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Scottish Parliament passes Home Owner and Debtor Protection Bill
The issue of home repossessions is complex and vexed. Continue reading
Record funding for affordable housing in Argyll for 2010 – but it’s only 3.8%
A record £24.6 million will be invested in affordable housing across Argyll and Bute over the next year.
The funding, announced today by the Minister for Housing and Communities Alex Neil, will enable work to begin on new and improved homes for rent or low-cost ownership in the area.
It is the second year of the £1.5 billion programme announced in 2008 to provide 21,500 new or improved affordable homes across Scotland by 2011.
Announcing the new funding, Mr Neil, said: ‘The budget of £24.6 million pounds represents a record level of funding for Argyll and Bute. This will make a huge difference for many people and their families in the area to get decent homes that they can afford.
‘These are hard times for businesses and families across Scotland and this government is working hard to meet this challenge, refocus activity and ensure Scotland gets through the economic downturn in the strongest possible position’.
Examples of areas in Argyll and Bute – and there are others – which will benefit from funding this year include:
- 52 homes for affordable rent and low cost ownership by Argyll Community Housing Association (ACHA) in Campbeltown
- 57 homes for affordable rent by West Highland Housing Association (WHHA) in the Glenshellach area of Oban
A sharp insight into this investment comes from setting the spend for Argyll against the Scottish Government’s total planned spend of £644 million on affordable housing in 2010. Argyll is getting 3.8% of this.
For Scotland’s second biggest Lcoal Authority area with Scotland’s third most dispersed population – and an ageing one at that, this is not serious support for the badly needed social and economic devvelopment in Argyll.
Big boost for Creative Scotland in first reshuffle in Scottish Government
Alex Salmond today removed three Government Ministers, saying: ‘There have been no failures in the ministerial team, but I have asked them to make way to give colleagues an opportunity to show what they can contribute’.
Giving way are Culture Minister Linda Fabiani, Schools Minister Maureen Watt and Housing and Sports Minister Stewart Maxwell.
Michael Russell, the current Environment Minister moves to take over Culture from Linda Fabiani 
who was regularly found wanting in her role. This has been most keenly felt in the mess that has been made of the Scottish Government’s forward-looking strategic initiative to combine the current Scottish Screen and Scottish Arts Council into a unitary bodty, Creative Scotland.
The two bodies have, under cover of compliance, had room to scrap like the proverbial ferrets in a sack and manoevre incessantly to preserve their vested interests against the common interest. A minister with credibility in the role and the personal authority to carry it, as Michael Russell possesses on both counts, could have achieved the transition cleanly. Mr Russell now inherits a lumpen morass and will have some serious stable cleaning to do.
The Minister will also have work to do in refreshing the perception of arts and culture today by those steering its development. For Argyll noted that, in the recent intelligent structuring announced by Ewan Brown – appointed as Chair of Creative Scotland in November 2008 – there was an omission of some concern.
The published structural division of cultural sectors showed no evidence of a real grasp of the role the Internet is playing and will develop in creativity and in the relationship between the creator and the audience. This is not simply a commercial relationship. It is an interactive relationship – with all that this implies for the creative process and the fluidity of the ‘product’ – and it is technologically a highly skilled area for development. Scotland is well placed to set out to take the lead in this field.
In this promotion Michael Russell will work directly under the First Minister’s with the formal title of Minister for Europe, External Affairs & Culture. His new responsibilities include: Europe, external affairs, culture and the arts, architecture, built heritage, Historic Scotland and lottery funding, major events strategy, Gaelic. This brief is understood to cover the Independence Referendum to come in 2010.
Mr Russell’s move is accompanied by new additions to Government – backbenchers Alex Neil, Keith Brown and Roseanna Cunningham.
- Roseanna Cunningham takes over from Michael Russell as Environment Minister under Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead
- Alex Neil, who fought to the last to save the Bank of Scotland, takes up a revised post as Minister for Housing and Communities under Cabinet Secretary Ncola Sturgeon
- Keith Brown becomes Minister for Schools and Skills under Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop
Another change in the reshuffle is the logical addition of Sport to the existing portfolio of responsibilities held by Public Health Minister, Shona Robison.
