Housing and the Pandemic

Social housing is an essential service. But you’ll find little mention of its role during the pandemic outside of the world of housing professionals.
Yet the benefits – the ‘social good’ - of publicly owned and run housing (i.e. council housing) and social housing (i.e. housing associations or RSLs, and housing cooperatives1) have shone through during this covid-crisis. Social landlords have played an outstanding role above and beyond in caring for the most vulnerable people, including those who are shielding with health conditions.
Take North Lanarkshire Council. It has the largest council housing stock in Scotland and provides homes to over 36,000 households. At the point of lockdown, on 23 March, a third of these households were shielding. Council staff proactively phoned them all. Overnight they set up a system, working shifts from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, to make sure that tenants were safe and well. From this they began delivering ongoing support to 6,500 people: collecting medicines, delivering groceries, distributing food parcels, walking dogs, tidying gardens. As pupils were not at school, school meals staff began cooking and delivering meals to all of the council’s sheltered housing tenants.
Housing departments can meet these challenges most effectively because they can do things on the scale that’s required, combined with the ‘on the ground’ intelligence of housing officers located in communities. Because of the benefits of public ownership, during the lockdown, some councils were able to make use of resources they was saving in some areas and divert these to where they were urgently needed.
Housing associations and Co-operatives have performed a similar role, building upon their wider social remit within communities. Delivering food parcels, cooked meals, packed lunches, groceries and prescriptions for tenants and members, and providing pre-paid energy cards. Some have provided additional sources of support for those experiencing domestic abuse. Others have taken action to ensure people are digitally connected, or have provided online classes.
There couldn’t be a greater contrast with the private rented sector, which houses ever growing numbers of the poorest households. It is entirely ill-equipped, uncoordinated, and lacking in motive to respond to a crisis of this nature. New research by the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence supports all of this. It has looked at the social, economic, health and wellbeing impact of social housing and found that:
- Social housing and its lower rents appears to help explain Scotland’s better record on poverty compared with the rest of the UK;
- Social housing investment helps make rural communities more resilient, by providing low cost homes for younger people, so they can remain in the area, helping sustain vital public services and employment.
- Well designed social housing investment can contribute to reducing the fundamental causes of health inequalities. An estimated 53,000 more affordable homes are needed between 2021-26. We must ramp up the pressure for current levels of government funding for social house building to be continued, and for the target of 35,000 social homes for 2021 (which has suffered a set back because of the pandemic) to be achieved. There are few better ways to generate economic activity than building homes.
To sum up, the Covid crisis has underscored exactly why we must shift the balance back towards social housing. It has demonstrated the social value of councils, housing associations and housing cooperatives as ‘anchor’ organisations in our communities. They are a source of social resilience in a time of public health crisis, and also the key to building our way out of the current economic crisis.

Cleaners on the frontline - Coronavirus

They don’t usually get much thought or attention – but there isn’t a single list of essential workers doing the rounds that doesn’t include cleaners. Suddenly they find themselves on the front line of the worst disease outbreak in a century.

Their task, always vital, has taken on whole new levels of urgency in recent weeks, often in challenging circumstances. UNISON members report a wide variety of challenges that cleaners and domestics are dealing with, during the Coronavirus crisis in order that hospitals and care facilities can continue to function.

The struggle to keep places clean has intensified. Many places are now working flat out 24/7 – and rotas are having to be shifted to take account of that. More shifts and less rest are being demanded. Added to that is that the cleaners, like everyone else have families, have health conditions and can also catch the virus – so the numbers available for work are down as people self isolate, meaning this greater workload is being handled by fewer people. Some authorities are engaged in an effort to recruit and get more cleaners into the workplace – this is welcome and these efforts need to be stepped up.

It’s not just the workload of course – it’s the fear. A natural worry about being exposed to the virus is hugely increased by lack of information. Some have not been told when they have gone into rooms of patients with suspected CV. While changes and developments are made clear to medical staff – its often the case that these aren’t explained to the cleaners. 

In addition to this, particularly in larger facilities, cleaners are finding themselves deployed not in their usual areas – but anywhere they are needed. This in an environment where CV patients are being treated in many different places in the hospital. This is a particular issue at night where they will find themselves being bleeped to go anywhere in the building.  They worry they are going into places which are high risk, but which they haven’t been told about.

We were told by one member – who, like many cleaners, has two jobs. One of these jobs is in an environment much more concerned with treating virus patients than the other. She prefers going into the more virus facing job than the other because she is kept up to speed with what is happening there.

