6 Jun 2017

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has been challenged to disown comments from Carwyn Jones’ that he is looking to scrap the Barnett Formula.

The Welsh First Minister said Labour would scrap the way that funding is distributed to the devolved nations if elected in Thursday’s general election.

The Scottish Labour manifesto relied on the Barnett formula to fund its spending promises, with the UK party’s manifesto also promising huge spending increases in Scotland based on Barnett.

The Conservatives have explicitly promised to keep the Barnett formula, and have challenged Labour to condemn the comments from Mr Jones.

Paul Masterton, Scottish Conservative candidate in East Renfrewshire, said: 

“Kezia Dugdale has paraded herself as the defender of the Barnett formula.

“Yet now we learn her colleagues elsewhere in the UK are actively plotting to get rid of it, at huge cost to Scotland.

“It is a staggering u-turn and shows, once again, you cannot trust Labour with the Union.

“She has gone silent on this since Mr Jones spoke out last night. It isn’t good enough.

“She must condemn his comments and make it crystal clear that she has a commitment from Jeremy Corbyn that this is not Labour party policy.”

Scottish Labour’s manifesto relied on Barnett to fund its spending promises:

• Labour will extend the current provision of free school meals to all primary school children in England, paid for by removing the VAT exemption for private schools. Scotland would benefit from the Barnett consequentials of this policy, which would allow it to be replicated here. (p.42)
• A Labour government will give councils in England extra funding next year – and Scotland will benefit financially (p.84)
• Labour’s pledge to recruit 10,000 more police officers to work on community beats in England and Wales will mean Scotland will benefit from an investment of £70 million. (p.76)
• A Labour government will halt cuts to fire services in England and Wales, and recruit 3,000 new firefighters – investment which would mean a boost to Scotland’s valued emergency services (p.79)
• The arts pupil premium we will introduce for every primary school in England – a £160 million a year boost for schools – will mean more money for the Scottish government to invest in arts education. (p.93)

UK Labour’s manifesto promised huge spending increases in Scotland based on Barnett:

• The Scottish Parliament will receive a huge funding increase from our policies, and massive numbers of Scots will benefit from our plans in areas reserved to Westminster (p.104).
• Labour said that £6.1bn would be released for the devolved nations in Barnett consequentials.

Kezia Dugdale has previously said that scrapping the Barnett formula would lead to £4 billion in cuts and could cost 138,000 jobs

• “Whether it’s the Tories or the SNP who set out to scrap the Barnett formula – it still means £4billion in cuts. Four billion pounds. That’s the equivalent of the entire Scottish schools budget or twice the budget for the whole of the NHS in Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Gone. (Kezia Dugdale, 12 January 2015, link)
• ‘Alex Salmond’s plans to scrap the Barnett formula means £4 billion worth of cuts’ (12 January 2015, link)
• ‘Buy a Daily Record to read why I’m backing Nicola Sturgeon’s efforts to protect the Barnett formula.’ (14 February 2016, link)
• ‘I’ll keep the Barnett Formula today, tomorrow, forever @JimforScotland #Scotdebates’ (8 April 2015, link)
• ‘Scrapping the Barnett Formula for Full Fiscal Autonomy is economic madness and would cost 138,000 jobs’ (6 January 2014, link)

Ian Murray has said Barnett was ‘incredibly important’ to Scotland

Ian Murray: “It is incredibly important that Scotland’s position in the UK is maintained through the block grant and the Barnett formula” (Ian Murray, Hansard, 21 July 2016, link).

They join other iconic Welsh products, such as Welsh Laverbread, Welsh Lamb and Halen Môn/Anglesey Sea Salt, in being recognised for their distinct quality and awarded protection against imitation and misuse.

Traditional Welsh Perry and Traditional Welsh Cider are protected by the European Protected Geographical Indication status (PGI), which will provide consumers with the confidence they are drinking the genuine Welsh product. 

In total, 14 Welsh products have now been awarded protected status. Traditional Welsh Perry and Traditional Welsh Cider have now received the honour of being the first Welsh drinks to attain the PGI status. 

The Welsh Government has supported the Welsh Perry and Cider Society during the complicated and extensive application process. 

Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said:

“I am delighted Traditional Welsh Perry and Traditional Welsh Cider are the latest of our food and drink products to be awarded protected status.  

“This is further evidence of the success of the Welsh food and drink sector and the effectiveness of our strategy to support it.  We are forging a reputation for developing unique, high quality products and the industry is already more than half way towards reaching our target of 30% growth from 2014 to 2020. 

“The recognition from the European Commission is important as it demonstrates the quality of Wales’ produce as we strive to reach new markets to grow the industry and prepare for a future outside of the EU.”

Traditional Welsh Perry and Traditional Welsh Cider are re-emerging products that were largely farm-produced drinks using perry pears and cider apples grown in nearby orchards and made for local consumption. The revival of these drinks has been based on artisan producers rediscovering and restoring ancient orchards and planting new orchards. 

Sally Perks Chairman of the WPCS said:

“The Welsh Perry and Cider Society are thrilled with this announcement and the recognition of Traditional Welsh Cider and Traditional Welsh Perry as unique products. It provides a huge boost to Welsh cider makers in getting their products recognised throughout the UK and abroad.”

Summary

At around 23:50 hrs on 1 August 2016, a bridge carrying Grove Lane in Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, over the Midland Main Line, partially collapsed and a large volume of masonry fell onto the railway lines below. At the time of the collapse, core sampling work was being undertaken to investigate localised subsidence in the footpath on the south side of the bridge. The bridge was closed to the public when the collapse occurred, but the railway lines below were open to traffic.

