Scotland's 'Sideshow' Parliament
The SNP are always banging on about the importance and sovereignty of the Scottish Parliament, but yet again Ministers have reduced Holyrood to a mere sideshow when it comes to the public finances.
In November 2020 Nicola Sturgeon announced a new Covid bonus scheme to an online conference of SNP delegates which denied the Scottish Parliament and MSPs any say in how £200 million of public money was to be spent.
Just yesterday, after Holyrood finished its final session ahead of the parliamentary elections in May, Ministers announced a 4% pay rise for NHS staff, again without any questions, clarification or debate.
Now I'm all in favour of better pay for NHS workers although this latest move smacks of an SNP election stunt rather than a serious attempt to tackle low pay or fairly reward those who have played a key role during the Covid epidemic.
Yet again other key groups who have been keeping essential services going during lockdown are excluded, even though their role has been just as crucial as the NHS - care workers, refuse workers, police, food supply/distribution and the army all spring to mind.
To add insult to injury, these issues played no part in the Scottish Parliament debates which only recently agreed the Scottish Government's budget for 2021-2022.
So it really does look like just a cynical, if cunning, stunt aimed at boosting the SNP's chances in the Holyrood elections.
The costs of the package has not yet been made clear, but because they are not accounted for in the 2021-2022 Scottish Government budget, they must be coming from the additional billions in Covid support funds provided by the UK Treasury.
Again the allocation and broad use of public money ought to be debated collectively by MSPs in Holyrood - otherwise SNP ministers are making a mockery of democracy and treating the Scottish Parliament with ill-disguised contempt.
Covid, Bonuses and Key Workers (24/03/21)
I'll be pleased for people who get a Covid bonus and an extra few hundred pounds, but this shameful dog's dinner of a scheme excludes many essential front-line workers - while ignoring the hard hit hospitality and service industries altogether.
Covid Christmas Bonus (27/02/21)
I'm told, on good authority, that social care workers in Glasgow City Council have still not received their Covid Christmas bonus of £500.
A friend of a friend working in the NHS (a nurse) has apparently received her payment which is worth around £360 after tax and national insurance deductions.
Regular readers will recall this scheme costing around £200 million of public money was announced by Nicola Sturgeon to an online SNP delegate conference on 30 November last year.
Covid's Big 'Losers' Deserve Better (23/02/21)
I read recently that in addition to paying a £500 bonus to the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the Scottish Government is planning to pay a £400 bonus to school teachers who will be asked to mark their pupils' course work now that the 2021 exams have been cancelled.
I haven't discovered, as yet, what the cost of this teachers Covid bonus scheme will, but the one for NHS and social care workers is estimated to cost around £200 million and covers lots of well paid staff including senior managers, of course.
What I object to is if Scottish Ministers have hundreds of millions of pounds (of public money) to give away, why don't they give a good chunk to people who have actually lost out during Covid - for example low paid workers in the hospitality sector?
But maybe this has nothing to do with fairness or equity - and everything to do with the Scottish Parliament elections in May.
ScotGov's Cockamamy Covid Bonus Scheme (08/02/21)
Scotland's health minister Jeanne Freeman insists the Scottish Government is right to consult the Scottish Parliament before announcing its new quarantine plan.
Now I agree with Jeanne Freeman's admirable insistence on 'parliament first', but how on earth does she explain the First Minister announcing a cockamamy Covid bonus scheme to an SNP conference on 30 November 2020 - without first putting her proposal to the Scottish Parliament?
Because scheme costing around £200 million of public money should surely have been debated by MSPs before being shared with delegates at an SNP conference.
Especially when lots of people have been very badly hit by Covid, in the hospitality sector for example, and there is a very good argument that at least some of this £200 million could have been put to a far better use.
So why pay the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde a £500 bonus when the CEO earns over £200,000 a year and haven't lost a penny piece from Covid?
Who Gets What and Why? 6 (24/12/20)
The Scottish Government's £500 bonus scheme has some major flaws which I am addressing one-at-a-time on the blog.
Patient Facing vs Non-Patient Facing Jobs
"A pro rated payment of £500 will be made as soon as is practicable to all NHS and social care workers employed since 17 March 2020 - including staff who have had to shield, or who have since retired."
Now the issue here is that not all NHS staff are in patient facing jobs - and not all NHS staff have been stretched to the limit and beyond, in the battle against Covid-19.
In fact, large parts of the NHS have been effectively closed down for months - NHS dental services, for example, which only began to come back on stream in August 2020.
On the other hand, there is a good argument that the NHS is a team and that the backroom staff who are not in the 'front line' are every bit as important as those dealing directly with patients.
But the same is true of other groups as well of course - support staff and teachers in schools, for example, who have been looking after the children of NHS workers because without them the whole system would break down.
As it would if the thousands of delivery drivers, supermarket staff or refuse workers all decided it would be safer to stay at home - instead of risking their own health and safety by going into work.
So where is the logic or fairness in singling out some key groups while excluding others whose contribution is just as important?
I've spoken to lots of people who are in line to receive a £500 bonus (or part thereof) and I'm pleased to report they all say they'd prefer other 'essential workers' to be recognised as well - even if this meant they would receive less themselves.