Cleaners – by definition , aren’t working at home. They need to travel to work just like other essential workers. Some, particularly outside the bigger cities are impacted on by the lockdown. Cleaners are low-paid workers and many are completely reliant on public transport. As bus services have been cut back there are many instances of this, mostly female, workforce finding that the early bus bringing them to work, or the late bus taking them home, are no longer running. Making an already difficult situation worse.

Without cleaners – none of the institutions and facilities we are relying on to contain the virus and keep the infected alive could function. They deserve respect, resources and reward – they are the front line.  

Pay in Working Class Jobs

Millions of employees in lower and middle income jobs have had real pay reductions over the last ten years.

The TUC has analysed occupational hourly pay. This work shows that, while changes to the minimum wage have helped the lowest paid, millions of other workers have experienced a real pay cut since 2010. 

The TUC is undertaking a series of analyses looking at class in Britain to support the trade union movement's work to advance "the general interests of the working classes.". The reports will look define class through occupation and pay. Going forward they will also look at the experience of class inside and outside or work including "issues of status and respect, control and voice. 

This first report focuses on pay and should support the work of trade unions to build a new deal for working people. 

Findings

While the lowest earners, that is those below £9.55 per hour (less than 75% of median pay) have seen a 5% pay increase since 2010 low to middle earners have experienced a 1% pay cut, Low to middle pay is defined as 75%-100% of median pay: £9.56 to £12.73 per hour. 

In the previous decade lowest earners experienced a 10% pay rise and low to middle earners a 7% rise. The minimum wage has made a big difference to the lowest paid but the TUC report shows that without strong trade unions it has been difficult to ensure that improved pay is more widely shared among those stile earning below the median. 

Those earning £26 per hour or more have seen their pay increase by 4%. 

The biggest groups of those earning below the median rate now work in care and retail. Women and black and minority ethnic workers are over represented in the worst paid jobs and are underrepresented in the higher paid groups. 

The New Deal

• The rate for the job and fair pay for everyone

• New rights so that workers can be protected by a union in every workplace, and when

we use social media, so that nobody has to face their employer alone

• New rights for workers to bargain through our unions for fair pay and conditions across

industries, ending the race to the bottom

• A £10 an hour national minimum wage and an end to discrimination against young

workers

• Workers to be elected onto remuneration committees to help curb greed at the top

• Legal requirements on employers to report on and act to close race, gender and

disability pay gaps

• Support for the genuinely self-employed while calling for a ban on zero hours contracts

and false self-employment

• A right to reasonable notice of your shifts, and payment if your shifts are cancelled

• A move to a shorter working time with no loss of pay, starting with four new bank

holidays a year, and setting an ambition for a four-day week

• A right to positive flexible working from day one of your job, with employers required

to advertise all jobs on that basis

• A decent floor of rights for all workers and the return of protection from unfair

dismissal to millions of working people. 

The only way to deliver on these aims is to build strong trade unions. 

Delivering a Just Transition

If we put communities and trade unions at the center of decision making then moving to a green economy can be achieved without the destruction of livelihoods and communities seen in past technological change.

A new report by the TUC based on research by the New Economics Foundation examines how we could manage a fair transition by looking three case studies of industrial change: Bilbao, Eindhoven and Iceland. The report then makes  recommendations for how Britain can manage the transition to a green economy while maintaining communities and improving livelihoods.

 Findings

• Bilbao: strong public participation and local autonomy over policy and finance helped lift the city after a devastating flood and "intertwined social, economic and political crises"
• Eindhoven: public investment and cooperation withing the business sector enabled the city to survive the loss of manufacturing jobs and become a hub for technological innovation particularity in health and social care. 
• Iceland: moved through the banking crisis and subsequent economic crisis with impressive income and gender equality by maintaining a commitment to social provision and democratic accountability supported by its strong trade union movement.  

Critical success factors

• people feel secure and have a stake in their local areas
• there is a strong social safety net to foster long-term opportunity in an area
• genuine opportunities for participation in decision-making
• proactive, positive interactions between state, unions and businesses

Recommendations for the UK

• setting the development of quality jobs as the test for success of the industrial strategy
• ensuring that plans for industrial strategy or economic development are overseen by a  social partnership approach
• allowing unions to bargain with employers to maximise employment standards across sectors
• delivering a national entitlement to skills, to give everyone the confidence to adapt to changing demands 
• making an increase in good jobs the clear test for local industrial strategies
• bringing together unions, employers and citizens at local level to develop a clear vision and plan for their area
• using local employment charters to drive the development of good work across regions
• using social value procurement to support high quality employment standards, local labour and supply chains and other community benefits. 

By taking positive action to improve lives and created well paid secure jobs we can transform our economy and avoid a climate catastrophe. This will not happen without an active state working at all levels with trade unions and communities. Without this we will repeat the mistakes of past which saw communities devastated by the closure of local industries. 

