Thursday, August 11, 2011

Taxpayers fork out £27,000 so that Labour MSP John Pentland teenage relative can get taxis to dance school, local government reform priority for SNP



















Dear All

It can’t have escaped your notice that there have been several riots of late in London and other English cities.

Society despite what people make think is falling apart, we have no respect for politicians after the various scandals, the rubicon being the MPs expenses scandal.

Politicians are seen as corrupt and in it for themselves, their family and associates.

The upshot is that the rest of society lost out, and we have seen quite graphically the rise over several decades of a feral underclass; who have been shut out of education, jobs and equal opportunities.

The idea is floated by politicians that we live in a society based on equality and fairness.

It is an outright lie to the masses.

A myth so that the disenfranchised can be labelled and treated differently, much in the same way as some use the racist tag in this country.

The concept is simple, give someone a label then use that as a justification to ignore them.

During the Westminster expenses scandal one party stood head and shoulders above every other in the press and media, the Labour Party.

Their greed for some ended up in court cases and trials for fraud at Southwark Court.

But it isn’t just confined to Westminster, we have seen questions being asked about Labour Councils and how jobs, contracts and opportunities seem to go towards Labour Party members, family, friends, Associates and Labour donors.

The latest eye opener concerns the teenage relative of a Labour MSP who has been has been awarded a £27,000 grant for taxi fares to attend Scotland's national dance school 20 miles from her home.

I am reading this and cannot believe it, taxis to a dance studio.

People can’t get proper care, services are being cut, people are losing their jobs and we are paying the taxi fares of a relative of a Labour MSP.

The Labour MSP is John Pentland, MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw; he says that the child was entitled to the help with transport costs.

He also serves on North Lanarkshire Council, which approved the handout.

Unsurprisingly the grant has sparked a major political row, with the SNP questioning council spending priorities at a time of widespread cuts.

And what is concerning about this is that, neither the youngster's name nor her relationship to the MSP were revealed in the council minutes.

It seems that in the interests of transparency this should have been made known before GTS Taxis won the contract.

SNP councillor John Taggart slammed the award, saying:

"We've got be very careful about what we're funding. If the parents are in a position to contribute, then I think they should contribute. If it's a child with special needs or any kind of disability, then we would fund them to the end of the earth. But when its something that you would like your son or daughter to do, is there an obligation on the council to actually fund your wishes? In North Lanarkshire, there are hundreds of pupils who go to dance classes and these parents pay for that out of their own pockets."

And the Labour Party back, insisting any child in North Lanarkshire was entitled to support for transport to meet their educational needs and opportunities.

I never knew Labour controlled North Lanarkshire was chucking away £9,000 a year per child on request.

A spokesman said:

"It is disgraceful that SNP councillor John Taggart has singled out this individual child so that she can be identified and used as a political football, especially as nothing improper has happened. Such support is available to all youngsters and no-one should be excluded, whatever their background."

North Lanarkshire Council has a duty to educate young children within its geographical area, it is wholly wrong that their budget is used this way to send anyone to a school outside their area.

Even to the Dance School of Scotland.

Would they fund the transport of a pupil to Eton, if a child got accepted?

No, they would not.

This is another example of why the SNP need to take over councils and carry out the public sector reform of local government.

This is what it is, abuse of the system, money to ferry kids to school should only be used within the geographic boundary unless there are medical reasons that require a child to go to a specialised school.

Taking a child to a Dance School is abuse of taxpayer money.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wonder if anyone has reported this to the Standards Commission Scotland?