Author Archives: GovWorldMag

Government’s Mental Health Workforce plan simply doesn’t add up – Barbara Keeley

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Mental Health, commenting on the Government’s Mental Health Workforce plan, said:

“Being able to recruit thousands of new mental health staff hinges on the money being there to pay for them. Yet, this Tory Government expects mental health and acute trusts to foot more than half the bill themselves. 

“Asking trusts to find savings of £744 million over the next four years when services have already been cut to the bone shows just how out of touch this Tory Government is. These plans simply do not add up.”

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Labour •

New SPAD appointment sees numbers return to record high under SNP

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  • New SPAD appointment sees numbers return to record high under SNP

31 Jul 2017

07 May 2011 MSP pictured in the garden lobby during the MSP registration session. Pic - Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament

The appointment of another special adviser to the Scottish Government means numbers have returned to the previous record high under the SNP.

It was confirmed over the weekend that Callum McCaig, who lost his seat as an MP in June, is now working as a SPAD.

That takes the total number to 14, the same level as the independence referendum, and considerably more than the nine employed in 2012.

The increase comes despite the SNP previously saying it would cut down on SPADs, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon describing similar appointments to Mr McCaig in Westminster as “an absolute abomination”.

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said:

“Over the years the SNP has repeatedly said it wants to reduce the number of special advisers working for government.

“Yet this latest appointment returns numbers to the previous record level.

“For some reason, when the UK Government appoints former politicians it is an ‘absolute abomination’, according to Nicola Sturgeon.

“Yet in recent times, she has appointed two former SNP politicians to the public payroll.

“The SNP clearly thinks it can use taxpayer’s cash in this way without any recourse from voters at all.

“But people are increasingly seeing through the SNP’s hypocritical ways.”

Scottish Government spending on SPADs has more than doubled under the SNP. From 2007/8 to 2015/16 expenditure on SPADs increased from £480,251 to £1,140,104. The number of special advisers has increased from 9 to 14 (The Scottish Parliament, Question S4W-10032, 4 October 2012, link; The Scottish Parliament, Question S5W-00837, 16 June 2016, link; Scottish Government, Special advisers: July 2017, link).

  • The SNP have given SPAD jobs to two ex-parliamentarians. Stewart Maxwell is a former West of Scotland MSP and Callum McCaig is a former MP for Aberdeen South (Scottish Government, Special advisers: July 2017, link).
  • Alex Salmond promised that he would reduce the number of special advisers as part of a cut in bureaucracy. ‘We could do with less ministers and therefore less ministerial departments, probably less executive agencies, certainly less special advisers, because I think one of the key attributes of joined-up government is to have less bits to join up.’ (The Glasgow Herald, 7 November 2006, p6).
  • John Swinney previously said ‘We need more medical doctors not spin doctors’ but has two SPADs working on his brief. Colin McAllister and Kate Higgins both cover education (Glasgow Evening Times, 25 July 2006, p6)
  • The previous record for SPADs was 14: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-scottish-mail-on-sunday/20150802/281728383229112
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Scottish Conservatives

Tory Government promising jam tomorrow when action is needed today to tackle the staffing crisis in mental health – Keeley

Barbara Keeley MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Mental Health, commenting on Health Education England’s Mental Health Workforce Strategy, said: 

“Once again this Tory Government is promising only jam tomorrow, when what is needed is action today to tackle the staffing crisis in mental health. The workforce plan provides no real answers on how these new posts will be funded or how recruitment issues will be overcome. And it offers little hope to those working in the sector faced with mounting workloads, low pay and poor morale.

“Time and again the Tories have been warned that severe staffing shortages are affecting patient care. Only this month the Care Quality Commission highlighted staffing levels, in particular the cuts to mental health nurses, as a contributing factor to 40 per cent of mental health services now failing on safety grounds. 


“A Labour Government will provide the investment needed to recruit and train staff with the right skills to deliver the mental health services patients need and deserve. We will legislate for safe staffing, reinstate nurse bursaries, lift the one per cent pay cap for NHS staff and ring-fence mental health funding to make sure it reaches the frontline.”

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Labour •