Fair Pay is the Only Route to High Quality Early Learning and Childcare

Scotland needs to avoid the mistakes made in England as we move towards increased  Early Learning and Childcare hours. Without pay that reflects the skills needed to do the work and appropriate funding the expansion will not work. And we know which children will suffer most from shortages of spaces.  

A new report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Childcare and Early Education highlights a range of problems in England not least of which is the fact that the better-off have benefit much more than those on lower incomes.

The system sees the expansion take place outside the public sector which has led to an expansion in wealthier areas where parent can afford to pay to top up the funding for the “free hours”. The research indicates that 17% of providers in deprived areas “anticipate closure in the next 12 months” compared to only 8% in affluent areas.

This means that it is increasingly difficult for those in less affluent areas to find a place for their child even if they could afford the top up fees and extremely difficult for those who only want the “free hours”.

The reality is that outsourcing childcare is not going to save money or build a high quality service

More significantly, for us in UNISON, the report highlights the effects low pay creating difficulties retaining staff in the sector. The early years workforce is  highly skilled but poorly paid. Even the promise of the Scottish Living wage, which is well below public sector pay rates, will not be enough to recruit and retain staff when other jobs offer the same pay but without the high levels of responsibility, stress and ongoing professional development required. 

In England the average hourly pay was £8.20 an hour: about 40% less than the average female worker. The picture will no doubt be similar here as (outwith the public sector) workers without management roles are generally paid the legal minimum wage for their age. 

The Scottish government need 1000s of workers to train up in order to deliverer the promised expansion. Yet they are only promising the Scottish Living Wage to those they are trying to attract. The report shows that low pay is one of the main drivers of childcare workers leaving the sector. 

25% of respondents are considering leaving the sector due to stress or mental health difficulties. Heavy workloads, administration and paperwork and the financial resources and of course pay were the top four sources of stress. 

 Retail jobs are the main competition for staff.The pay is similar and while not an easy job does not have the responsibilities for children's development and health and well-being that early years work includes.  It's therefore no surprise that nurseries report difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified staff. Local authorities,also pay substantially better wages and will struggle less to retain staff than the low paying sectors as the expansion goes forward in Scotland. That will be small comfort to parents who cannot get a place for their children in a nursery due to lack of places. 

Across the UK governments are attempting to expand childcare. It will not work without the investment to train and to pay the staff a wage that reflects their skills and responsibilities.

It’s never OK

Health workers should be able to get on with their jobs free from harassment. UNISON’s latest UK wide survey shows that this is not the case.

Following on from the our report showing the violence that Scottish Ambulance Service staff experience at work this UK wide survey indicates that eight per cent of respondents have suffered sexual harassment in their workplace in the last two years.

Of those who had experiences harassment 31% said the harassment was frequent/regular and 12% stated that it occurred daily weekly. The vast majority (81%) were female. The types of behaviour they describe are:

• Remarks “banter” or “jokes” (64%)
• Invasion of personal space (53%)
• Unwanted or derogatory comments (49%)
• Leering and suggestive gestures (48%)
• Sexual assault including kissing, stroking, touching or hugging (22%)

Respondents also describe how this affects their own behaviour leading to workers:

• Isolating themselves and avoiding certain colleagues/situations
• Wanting to leave/looking for another job
• Poor mental health
• Losing confidence

Sadly while many talked about the harassment with other colleagues or friends and family 28% keep quiet about it. Only 23% spoke directly to the perpetrator. Respondents were concerned about formal reporting. Almost half (49%) felt that “nothing would be done”. Others (37%) were concerned about being “dismissed as oversensitive”. Almost a quarter (25%) feared retaliation from the perpetrator and 22% feared that formal reporting could harm their career. Of those who did report harassment only 15% felt that their case was handled properly

Quotes from respondents include:

“One of my team ‘upskirted’ a colleague, then sent the video recording to another member in

the team by ‘accident’.”

“A colleague touched my groin during handovers to ‘show’ where a patient had pain. The

same person also touched around my side to ‘search’ for keys that I had in my pocket.”

“I work in a control centre and regularly get sexually based comments from patients.”

“While I was on placement a patient attempted to take my tunic off, but none of the staff on

the ward did anything.”

“I left the organisation. The nurse who made me feel uncomfortable made things awkward

and I hated working on the same days as her.”

“I suffered with severe anxiety, and couldn't be left alone at work. This went on for 12

months even though reported it to a manager.”

“As a result of my experience, I am now more wary about treating patients that are

intoxicated or under the influence.”

“It was an incident that spooked me. I now purposely wear a larger uniform and feel myself

tense up if we're called to the area where the patient lives.”