The First Minister says: : ‘The SNP group is extremely fortunate in having such a strong team of backbenchers and the purpose of the reshuffle is to give talented individuals such as Alex Neil, Roseanna Cunningham and Keith Brown the opportunity to make their contribution to government and the delivery of vital public services for the Scottish people’.
The overall picture of this reshuffle demonstrates the maturity and internal cohesion of the Scottish Government. The First Minister has promoted Michael Russell – one of the candidate’s who stood against him in the election for party leader following the resignation of John Swinney. He has brought in to Government Roseanna Cunningham, another such candidate. He has also brought in Alex Neil, who withdrew his own candidacy for the leadership after Alex Salmond publicly blamed him for having consistently sabotaged John Swinney’s authority..
This is a confident reshuffle to the credit of all concerned and one determined to maximise the impact of the spectrum of ability available.
The photograph above of Michael Russell outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood is issued by the Scottish Government and is reproduced here under the Creative Commons licence.
Burt Mathewson EGM request form on Independent HBOS website as Darling puts frighteners on shareholders ahead of Lloyds TSB vote on HBOS
Significantly heavy traffic has been visiting our news item on the establishment by Sir Peter Burt and Sir George Mathewson of their campaign website for an independent HBOS. Much of that traffic has been clicking through to to the website link which For Argyll published when it became available.
Those looking for the form requesting the current HBOS management to call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the company at which the Burt Mathewson proposal will be discussed, will find it on the website under the section ‘Your Vote Counts’. It is available there as a download which can be printed off and posted to the campaign address or, alternatively, scanned and emailed as an attachment.
It was also made known late last night (Tuesday 18th November) that Chancellor Alistair Darling has issued a ‘warning’ to shareholders ahead of today’s (19th November) Lloyds TSB shareholders’ vote on their bank’s takeover of HBOS.
Although the UK Government had previously said that HBOS would have access to the bank recapitalisation deal in the event of the adoption of an alternative to the Lloyds takeover, Mr Darling has now let it be known that there is ‘no automatic right of access to the recapitalisation scheme’.
He is saying that access to the government deal is not ‘automatic’ and that any bank going back to the negotiating table risks getting a far lower share price than currently offered.
The SNP’s MSP, Alex Neil has, with financier Jim Spowart, fought hard to maintain HBOS independence to protect Scottish jobs from the inevitable losses that will follow takeover. He says of the Chancellor’s manoeuvre ahead of the Lloyds shareholders’ vote: ‘Once again the Treasury seems to be doing everything it can to inject doubt and frustrate alternate plans that could keep HBOS independent and safeguard competition and tens of thousands of jobs’.
Criticism of this schoolyard strongarm tactic is coming from across the political divide. Tavish Scott, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, asks: ‘Is the Chancellor really saying he will allow an independent HBOS to collapse? That is not a credible statement from the UK Government’.
The Lloyds TSB shareholders’ vote should be known tomorrow. HBOS shareholders vote on 12th December.
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HBOS story becomes a bit of a panto
The fat lady’s still in her Dressing Room and hasn’t yet emerged to sing the end of the HBOS story. The thing about panto is that while there’s a basic script, no one really knows what they’re doing and improvisation is the name of the game. Read on.
On Friday 31st October, centre-stage was the Prince of Darkness, the UK Government’s Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson. He cleared the takeover of HBOS by Lloyd’s TSB to proceed, waving away the need for referral to the Competition Commission with a flourish of his cape.
He said that his priority is: ‘preserving the stability of the financial system’ and that this overrides any: ‘need to refer the deal to the Competition Commission’.
The anxious Stage Manager – always ignored by the divas – the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) issued a report last week on the impact of the takeover on competition in the UK banking industry. The new giant bank created by a merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS would control about 25% of British customers’ personal bank accounts and about 28% of the mortgage market. The OFT saw this as setting up the potential for a ‘substantial lessening of competition’ in personal current accounts, bank services for smaller firms and the mortgage market. In other words, the monster might gobble up the audience.
But that was Friday.
Yesterday, Saturday 1st November, in to the wings came Fairy Godbanker, Jim Spowart, whispering the impending arrival of a White Knight. He has knowledge of a European financial services company interested in taking over HBOS.
