I noted an article in the Forfar Dispatch about Angus Council contract for new housing stock last month. I agree with “An Angus Employer” who complained in a letter [4 November] that the contract was not awarded to a local Angus business. 

Unfortunately Councils in Scotland are tied to the procurement policies of the SNP government. They have centralised the process and made it extremely difficult for smaller local businesses to be approved to even bid for contracts. The approval process and level of paperwork is beyond local builders and service providers. I have discussed this very issue with builders in Angus before and after this year’s General Election.  

That is why I was delighted to be able to support a new procurement policy for the Scottish Lib Dems at their recent Autumn Conference. This calls for a replacement for the SNP’s procurement body, Scotland Excel, in favour of a unified body that will make local and central government contracts accessible for smaller local businesses. 

I know that local Councillors are as frustrated about the issue as local businesses and have strived to help them meet the arduous requirements imposed on them by the SNP’s simplistic one-size-fits-all procurement policy. 

After next year’s Scottish election, the situation will hopefully change.  Let us hope it is not too late for local firms struggling to stay afloat during the recession.

You can read more about the situation by clicking here for an article in The Courier.

Following the recent bad weather, Angus Liberal Democrats have renewed their calls for the Scottish Government to do more to help protect Montrose from coastal erosion.  There has been further erosion at Montrose Golf Course, which is the 5th oldest in the world and will celebrate its 450th year in just two years time.

Reacting to news of further erosion at the Golf Course and along the coast, Sanjay Samani, Lib Dem campaigner for Angus and Mearns said:

“I was shocked to hear from Montrose Cllr David May this morning that there has been further erosion at Montrose Golf Course.  I visited the course with Alison McInnes, Lib Dem MSP for the North East, just three weeks ago to inspect the damage.”

“The SNP have scrapped a special flood funding scheme introduced by the previous Lib Dem / Labour administration.  They have largely left Councils to fund such schemes from their own budgets.”

“With both coastal erosion and flooding, the SNP Government have focussed on funding warning systems.  While the new warning systems are worthwhile, they do not replace the need for investment to protect our coastline”

“The SNP have not allocated enough money to properly tackle coastal erosion and so risk losing an important part of Scotland’s sporting heritage.  The golf course is all that stands between Montrose and the risk of damage to the town.”

Montrose Cllr David May commented, “This morning, I inspected the impact of the recent bad weather on the coastline at Montrose Golf Course. There has been further erosion, especially at some of the more vulnerable holes.”

“I call on the Scottish SNP Government for help, so that hard cash is allocated to help deal with coastal erosion.  And furthermore, the SNP needs to change policy on the way it allocates funding.”

“With more bad weather forecast for the coming weekend, there are obviously concerns about the impact on the course if there is further erosion.”

Worries have emerged as part of a recent consultation response to Scottish Government plans, which will shape the nation’s future flood management response, with Angus Lib Dem Cllr David May claiming rural areas such as Angus and Mearns look certain to lose out.

The SNP government’s Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 has been described as a “big step forward … providing a unique opportunity to shape new ways of working and creating a modern, sustainable approach to flood management fit for the 21st century.”

A number of Angus communities have suffered flood misery in recent years and, at a time when major financial challenges face councils, Angus infrastructure services convener David May has attacked the way money is dished out for flood schemes.  Presently under this government, funding depends on the number of properties directly affected.

Mr May said:

“The funding formula means that urban areas — by their very nature more densely populated — are going to be advantaged and areas such as Angus and Mearns will lose out.

“Having in the past year regularly visited areas affected by flooding, I call on the Scottish government to reconsider their policy.”

“Given financial pressures facing councils, so it is more important than ever to make sure we receive adequate funding and do not lose out just because of our location and population.”

Highlighting the specific across Angus, Mr May continued,

“In March this year Angus Council agreed some short term measures to improve the Barry Burn Flood Protection Scheme. However, although these short term measures have been met from the council’s roads budget it is unlikely the Council will be able to fund the potential longer term solutions under investigation for Carnoustie.”

“A similar situation exists in Arbroath, which experienced significant flooding beyond the usual risk areas. The removal of the dedicated government grant scheme has thrown plans for flood protection schemes into complete disarray.  Added to this, is the confusion created by the phased introduction of the new Flood Risk Management Act (2009) which changes local authorities’ responsibilities and powers.”

“We are doing what we can locally – today we will be discussing the latest report on the Brechin Flood Protection Scheme. Although this is a relatively modest scheme by national standards, it still comes with a price tag of £13m. Flooding needs to be considered at a national level, as the resources required to properly address it are clearly beyond the financial means of local government.”

Sanjay Samani, Liberal Democrat North East Regional Candidate added his support for Mr May’s comments, saying:

“By funding the new flood prevention schemes for the new act based on population, the SNP Government is being too simplistic.  They have announced funding for a new Flood Forecasting Service.  The information from this service must be used to target central government funding for flood prevention.”