“It makes me feel nervous and panicked every time I see that member of staff.”

Joining a trade union will ensure that individuals are supported if they experience harassment but employers need to be proactive. The government can also drive improvement through reforms including:

• Reinstatement of section 40 of the Equality Act which ensured staff were safeguarded against harassment by third parties (for example, patients and their friends or relatives). Under this clause, employers were liable if they failed to act after two incidents. However, the government scrapped this ‘three-strikes’ rule in October

2013 on the grounds that other laws gave staff similar protection, a claim disputed by UNISON

• The creation by the NHS of a ‘gold standard’ complaints procedure that's robust and gives workers confidence that their case will be properly considered. Having good complaints procedures will increase the number of staff who report an issue and will create an expectation that complaints will be taken seriously

Audit Scotland’s accountancy speak can’t hide the increasing strain in further education.

 Their latest report states that colleges are “operating within and increasingly tight financial environment”. The sector wide position is challenging but viewing it from that perspective is also masking the sever challenges in some colleges. Twelve colleges are predicting a recurring financial deficits by 2022-23.

While the government can claim to have given colleges some extra cash, this was funding to cover the additional costs of harmonising pay and conditions across the sector following the recent reorganisation of the sector. This does not cover cost of living increases for staff or the extra employer pension costs.

There are also shortages in the capital budget compared to the estimated maintenance costs and the proportion of non-government income generated by colleges is reducing.

The sector continues to change with increasing student numbers. Colleges are changing focus with more learning being provided for over 25s and less for those aged 16-24. The proportion of learning delivered to those from deprived areas has begun to fall after several years on increasing.

While there is considerable variation across colleges for attainment and retention and those going on to so-called positive destinations. Average rates have been relatively static. The attainment rate of 66% for full-time students is still well below the Scottish Funding Council (SFC)  target of 75% by 20-21. There is still an attainment gap for students from the most deprived backgrounds and those with disabilities or who are care experienced.

Audit Scotland is calling on colleges to “underlying financial position with the SFC prior to publishing their accounts and improve data collection round student satisfaction as well as publishing that data. They also call on the government to agree a medium term capital investment strategy for ten sector and review college targets in the light of current trends.

Most importantly they call on government and colleges to work together to deliver performance improvement and therefore meet agreed targets. 

Improving Line Management

A good line manager improves workers lives and the effectiveness of the organisation they work for.

These are the findings of the latest TUC  research into line management and the impact of good and bad practice on workers and productivity.  Line managers have a huge influence on our working lives and so are vital to any discussions about good work. So it is interesting to hear from workers about their line managers.

The report finds that line managers' strengths lie in trusting people to get on with their jobs and setting out clear expectations. Where they appear to struggle are things like helping boost workers moral, ensuring workers know their rights and actively making workers feel supported.

The report is particularly interesting when read alongside UNISON's Damage reports where workers consistently tell us that where things are good in their workplace it is about the support they get in the workplace to help cope with cuts and when morale is low poor management makes things worse.

The report is in four sections

• why line management matters
• workers views on line management
• why line management isn't as good as it could be in the UK 
• recommendations for improvement 

The report also shows the lack of diversity in management: 58% of managers are male compared to 51% of all employees. Only down 2% since the 1960s. It's not just sex: white men aged 30 to 59 make up 29% of employees but 43% of managers.

Answers to the survey indicate that a third of workers don't feel comfortable approaching their line manager about work issues and one in ten definitely wouldn't. Only about one fifth of workers think "my line manager wants what's best for me". There is also a section on the lack of training provided for line managers to develop their management skills, which perhaps explains the earlier findings.

In order to move to a more worker focused culture, which will improve workers lives and organisational performance the TUC is calling for:

Better enforcement of workers' rights
better access to training for all staff
access fro trade unions to workplaces
fair performance management procedures

Private Sector Wastes Public Money Shock

It’s BOGOF on failed privatisations today with 2 reports highlighting the costly waste involved in outsourcing.

The National Audit Office are focused on the failed privatisation in the probation service while the Public Accounts Committee reports on Capita’s failings in recruitment for the British Army. Sadly the billions wasted on outsourcing and privatisation still doesn’t appear to dampen the enthusiasm, amongst its clearly ideologically driven supporters, for throwing public money away on these projects

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) decided that the best way to reduce re-offending was to create 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) to manage low to medium risk offenders. In 2015 the CRCs were then transferred to eight (mainly) private sector contractors. As ever with these schemes there were predictions of marvellous savings and £10.4b “net economic benefits to society“over the seven year contacts.

Four years in the contacts are ending 14 months early. The MoJ is paying £467m more than planned in the original contracts. This will mean costs of £2.3bn which while less than expected, (no point in throwing more money at failure) is money spent for little if any progress on improving the service.