ScotGov - Who Gets What and Why? 5 (23/12/20)
I understand the Scottish Government's £500 bonus scheme is causing consternation in official circles as the scheme's problems and inconsistencies become clear.
Take 'shielding', for example, Scottish Ministers originally said that all shielding staff would receive the payment, but now they are not so sure and they may be reneging on this promise (see post below dated 20/12/20).
The interpretation of 'pro rata' is also causing big problems because it's still as clear as mud whether 'pro rata' relates to hours worked or days worked between 17 March and 30 November 2020 - the date Nicola Sturgeon first revealed the grand plan to an SNP national conference.
So how many hours or days to people have to work to qualify for the £500?
No one seems to know the answer to that question, but it means that some folk have to work far more (or far fewer) hours (or days) to get their hands on the same amount of dosh.
Now the reason for so much confusion is that Scottish Ministers decided not to consult with anyone before making their announcement - MSPs and the Scottish Parliament were kept in the dark, as were the employers and the trade unions.
Never mind the wider Scottish public which is really quite astonishing as it's public money in the first place, of course - even if ministers are behaving as if these funds (hundreds of millions of pounds) are the property of the SNP.
More to follow later today - so watch this space.
ScotGov - Who Gets What and Why? 4 (20/12/20)
ScotGov - Who Gets What and Why? 3 (19/12/20)
Seems to me the Scottish Government's £500 bonus scheme has more holes than a Swiss Cheese Plant.
First of all it seems to extend to all kinds of senior officials who neither need nor deserve a £500 bonus, but it's also very confusing and complicated.
What does pro rata mean?
2) On 30 November 2020 Scottish ministers announced (out of the blue and without any consultation) that all full-time NHS workers and social care staff would receive a £500 bonus payment - pro rated for part-timers (see quote below).
"A pro rated payment of £500 will be made as soon as is practicable to all NHS and social care workers employed since 17 March 2020 - including staff who have had to shield, or who have since retired."
ScotGov - Who Gets What and Why? 2 (17/12/20)
The Scottish Government's scheme to pay a £500 bonus to all NHS workers and social care staff has attracted a lot of criticism which is richly deserved, if you ask me.
So I thought I'd highlight some of the issues with the scheme which could (and should) have been addressed had Nicola Sturgeon put a serious proposal to the Scottish Parliament, instead of playing party politics by making an announcement to an SNP conference.
Senior Officials
1) The chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is very well paid with a salary package worth over £200,000 a year including pension benefits.
Why does the First Minister think it necessary to reward such senior and highly paid officials with a £500 bonus payment?
More thoughts and observations to follow in the days ahead - so watch this space.
ScotGov - Who Gets What and Why? (07/12/20)
I am beginning to delve into this £500 bonus business which Nicola Sturgeon announced to an SNP conference recently without any prior discussion in the Scottish Parliament or with other relevant 'stakeholders' including the employers and trade unions.
Now I understand that this £500 payment is intended to cover 300,000 staff and will cost around £180 million which sounds rather odd because lots of staff are part-time and won't qualify for the full £500.
According to media reports, part-time staff will receive a 'pro rata' payment presumably be based on a percentage of full-time hours worked - and there are lots of part-time staff working in the health and social care field, as everyone knows.
By my calculation 300,000 X £500 = £150 million and after factoring in the lower amounts paid to part-time staff you would expect the bill to come to significantly less than £150 million - even allowing for employers' National Insurance contribution of 13.8%.
So how does the Scottish Government come to a total of £180 million?
I don't know, but I think we should be told and there must surely be an official ScotGov circular doing the rounds since this kind of information has to be circulated to employers (NHS and council) and the trade unions.
If any readers out there can oblige, please send a copy of the circular (in confidence of course) to: markirvine@compuserve.com
Scots Docs Say - "No Thanks!" (05/12/20)
Scottish doctors show more sense than ScotGov ministers after branding their £500 'thank you' payment as embarrassing and unnecessary.
The Herald reports that Highland GPs asked whether the move was 'just' when many of their patients have faced reduced earnings, jobs losses or business closures as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.Fairness, Covid and Taxing Bonuses (01/12/20)
"But exempting any bonuses from tax is not widely regarded as a good use of tax policy – regardless of which govt has the powers to do it, and regardless how much we appreciate the work done by NHS/social care workers in recent months.
"There’s a reason bonuses are taxed; if they weren’t, everyone would want paid in bonuses rather than regular pay. Making an exception to the rule once opens the possibility of endless future lobbying for tax-exempt bonuses – which is not something any government should be keen to encourage.
"More importantly, exempting bonuses from tax appears at odds with the context of the existing progressive tax system. If NHS workers received an extra £500 in normal pay, higher rate taxpayers would pay more of that in tax than basic rate taxpayers – that’s the basis of fairness on which the system is based. Exempting the bonus from tax would gift higher rate taxpayers a significantly larger tax break than basic rate taxpayers. It is really not clear what the rationale for this would be.
"So, it is perfectly legitimate – and indeed desirable – to want to recognise and reward NHS/care workers for their efforts in recent months. But if policymakers want those employees to benefit by £500 after tax, the solution is to pay a higher gross bonus. There is little reason for these rewards to be exempt from the existing social contract, or for them to require administrative and legislative hurdles to implement."
