- fewer fire fighters means that fewer home fire safety visits can be carried out.

All this when there will be significant developments going on in the east end.

I personally delivered a survey to Parkhead residents to ask people why Parkhead Fire Station mattered to them. I spent a most of my day today going through the responses which had arrived. I wasn't surprised to hear that people wanted to save their local fire station, but I was taken aback by the stories they had written about the impact of fire on their lives. For several the fire wasn't even in their own home, but that of a neighbour. If fire crews had taken just a few minutes longer, several families would have been trapped and lost their lives. For others, the simple reassurance of having the service there for when they need it is invaluable.

Neither the people of Parkhead, nor fire fighters can see the logic of this closure. I'm with them. The closure of Parkhead Fire Station is a bad deal for the people of the East End and I will do what I can to make their voices heard.

Dalmarnock Post Office closed

I was very disappointed, but not entirely surprised to hear the confirmation that the Post Office on Springfield Road was indeed one of the ones to be closed in Glasgow. While a few were saved, others have been chosen to stand in their place, due to the crazy position where a certain number (44) have to be closed in this area, come what may. Operating in this fashion really gives no certainty and no confidence in the manner in which Post Offices are selected for closure. If the original 44 were supposed to be chosen with particular criteria, why were they even allowed to be "saved"? And if a certain number must be closed, does this not completely undermine the concept of consultation?

Aside from the immediate Post Office issue, I'm really worried that the people of Dalmarnock are being left with fewer and fewer facilities. It almost seems as though they are being fobbed off with the big bright hope of the Commonwealth Games; "sit tight, it'll all be fine by 2014". That's just not acceptable to me, and I really hope I'm not proved right.

Post offices at full Council

The issue of Post Office closures was under consideration at Full Council today following the submission of an emergency motion by Cllrs Findlay and Braat. This read:

This Council strongly believes that the local post office lies at the heart of the community and condemns the decision by Post Office Limited to propose the closure of a further 22 community post offices in the Greater Glasgow area.

Most severely hit in this wave of closures will be disadvantaged areas and communities with significant elderly populations.

Whilst recognising that Post Office Limited is now run on a commercial basis and that many of its former functions have been overtaken by technology and modern methods of communication, the company is - at the same time - a public service and must recognise that its network is of a significant strategic, economic and social importance to the communities it serves.

This Council, therefore, demands that, as part of the consultation process, an economic impact study be carried out in order to assess the impact of future closures both on rural - and urban - communities.*

All very worthy stuff and sentiments I generally agree with. It misses the point a fair bit though - this was brought about by the Labour Government in Westminster. All the Labour Glasgow MPs voted for it. None of this was mentioned in the debate by the Labour members who moved it.

The SNP's amendment sought to rectify what had been left out by adding:

Council deplores the duplicity of Labour MPs who voted for legislation and government policy to reduce the number and functions of local Post Offices, thereby betraying vulnerable communities. Council further urges all members to campaign for their retention.

This was brilliantly moved by Cllr Duffy, who tore into Labour for their lead role in all this and the hypocrisy in their current position. I seconded, talking about the Post Office in Dalmarnock, as mentioned below.

It came as little surprise that we were defeated 52:21:1, but it was fun to be able to play on the consciences of Labour members and at least attempt to get them to take some share of the blame. While they didn't make the final decision, the failure of the Labour group in Glasgow City Council to influence their MPs on such an important issue is pretty worrying. Perhaps they believed it would never happen to them.

I was patronised later in the debate in the most oily fashion possible by another member from my ward, but perhaps the least said about that the better. Perhaps if that member was true to the principles of cross party consensus espoused by the leadership of the Labour group, he would have been in touch to fight this closure together. Thus far he hasn't phoned, he hasn't written...

*I don't understand why there are so many commas in that last sentence either!

Save Dalmarnock's Post Office!

I'm a bit late to posting this blog article, but it's not through lack of action - more like doing too much.

After hearing the news about the post office closures on the news on Tuesday morning, I went down to the post office on Springfield Road in Dalmarnock after my surgery. The people I spoke to in the post office were understandably outraged, angry that their local facility might be taken away.

To put things in context, Dalmarnock has a small row of shops - off licence, chemist, doctor's, and a few other businesses, notably a wee cafe that's due to open soon. There's also a community hall. The post office though is an anchor to all of these things, as it helps to sustain other things when people use a core local facility like a post office. The post office is also the only business in the area to give locals access to their money via a free to use cash machine.

Post offices also have a social function. My gran often tells me about the great service she gets from the sub-post office at the bottom of Wishaw; how the staff know all the customers by name, how help out the elderly, and how they ask if someone misses their regular visit. That is often lost if people have to travel somewhere else. This is true of Dalmarnock as well, and customers told me that they have that kind of relationship with staff.

The post offices provided as alternatives should Dalmarnock close are not convenient to locals. At Parkhead, the post office is queued out the door whenever you walk by, and there's nowhere for people to sit. It's also about a mile away, uphill, with only one bus an hour from Dalmarnock. Not ideal if you're elderly or unwell, not convenient if you've got children or a buggy. Bridgeton is about the same distance away, but also not that handy for people to get to. Why can't people drive there? Because according to the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 78.3% of households in Dalmarnock have no car.

One of the most ludicrous things about this proposal is that the Commonwealth Games Village is to be built right next to this wee row of shops. Over 1,000 houses, and a sports arena to boot. Sportscotland will also be based there, should they still exist by 2014. Given that potential increase in trade, it would be a ridiculouly short-sighted idea to close that particular post office.

I've sent a letter to the consultation, got in contact with local residents, and been in touch with the local newspaper. The campaign to save this facility is just beginning...

The public consultation runs until the 3^rd of December. Submissions should be sent to:

Sally Buchanan

Network Development Manager

C/o National Consultation Team

FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM

Email: consultation@postoffice.co.uk

Customer HelplineL 08457 22 33 44