While there was a 2.5% reduction in the proportion of “proven re-offenders” since 2011 there was a 22% increase in the number of proven offences per re-offender over the same period. There was an expectation that re-offending would reduce by 3.7% but only 6 of the 21 CRC achieved a statistically significant reduction. The Public Accounts Committee report is equally sorry reading. They state that

“the British Army naively launched into a 10 year partnership with Capita”. As is frequently the case with outsourcing Capita didn’t really understand just how complex a task they were taking on and their performance has been “abysmal since it started”.

The online recruitment system was four years late, and Capita have failed to meet the recruitment target every year. There is little evidence that the forecast savings (£267m over 10 years) will be achieved. The costs to the army have increased from £405m to £677m and plans to meet the savings targets involve redeploying soldiers to do the work Capita have been paid for.

It’s the same old story: glittery promises of savings, private companies thinking that the public sector is full of waste so that they can easily introduce slick new systems and then the slow realisation that it’s all a bit trickier than they thought followed by increased costs and failure. We really need to stop falling for the slick sales pitches and wasting money of these failed projects. 

Cut to Bone

There just isn't enough money in the local government budget to meet the needs of our citizens. Last week's budget debate focused on the big numbers and the now annual smoke and mirrors routine claiming a good deal for local government. The annual benchmark report shows exactly what's happening to funding for individual services. This is more of a horror story.

Total revenue funding for councils has fallen by 8% in real terms across the 8 years the report focuses on. Spending on teacher numbers and social care has been relatively protected. Education and social care make up 70% of expenditure within the bench-marking framework so this means substantial cuts have had to fall on other areas. 

•  a 22% reduction in culture and leisure spending
• a 34% reduction in planning
• almost 15% reduction in roads spending and 
• almost 10% in environmental services spending

Children's Services 

 The education budget has reduced by 2.5% since 2010/11 but the number of primary school pupils and pre-school registrations has increased by 30,000. So it doesn't take a degree in accountancy to see that is a big cut in the money available for each pupil. The numbers people tell us that total spending on primary and secondary education has grown in cash terms the real spend per pupil has fallen since 2010/11. (8% for primary and 4% for secondary) It will come as no surprise that satisfaction with schools has fallen for the sixth year in a row.

Adult Social Care 

Total social care spending has grown by 10% since 2010/11 although spending on home and residential care for older people has fallen as a percentage of that total. 

Although the number of hours of home care has been relatively static spending on home care has risen by 15% since 2010/11. Much of this will be due to moving towards paying staff teh living wage. Spending on residential care has fallen by over 12% although the number of residents has only fallen by 2%. 

Culture and Leisure Services

 Culture and leisure services have seen substantial increases in demand alongside a 22% spending cut. Sports facilities have increased visitor numbers by 19% , libraries by 36% and museums by 29% over the period analysed. Numbers have fallen over the last year though. Perhaps a reflection on the impact of budget cuts? Spending on parks has also reduced by 5% . Public satisfaction rates have fallen for all culture and leisure services in the last 12 months. 

Environmental Services

Despite the direct importance of these services to the health and safety of citizens real spending has reduced by 10%. Waste management has been cut by 3% and street cleaning by a massive 27%. Preventive services like trading standards and environmental health have been cut by 18%. Spending on roads has fallen by 15%. 

There is no doubt that local government has experienced substantial cuts to its budget and ability to deliver services to the public.UNISON's Damage reports allow you to hear directly from the staff about the impact of these cuts. They are available here 

Failing Our Children

The Conversation has an article this morning about the problems faced by children with autism in schools. In Scotland the high hopes of those (including UNISON) who supported the 2000 Act around mainstreaming of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) have clearly not been realised. The needs of children with ASN are not being fully met in our schools or early years settings.

While children with additional support needs now attend mainstream schools many are far from being mainstreamed into school life. The policy has not been supported with adequate funding for the learning support, healthcare needs and behavioural support that children need. There have been cuts to support staff numbers as well as specialist like educational psychologists and social workers.

There is also widespread misunderstanding about who is actually providing support for children with ASN on a day-to-day basis. Classroom assistants provide the majority of their support and those (mainly) women do not get adequate training, support or pay for the work they undertake. School nurses are not part of a school’s staff complement: pupils’ healthcare needs are taken care of by support staff. Pupils with challenging behaviour are also most often supported by school staff not teachers. Schools need appropriate funding for both the day-to-day delivery of specialist support and for training and professional development for all the staff.