Former CEO of Intelligent Finance (online banking subsidiary of HBOS), Mr Spowart, with Alex Neil MSP, has been a consistent voice for the retention of HBOS as an independent bank.
In the best traditions of theatrical mystery, Mr Spowart would give no detail about the new bid nor the identity of the foreign bank, thought to be attracted by the low stock market valuation of HBOS, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender. Acquiring HBOS would give the European bidder a share in the UK market.
Even though he was not in a position to give details, Mr Spowart insisted that the interest is genuine. He said that if the bid comes to fruition and is successful, it would result in decision taking authority remaining in Scotland.
Striding past Mr Spowart’s position in the wings came the Principal Boy, Jim Murphy, the recently installed Scottish Secretary. Emerging into the limelight he confirmed that he has been in discussions with Mr Spowart over a potential new bid for HBOS and has: ‘spoken to the Treasury and if there is a second serious bid then they would be happy to talk to them’.
Today, Sunday 2nd November, it is disclosed that Fairy Godbanker Jim Spowart is furious that Principal Boy, Mr Murphy leaked sensitive information about the White Knight to press critics on Friday evening (31st October) and made it known that Mr Spowart was involved. It was this naive and premature revelation that had set the press on Mr Spowart’s trail and forced some limited information from him on Saturday
Principal Boy Murphy has now been recast as the Villain of the piece, accused of leaking the news of the counter bid on purpose in order to ruin its chances.
His premature disclosure may drive the White Knight further backstage, threatening the bid’s coming to the table. This would then see HBOS carried off on the back of the Black Horse.
There are now sustained calls for the Principal Boy/Villain, Mr Murphy, to resign after this example of disobeying standard direction to key actors. That’s the trouble with rookie performers. They don’t know the rules and a starring role can go to their heads. On the other hand, as is now asserted, they can follow instructions too slavishly, moving from actor to puppet and changing the nature of the play.
Anyway, the Dame, the UK Government – which brokered and is driving the Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS – has said, with a flounce of skirts at any suggestion to the contrary, that it will remain neutral if an alternative bid develops. It will be up to all shareholders concerned to come to the final decision. The UK Government is, of course, itself a significant shareholder now in both Lloyds TSB and HBOS.
Buried treasure, HBOS, has issued a statement from below ground saying: ‘We do not comment on market rumours. We have a recommended deal with Lloyds TSB which brings certainty for our shareholders’.
And the fat lady’s still not had that call.
Sunday Herald exclusive on Neil/Spowart plan to buy back The Bank
Today’s Sunday Herald leads with an exclusive on an exciting and bold plan by SNP MSP, Alex Neil, to bring together a group of Scots financiers to buy back the Bank of Scotland. A figure of around £6 billion seems to be in the frame. Neil is an economist and a member of the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee and is bringing his contacts together in person this week at a meeting to be held in Edinburgh.
The idea is said to have been put to Alex Neil by Jim Spowart, the Scottish banker who founded Intelligent Finance, now employing 6,000 people in Scotland. The First Minister has evidently been made aware of the plan and is supportive of any proposal that will save Scottish jobs.
People thought to be on Neil’s invitation list include Sir Angus Grossart, recently appointed Chair of the Scottish Government’s Scottish Futures Trust; Sir George Mathewson, former CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland; Sir Peter Burt, former CEO of the Bank of Scotland; Gavin Masterton and George Mitchell, both former MDs of the Bank of Scotland; and Jim Spowart from Intelligent Finance, the originator of the imaginative strategy. Senior figures from Scotland’s successful insurance and pensions industries are also likely to be involved.
Alex Neil is quoted as saying: ‘If we can muster this group it would be a very strong and diverse body of senior banking knowledge. If successful, they could be the custodians of the Bank of Scotland. It would be another chapter in the bank’s incredible history’.
Certainly, if this visionary move can be brought off, it will exemplify two enduringly attractive business cliches:
- the ‘Phoenix rising from the ashes’ in Scotland reclaiming ownership of its iconic bank, weakened some time ago in the merger with the Halifax;
- and ‘thinking out of the box’ in the ability to turn a deadly externally generated catastrophe to entrepreneurial adventure for the good of Scotland.
Intelligent finance indeed.