Author Archives: GovWorldMag

Global taskforce tackling climate change head-on in a bid to ‘Pre-ACT’ to protect our planet

Key players from Europe, Australia and the USA are joining forces to tackle the challenge of removing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it underground in a bid to make a real difference to our future climate. The ‘Pressure control and conformance management for safe and efficient CO2 storage’ or ‘Pre-ACT’ project, aims to improve the cost effectiveness of safe CO2 storage. read more

November 13, 2017 GovWorldMagBritish Geological SurveyBritish Geological Survey

Boris Johnson simply has to go

They say a week is a long time in politics, and for Theresa May it’s probably felt like an eternity. Tory Minister Priti Patel resigned last week — or she was fired according to which version you believe — following … read more

November 13, 2017 GovWorldMagSNP

Council to review street cleaning changes

Dundee City Council’s Policy and Resources Committee has agreed to review the effectiveness of changes made to the street cleaning operation across the city, following implementation of a report in December 2015 that has resulted in alteration to the service and removal of street cleaning posts.

I made the request to the Policy and Resources Committee as it is important that the council reviews the situation to ensure that there is no reduction in the effectiveness of the street cleaning service.

My motion – accepted unanimously by councillors – states :

“Street Cleaning and Open Space Management

Motion by Bailie Fraser Macpherson

Given that it is approaching two years since adoption of Report 439-2015 on the Street Cleaning and Open Space Review, adopted at committee on 7th December 2015, this committee instructs Neighbourhood Services to review the effectiveness of the street cleaning revised operation to ensure that the changes undertaken since 2015 have not significantly impacted on the quality of street cleaning in any part of the city.

A report on the outcomes of such a review should be brought back to committee, together with any necessary recommendations, to ensure Dundee City Council maintains good quality street cleaning standards across the city over the coming years.”

Earlier this year, Accounts Commission reported that the streets of Dundee are becoming dirtier – the report showing that Dundee’s street cleanliness score fell by 1.6% over the past six years and the council’s spending on street cleaning, per 1 000 residents, had been reduced by 39.8% over the same period.

The staff doing street cleaning do an excellent job. However, recent changes have already resulted in some 26 fewer posts in street cleaning and this is bound to affect the service. It is really important therefore that the street cleaning operation is fully reviewed and I am pleased the council has agreed to this.

A photo of an example of residents’ complaints about street cleaning (taken in Annfield Road) is shown above right – I highlighted this example at the Policy and Resources Committee.

November 13, 2017 GovWorldMagFraser MacphersonFraser Macpherson

PESCO and EU defence

As I understand it the UK will not be signing up to PESCO, the new system promoting more EU defence integration. This is a system under the control of the EU institutions and therefore would not be appropriate for the UK as it leaves. The UK is offering defence collaboration, mainly through NATO. The UK is offering a bilateral Agreement UK/EU where both sides keep a veto.

November 13, 2017 GovWorldMagJohn Redwood MPJohn Redwood • opinions

The CBI gives bad advice again on the EU

I see the CBI is going to Downing Street to urge delay in leaving the EU and urge that we keep as many of the features of our membership as possible.

We should remember how they lobbied and lobbied to get the UK into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism which gave us boom and bust, and a large recession, which did considerable damage to their member companies.

They then thought the Euro a good idea and claimed we would lose out by not joining it, especially in the City. Instead the City grew and flourished outside the Euro.

Now they want to prolong the period of uncertainty by demanding a Transitional period, and delay making our own trade agreements. Above all they seem to want to cripple the UK economy for longer with large transfers of money to the rest of the EU, with the consequent big drag on our balance of payments.

They could be helpful to their member firms if instead they concentrated on lobbying the EU not to impose any new barriers on their trade with us when we leave. It’s the EU which pretends to want new barriers, not the UK.