Unsurprisingly the lack of proper support means that there are increasing problems with challenging behaviour, including violence. Staff are very concerned about the violence they experience in schools and the lack of support they receive from employers after an incident has taken place. Many report that they are told that it is just “part of their job”. Reporting systems are inadequate and many incidents go unrecorded. Even when reported there is little if any assessment of what happened or action taken to avoid a repeat. No one should be expected to be the victim of violence as part of their job.
The following are the incidents recorded by local authorities in the 2017/18 (not all authorities give separate figures for education):
Aberdeen City – Education Services - 244 physical assaults, 188 Staff Verbal
Aberdeenshire Education & Children’s Service 544(employee) 70 (non employee) Violent Incident
South Ayrshire – Education –56 verbal, 77 physical, 65 verbal & physical, 9 threatening behaviour
Renfrewshire –68 Classroom assistant, 21 nursery officer, 166 Teacher -physical/verbal
West Dunbartonshire – 95 education physical assaults
West Lothian - Education, Pupil support worker 709 incidents, Education, Teacher 402 incidents
Dumfries &Galloway – 463 violent incidents
Clackmannanshire - Teaching Staff 53/32physical 21 verbal, school Staff 78 physical /21 verbal
Stirling – Schools & Learning - 194 physical assaults on employees
City of Edinburgh :Early Years Officer 3 violence with injury 1 violence with no injury Early Years Practitioner 28 violence with injury 16 violence with no injury
Learning Assistant 26 violence with injury 8 violence with no injury
Nursery Nurse 125 violence with injury 47 violence with no injury
Teacher-Nursery 2 violence with injury 2 violence with no injury
Teacher-Primary78 violence with injury 43 violence with no injury
Teacher-Secondary 4 violence with injury 7 violence with no injury
Teacher-Special 122 violence with injury 24 violence no with injury

Violence is not a minor issue. Action needs to be taken to ensure that incidents are reviewed, that staff are given adequate ongoing support including counselling and adequate time out to recover. Incidents must be properly investigated. There needs to be action in terms of appropriate staffing going forward and specific support for the child. Other children also need to be protected from unacceptable behaviour. Accepting violence in schools fails the children who exhibit violent behaviour as much as it fails everyone else involved. They need support to express themselves in a more appropriate manner. It is those pupils who have most to gain from school leaders reacting properly to violent incidents with full risk assessments and then taking action to deal with the issues identified.

Schools are struggling to meet the needs of pupils because of budget cuts. On top of cuts to resources demand is rising, adding additional pressure. The number of pupils with additional support needs has doubled since 2010 but there are 1841 fewer support staff in local authorities. It is clear that cuts to support staff in schools and to “expert advice” services such as educational psychologists who could support staff and pupils directly is having an impact on the whole school not just children with identified support needs.

If next week’s budget cuts local government funding as proposed things will only get worse.

My earlier report Hard Lessons on the impact of cuts on school staff is available here

Just Transition is central to successful climate action

Just Transition policies for climate action take centre stage in the Scottish Parliament today.

This follows key campaigning in Scotland by trade unions and environmental groups.

Just Transition is also the focus in a series of articles in Scottish Left Review, including one by UNISON Scotland Depute Convener Stephen Smellie and another by Francis Stuart, STUC Policy Officer.

Francis writes: “Tackling climate change while building an industrial base for low-carbon manufacturing will require government policy, planning, direction and investment. The Scottish Government’s Just Transition Commission, successfully advocated for by the Just Transition Partnership, provides an opportunity to address these issues.

"Its role is to look at how Scotland achieves a carbon-neutral economy while maximising opportunities in terms of fair work and tackling inequalities.To be effective, it should be independent of government and should have a commitment to look beyond the next two years, to climate change targets which run until 2050.

“The Scottish National Investment Bank also provides an opportunity to leverage in funding for the low-carbon economy, providing patient capital for sectors and organisations which cannot access patient, strategic capital. The Scottish Government’s plans for a publicly owned energy company could also help transform the public policy landscape, although it will have to be far more ambitious than the Scottish Government’s current vision of a company focussed on retail supply. A focus on generation – where the both the money and the decarbonisation opportunities are – will be crucial if it is to play a role in a just transition to a low carbon economy.”

The debate in the Scottish Parliament sees all parties backing the application of just transition principles in Scotland. MSPs are debating a Scottish Government motion and amendments from the Tories, Labour and Greens. Labour’s amendment, from Claudia Beamish MSP, calls for the Parliament to give “further consideration to the establishment of a statutory, long-term just transition commission, which should be well-funded, independent of government and accountable to the Parliament, building on the work of the present non-statutory commission.”

The Scottish Government announced the finalised membership of the Just Transition Commission at the weekend. It starts work later this month and will report in two years.

