FOI and SPT
Regular readers may have been following the unfolding row at SPT (Strathclyde Passenger Transport) - where three top officials have resigned over foreign junkets and mileage claims.
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act has been instrumental in shining a light - onto the best kept secrets of this transport quango.
At first SPT refused to release the information requested - but ultimately the details came out into the open - as they always do.
One of the main casualties was a councillor from South Lanarkshire Council - Davie MacLachlan.
South Lanarkshire is, of course, desperately trying to keep secret - the details of how different groups of male and female council workers are paid - even though this information is freely available in other Scottish councils.
But just as FOI has allowed people to see what was going on inside SPT - the same forces will unlock the truth of what's been happening inside South Lanarkshire Council - when it comes to Single Status and Equal Pay.
Here's an extract of what the Evening Times newspaper had to say about the SPT expenses row:
"South Lanarkshire councillor Davie McLachlan resigned from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport yesterday after it was revealed that in the last three years he had claimed £17,544 for travelling 35,650 miles in his role as vice-chairman – equivalent to almost one-and-a-half times around the world.
The row over mileage claims came amid claims of junketing by SPT chiefs.
Foreign trips by 11 directors and executives to destinations including China, India, Italy and the United States have cost nearly £50,000 in the past three years contributing towards a £117,573 total."
As we've said before - if South Lanarkshire Council has nothing to hide, why not just make this pay information public - as other councils have done - and let people decide for themselves?
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act has been instrumental in shining a light - onto the best kept secrets of this transport quango.
At first SPT refused to release the information requested - but ultimately the details came out into the open - as they always do.
One of the main casualties was a councillor from South Lanarkshire Council - Davie MacLachlan.
South Lanarkshire is, of course, desperately trying to keep secret - the details of how different groups of male and female council workers are paid - even though this information is freely available in other Scottish councils.
But just as FOI has allowed people to see what was going on inside SPT - the same forces will unlock the truth of what's been happening inside South Lanarkshire Council - when it comes to Single Status and Equal Pay.
Here's an extract of what the Evening Times newspaper had to say about the SPT expenses row:
"South Lanarkshire councillor Davie McLachlan resigned from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport yesterday after it was revealed that in the last three years he had claimed £17,544 for travelling 35,650 miles in his role as vice-chairman – equivalent to almost one-and-a-half times around the world.
The row over mileage claims came amid claims of junketing by SPT chiefs.
Foreign trips by 11 directors and executives to destinations including China, India, Italy and the United States have cost nearly £50,000 in the past three years contributing towards a £117,573 total."
As we've said before - if South Lanarkshire Council has nothing to hide, why not just make this pay information public - as other councils have done - and let people decide for themselves?