When the coring had reached about 1.4 metres below ground, water appeared at the surface and shortly afterwards, the adjacent wall fell away from the side of the bridge, taking with it part of the footpath, a length of cast iron water main and the core sampling rig. Five workers were able to get clear as the collapse occurred and no-one was injured. Two of the four railway lines through the bridge were completely obstructed and there was debris on a third. There were no trains on the immediate approach to the bridge at the time of the collapse.

The RAIB investigation found that the incident occurred because the bridge wall, built around 1840, was not designed to resist overturning. It had also been weakened by a full- height vertical crack. The water main, which ran close to the vertical crack, probably had a slow leak which was causing on-going subsidence in the footpath. Prior to 1 August, however, there was no evidence that the wall was at risk of imminent collapse.

The coring work on the night of the incident disturbed the pressurised water main and it ruptured. The consequent release of water behind the wall quickly overloaded it and caused the wall to overturn about its base.

Underlying the incident was the lack of understanding of the risk posed to the structure and to the open railway from coring in proximity to the water main.

Recommendations

The RAIB has made two recommendations to Network Rail. The first relates to the competence of its staff and contractors, and the availability of information to enable them to manage the potential risk to its structures from breaches of water utilities. The second relates to the provision of appropriate engineering input to risk assessments for intrusive investigations and masonry repairs on bridges carrying water services. A further recommendation is made to Network Rail’s contractor, Construction Marine Limited, about the improvement of processes relating to street works and the location of water services.

The report has identified a learning point to reinforce the requirement for bridge examiners to report evidence of underground services and any changes since the previous inspection to enable a possible connection to be drawn between a water main and observations of defects on the bridge.

Notes to editors

1. The sole purpose of RAIB investigations is to prevent future accidents and incidents and improve railway safety. RAIB does not establish blame, liability or carry out prosecutions.
2. RAIB operates, as far as possible, in an open and transparent manner. While our investigations are completely independent of the railway industry, we do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if we discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway, we make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible, and certainly long before publication of our final report.
3. For media enquiries, please call 01932 440015.

Newsdate: 6 June 2017

6 July 2017 

On Thursday, you will decide the future of our country.

The choice facing you at the ballot box could not be greater.

It is a choice between hope or despair, progress or retreat, growth or decline.

The Labour Party offers a positive vision for the entire United Kingdom. Our government will be for the many, not the few.

We will end failed Tory and SNP austerity and invest in our economy. Our unrelenting focus will be on creating more and better jobs, and protecting and improving our valued public services.

These are not meaningless soundbites. Our manifesto offers a fully-costed program to make the UK a fairer, more progressive country.

By backing Labour on June 8, you can support a £10 living wage and a £250billion program of investment, which will include at least £20billion of spending here in Scotland.

Over the past weeks, I have toured the country to see first-hand the differences these policies could make. And by touring the country I don’t mean looking down on our country from a helicopter, but actually talking to scores of people on the doorsteps.

And I’ve spoken to the people who run our small businesses – a butcher in Stornoway, a florist in Edinburgh, a lobster farmer in East Lothian and book club workers in Dunfermline.

They are the lifeblood of our economy and a Labour Government led by Jeremy Corbyn will work tirelessly to ensure our local businesses can grow.
In contrast, the Tories offer failure and division.

During this election, Theresa May’s shambolic campaign has done nothing but expose her bankrupt ideas and backwards policies.

U-turn has followed U-turn, disaster has followed disaster.

Then there is the SNP, whose only desire is to drag us back to the arguments of the past.

Nicola Sturgeon might talk about progressive politics – but she offers nothing of the sort.

She even had the cheek to again argue for a 50p top rate of income tax across the UK, despite voting against it with the Tories here in Scotland.

The SNP cannot form the next government – and Labour has clearly and repeatedly said it will do no deal of any kind with the Nationalists.

A vote for the SNP is not a vote for anything positive or anything progressive – it is a vote to return us to the arguments of the past.

Scotland does not need or want another independence referendum, but Nicola Sturgeon is determined to have one anyway.

Scotland needs a government focused on improving our public services, not how best to divide us again.

A vote for Labour on June 8 will send Nicola Sturgeon a message to drop her plans for divisive second independence referendum and get on with the day job of fixing the mess she has made of our schools and hospitals.

Only Labour can beat the SNP in seats across Scotland, and only Labour can kick Theresa May out of Downing Street.

On Thursday, vote for your local Labour candidate and help us to deliver a government for the many, not the few.

This article first appeared in the 6 July 2017 edition of the Daily Record 

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow
Health Secretary,
responding to leaked reports in the Health Service Journal said: 

“With 48 hours to go until
the General Election the true scale of the secret Tory plan for cuts and
closures across the NHS has been revealed by the Health Service Journal.

“We now know if the Tories are
re-elected on Thursday we’ll see hospital wards closed, waiting times growing,
treatments rationed and staff cut.

“The fact that NHS bosses have
described this as the ‘most extreme and difficult NHS finance process they had
experienced’ and would ‘challenge the value basis of the NHS’ will make
chilling reading for patients and their families who deserve the very best
levels of care.

“Every single day the Tories are
in power hospitals are being left to crumble, staff are being let down, waiting
lists are growing and patients are being denied the care they need and
deserve. 

“Let’s be clear: these new, secret
Tory plans will only be stopped by electing a Labour Government on Thursday.

"The NHS cannot survive five
more years of a Tory government. That is why, Labour will pledge to bring the
health service back from the brink with a multi-billion pound rescue package.
The British people deserve nothing less.”

Ends

Notes to editors

·        
‘Exclusive:
New national savings drive will ‘challenge the values’ of NHS leaders’ [www.hsj.co.uk/topics/finance-and-efficiency/exclusive-new-national-savings-drive-will-challenge-the-values-of-nhs-leaders/7018461.article?blocktitle=News&contentID=15303]