Among the new members announced are STUC Deputy General Secretary Dave Moxham and Richard Hardy, Prospect National Secretary for Scotland, along with Lang Banks, Director of WWF Scotland - all members of the Just Transition Partnership (JTP), along with UNISON, Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) and other unions including the CWU, Unite and UCU.

(Separately, UNISON, along with other energy unions, has very recently called on the UK Government to have talks on Just Transition. UNISON, Unite, GMB and Prospect released a template for a just transition following a conference of energy workers.)

The JTP sent a briefing to MSPs ahead of the debate. (See also the JTP press release and the SLR article by Matthew Crighton, of FoES on the Partnership.)

The briefing says that the concept of a just transition is central to a successful response to climate change, and to building popular support for action to cut emissions.

A just transition must:

●      Put protecting workers’ livelihoods, creating new jobs, and delivering a fairer Scotland at the centre of the move to a low-carbon economy

●      Be embedded across and supported by Government priorities and infrastructure projects including the Climate Change Plan, the Publicly Owned Energy Company, the Scottish National Investment Bank, future economic strategies and the work of the enterprise agencies

●      Involve trade unions, communities and environmentalists at the heart of the process

●      Be put into statute under the Climate Change (Emissions Reductions Targets) (Scotland) Bill

Stephen Smellie’s article in Scottish Left Review argues that the transition must be just to all affected workers, with many in the public sector dealing with the impacts of climate change.

He writes: “A transition to a low carbon economy must happen and that transition needs to be just to the workers. However, the Just Transition agenda is not simply related to these workers in the energy sector whose current jobs are part of an industry that is contributing to the problem. Other workers are in jobs that are at risk. Agricultural and food processing workers face changes related to climate change.

“The water industry, seafarers and other transport workers face significant challenges. High energy using industries such as manufacturing and construction face rising costs. The public sector workers whose budgets for services are cut to divert money to efforts to ameliorate the effects of climate change on infra-structure.

“Other workers have a significant part to play in the transition and making sure that it is just: the science workers creating alternatives; the education workers training the current energy and future workers with the skills necessary for the future low carbon industries; and the public sector workers in environmental protection, infra-structure and planning, designing better communities that use less carbon.”

Meanwhile, continuing the focus, a free Centre for Climate Justice conference looking at Just Transition takes place at Glasgow Caledonian University tomorrow, Wednesday, with Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) chair Tom Ballantine among the speakers.

UNISON is part of SCCS. Do please email your MSPs for a stronger climate Bill and/or arrange to meet your MSPs. Easy info on how to do both is here.

And watch this space for more developments as the STUC steps up work around energy and climate change, including considering how workers’ pensions might help address societal challenges including climate change.

As Francis Stuart concludes in SLR, “Scotland’s unions are clear that tackling climate change is a moral, social and economic imperative and Scotland must play its part in reducing emissions. However, meeting targets must ensure that workers and communities benefit and manufacturing is not simply offshored.

“A genuinely just transition, addressing fundamental questions of ownership, is the only way in which we will move to a low carbon economy while building a more equal economy and society.”

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Added Value

Public provision of services offers excellent value for money. The latest report into Money and Welfare Rights Advice services in Scotland shows that every pound invested in these services gets clients an extra £21-£24. These are significant gains for people who are already on very low incomes.

Not only does this make a significant contribution to clients’ household incomes it also improves their physical and mental health. Increasing their income means they also have money to spend supporting local businesses. So these services benefit the wider economy as well. It is essential that local authorities have sufficient funding to ensure the continued provision of vital service like Money Advice.

Key findings

Local authorities spent £25.76m on welfare and money advice services. This includes 32 services directly provided by authorities and 85 via external organisations. These services are delivered by 486 (FTE) local authority staff, 386(FTE) external staff and 412 (FTE) volunteers. This work not only impacts positively on the finances of service users it also improves their general health and well being. The total financial gain for service users was £624.7m

Who uses these vital services?

• 38% were permanently sick and disabled or suffering a short-term illness or injury
• 25% were in some form of employment while 11% were unemployed and seeking work
• 28% of service users had disposable income of less that £6,000, 55% less than £10,000 and 88% less than £20,000. Median household disposable income in the UK is £27300.40

Money and Welfare Benefits services make a huge contribution to people’s health and well being. This is just one example of vital services which are currently at risk due to cuts to local government budgets. Local authorities need adequate funding to ensure they can deliver the services that citizens need.

Inez Kirk's speech to STUC Budget Day Rally

Inez Kirk, vice-chair of UNISON Scotland local government committee, spoke at the STUC budget day rally at the Scottish parliament. She spoke with our sister unions Unite, GMB, UCU, EIS and PCS. Ines sent a clear message to the Scottish government to start to value local government workers, particularly the low paid women workforce.