PHOTO: Sanjay Samani and Cllr David May visit the site of flooding in Brechin with Provost Ruth Leslie Melville:

I was somewhat bemused by Cllr Valentine’s defence of Nigel Don MSP’s delayed support for a flyover at Laurencekirk in a letter to the Montrose Review.  As Mr Don sits on the Scottish Parliament’s Petitions Committee, Jill Campbell’s petition can hardly have failed to come to his attention.

Transport Scotland have finally released safety figures demanded by Jill Campbell and Lib Dem MSP, Mike Rumbles, after years of fudging.  The SNP have approved the building of three flyovers at junctions where there have been no deaths since 1999. There have been four tragic deaths at Laurencekirk, including one just last year.

So why did Mr Don try to close down Jill Campbell’s petition, instead of holding his own SNP government to account? Why has he confused the issue of road safety with the building of new houses?

Local Lib Dems have always called for cross party support. I personally contacted Angus candidates during this year’s General Election calling for cross party support and was met with a deafening silence.

That is why it is even more bizarre that Mr Don has not been more vocal in his support, nor has he met with Jill Campbell, Julie Watson, Mike Rumbles MSP ad myself about the issue.

As for Cllr West’s comments about the previous Scottish Executive’s record, he forgets to mention that the previous administration built no fewer than seven flyovers on the A90 between Perth and Laurencekirk.

It is clear that Laurencekirk should have been the next highest priority.  Instead the SNP administration chose to build flyovers at junctions with no fatalities.

Earlier this year, I visited Laurencekirk junction with Tavish Scott MSP, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Transport Minister in the previous executive, Jill Campbell, Julie Watson, Mike Rumbles MSP, Sir Robert Smith MP and Montrose Cllr David May.  The Lib Dems commitment to a flyover at Laurencekirk is crystal clear.

Instead of defending the SNP government, local SNP councillors and their candidate should be demanding better support for people in Angus and the Mearns, who have been badly let down.

PHOTO: Tavish Scott MSP, Mike Rumbles MSP, Sanjay Samani, Sir Robert Smith MP, Julie Watson, Jill Campbell, and Montrose Cllr David May visiting Laurencekirk Junction.

Photo © 2010 Neve Photography



Regional Liberal Democrat MSP, Alison McInnes, and I are supporting local businesses who are outraged at the Scottish Government for offering no respite to businesses whose rates have risen substantially.

Mrs McInnes commented:

”Despite the Liberal Democrats fighting for a fairer system for Scottish businesses the Government have refused to introduce transitional relief, the same relief that is on offer throughout England.

“The increase follows a countrywide revaluation programme and with no hope of a relief scheme, Angus businesses have found themselves being taxed an extra £2 million per year.  This has been a hammer blow for many local businesses.

“Within Angus we have seen numerous hotels and garages having to budget for huge rates rises.  This is sure to put Scottish businesses at a disadvantage.

“The SNP refused to consult, they refused to listen and now they must squarely take the blame for the extra burden they have placed on the shoulders of local businesses.”

In Aberdeenshire Council’s area, including the Mearns, the rise is £10.6m, a staggering 18% year on year. This is the second highest percentage increase across the country. The £2m rise for Angus alone is a 9% increase.

Having talked to shop owners and particularly hotel managers, the Business Rates rise has hit them hard, right in the middle of the recession.  You only have to walk around the high streets in Angus and Mearns to see the closed shops and the impact that the rates rise can have.

We need a vibrant small business community to get the economy going again.  The SNP government should help businesses create jobs, not make it harder for them to stay afloat.

Photo: Sanjay visting Daniel Paton, owner of the George Hotel, Montrose to discuss his 30% Business Rates increase

I am backing George Lyon, Lib Dem MEP for Scotland, in his criticism of the Scottish Government for threatening farmers with draconian penalties for breaching rules on land covered by whin and bracken.

Irish farmers have confirmed that the Irish Government will not be introducing tougher penalties for breaches of eligibility criteria. This comes after it was revealed last week that England’s penalty regime is much fairer and proportionate than the one used in Scotland.

Commenting, George said,

“For the last five years, the Scottish Government’s own guidelines have said nothing about land covered with bracken and whin being ineligible for support payments.”

“Farmers are rightly angry that the Government has now changed its mind and is threatening to impose draconian penalties on any farmers who have breached what are effectively the new rules on eligible acres.

“The Scottish Government has made a hash of this from the beginning. First the Minister, Richard Lochhead, failed to own up to the fact their guidance had been wrong and to compound the problem he failed to consult with the industry before changing the rules on eligibility.

Having visited many farmers in the region over the last year, it is clear that economic conditions are causing major concern.  The SNP Government should therefore be supporting our farmers, not threatening them with severe penalties as a result of Richard Lochhead’s mistakes.

Yet again the SNP are making decisions centred in Edinburgh, without consulting farmers or considering the severe impact on farmers in Angus, Mearns and the North East.  Local SNP representatives should join the Liberal Democrats to stand up for the region’s farmers.