7 January 2009
Immediate release

MURRAY PRESSES SNP GOVERNMENT ON DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY'S LACK OF SALT

SNP LEAVE REGION EXPOSED TO WINTER CRISIS

Labour’s Dumfries MSP Elaine Murray this morning pressed the Scottish Government’s Finance Minister John Swinney to explain the SNP Government’s lack of action to provide emergency salt supplies for Dumfries and Galloway. Even though Dumfries and Galloway Council had been warning the Scottish Government for two weeks that supplies were dwindling, the first emergency supplies did not arrive until yesterday.

“We have been taken to the brink and we’re still on the verge of completely running out of salt. The Scottish Government should have been far more prepared to deal with these emergency conditions and their response has been uncoordinated and too little too late.

 “Today John Swinney told me that yesterday the Scottish Government took part in the UK’s national initiative to provide salt to problem areas. But where has the SNP Government been for the last three weeks?

“The Scottish Government has been complacent throughout this crisis. Rather than act and secure supplies for Dumfries and Galloway when our Council was warning with increasing urgency that we were running out, John Swinney told us everything was fine. Only when we were down to less than a day’s supply did the Government step in to help.

“The priority now is for the Scottish Government to work with our Council to secure immediate salt supplies,  otherwise we’re going to find it very difficult to keep even priority routes open.

“It is imperative that Ministers urgently review their emergency planning as they have failed Dumfries and Galloway. I am in awe of the dedication of the council staff who are working around the clock in awful conditions, but they are being let down by poor planning leaving them with little salt. We need far better coordination between Government, Councils and other services."

Elaine Murray is particularly concerned about the impact the conditions are having on elderly and vulnerable residents in the region and is calling on the Scottish Government to set up an emergency helpline for people who may be in need of support.

“This weather is difficult for everyone but I am extremely concerned about the elderly and vulnerable in our region. It’s great to hear stories of communities really pulling together to get through this and I would encourage people to keep an eye out for their neighbours. I would like to see the Government provide emergency funding and set up a helpline so there is somewhere people can go to get advice.

Dr Murray added that by frittering away reserves of £1.5 billion and cutting the money given to councils, the SNP Government has left Scotland “more exposed to a winter crisis than at any time since devolution”.

“For months I have been asking the SNP to explain where the money has gone. This Government has a bigger budget than ever before and yet they’re cutting the funding given to our council. They’ve raided the reserves of £1.5 billion and left the cupboard bare for emergencies.  By playing fast and loose with Scotland’s finances they’ve left us more exposed to a winter crisis than at any time since devolution.”

ENDS

CONTACT – ANDREW MACKENZIE

NOTES TO EDITOR

1. Question by Elaine Murray MSP: Is the Cabinet Secretary aware that part of D&G's problem was that salt supplies originally destined for the region had been diverted to other councils south of the Border. The Cabinet Secretary has stated that the Scottish Government is working closely with the UK Department of Transport, can be advise the Chamber what actions he is taking to ensure that vital supplies required by hard pressed Scottish authorities are not diverted elsewhere?

2. The SNP Government has left Scotland more exposed to a winter crisis than at any time since devolution by frittering away £1.5 billion in the reserve and cutting funding to the NHS and local councils.

A. When Labour left power we left £1.5bn in reserves (end year flexibility) – money that we deliberately built up in order to use when tighter times came. The SNP have frittered away that inheritance. The table below shows the amount of end year flexibility (EYF) money held with the Treasury at end March (source: SPICE)

B. The SNP Government have reduced the share of the budget that goes to local government from 34.7 per cent in 2006-07 to 33.9 per cent in 2010-11. This is equivalent to a cut of £270 million in council budgets.

Link to SPICe tables that show % share of total budget:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/briefings-09/SB09-66DraftBudget2010-11a.xls

C. John Swinney has given the NHS its lowest spending increase since the Tories were in power. The SNP's decision to give the health service a historically low increase of just 0.1 per cent is putting pressure on both staff and services.

The table below shows the annual real terms increase in the NHS budget since 1995/96.

Source: Scottish Parliament Financial Scrutiny Unit