Covid, Lockdown and Ministers Pay
Must be galling if you're one of the groups hit really hard by Covid (eg the self-employed, hospitality and travel sectors, taxi drivers etc) - only to discover that Scottish ministers have all been financially insulated from the effects of lockdown since March 2020.
Including ministers such as Christina McKelvie who was deservedly criticised earlier in the year for failing to get in touch with a single care home during the Covid crisis.
An extra £30,351 on top of an MSP's regular salary of £64,470 takes a junior minister's salary to £95,000 which is supposed to reflect the additional demands and responsibilities of the jobs.
But during these long months of Covid restrictions and lockdown it's become clear that these additional payments have not been earned or justified - by some ministers at least.
Taxi For McKelvie? (April 23, 2021)
A reminder from the blog archive that while care homes were being 'thrown under the bus' Scotland's Minister for Older People (Christina McKelvie) still received her extra ministerial salary of £30,000 a year.
I'm sure groups short changed by Covid relief funds, eg Scotland's taxi drivers, will be less than impressed.
An Extra £30,000 - Money Well Spent? (07/02/21)
Christina McKelvie is paid an additional £30,351 a year on top of her MSP salary of £64,470 - for acting as Scotland's minister for older people.
I wonder what she does for the extra £30,000 as that's more than the average salary in the UK.
Financially Insulated From Covid (May 08, 2021)
I've been doing some research into the financial support available to small businesses during the Covid crisis.
For example, one local business owner explained that the total support they received (for two people) over the whole Year of Covid amounted to just £15,000 - or £7,500 each.
Now this is less that half the additional salary paid to junior Scottish ministers like Christina McKelvie who is paid a 'bonus' of £30,000 for acting as Minister for Older People.
Yet Christina and others held on to 100% of their additional responsibility salaries during Covid even though they didn't seem to be doing very much to earn this extra dosh.