Inez said: “Local government has taken the brunt of austerity.  Derek McKay must redress the balance today and invest in local government so we can serve our communities.

The Scottish government must recognise the valuable contribution local government contributes to the fabric of our society.

For too long we have seen our local services cut, closed or sold off to the lowest bidder.

The cuts have been felt most acutely in local government. Nine out of ten public sector jobs lost since 2010 have been in local government.

What is even more stark is the effect on women in our communities and workplaces.

Three quarters of the local government workforce are women, predominately low-paid and delivering the services that vital to our society: caring for our older and more vulnerable people, providing support in our schools, ensuring the health and well being of everyone in our communities.  And it is women who rely on these services.

Yet we continue to see these local services underfunded, cut to the bone or sold off - meaning even lower wages and less job security for the women providing the services but also those who rely on them.

Many local government workers have been forced into in-work poverty, and they rely on welfare benefits and food banks: families struggling to heat and eat in the 21 century. And that is public sector women workers.

Austerity has meant increased demand for local authority services, at same time as budgets have been slashed.

We say to our MSPs, when setting the budget: remember us. Remember the women who provide the services we all need. Remember the women who care, clean and educate. The women who do the clerical work in our councils. Remember all the local government workers who make such a valuable contribution to our communities.

It’s time for women to get decent pay and secure jobs. We need a budget that ensures the scourge of local government low-pay and in-work poverty is assigned to the past”

Please do not be quiet! The campaign to Save Scottish Borders School Libraries.

Thanks to Greig Kelbie for this "guest" blog

UNISON Scottish Borders Public Services branch is the midst of running a campaign against the local authority’s pilot scheme underway at Galashiels, Peebles and Kelso High Schools, which has seen pupils, volunteers and self-service scanning machines working in lieu of librarians.


Scottish Borders Council argues that the libraries pilot scheme is a result of budget cuts imposed on the council, that libraries will not be staff-free zones, and that the project is a result of pupil consultation. Several librarians lost their jobs last year, with less senior staff taking over from them. Neither the staff, UNISON or members of the public have seen any evidence of pupil consultation findings.

UNISON, professional bodies representing Scotland’s librarians, politicians, parents groups and education officials have all lined up to criticise the scheme. Despite this, the council has stayed the course and self-service checkouts have begun to appear in school libraries as part of a pilot project, which may lead to a roll out across all of the region’s schools, pending a full review of the pilot scheduled for April 2019.

We turned up the heat on our campaign. UNISON visited each of the region’s high schools and canvassed parents, pupils and members of the community on their opinions on the scheme. We did this over 19th – 25th November, which was planned to be aligned with Book Week Scotland, the theme of which was Rebel. UNISON Scottish used this opportunity will be ‘rebel’ by campaigning throughout this week across the schools to raise awareness of the detrimental impact this staffing loss could have on our children. We were asking pupils, parents and staff to sign campaign postcards, letters to local councillors, engage with our online materials such as the petition.

We were overwhelmed by the support of hundreds of members of the Scottish Borders communities who refused to be quiet and backed our campaign. From the hundreds of people we spoke to, there were three reoccurring clear issues that were continually brought up: concerns over support for children with additional support needs, the inability for children to receive support and guidance during independent study, and several testimonials which claim the pilot libraries have become disruptive and chaotic without a member of staff there to staff the library.

A recently produced Scottish Government strategy report for school libraries (‘The National Strategy for School Libraries’) states that ‘school libraries are a hub of activity, with library staff supporting a range of creative approaches to learning, addressing issues related to health and wellbeing, and facilitating connections between pupils across the school community. It is clear to us, that the Council is failing to adhere to this strategy.


What is also clear to us, is that not one single person supports the council’s pilot. More than 400 pupils, parents and concerned members of the community have written messages on our campaign postcards about the importance of librarians and almost 1000 people have signed our online petition demanding that the pilot should be dropped.
Where are we now...

On Thursday 29th November, the branch lobbied the full council meeting. We created a booklet “The Views of the People”, which contains a message to Councillors and full of some of the best testimonials from our postcard signings. We attempted to deliver our postcards to Tory Council Leader, Shona Haslam. Unfortunately, the Council Leader avoided the UNISON delegation. However, we had them delivered straight to her office. We will now be formally be writing to the Council Leader to ask for a meeting to discuss further.

UNISON has launched an online petition: please sign and share.

If you live in teh areas you can contact to your local councillor here

The fight continues.

How Councils Get Their Money

Can’t tell your NDR from your GRG? Then help is at hand. In plenty of time for this year’s budget, on December 12th, the Scottish parliament’s information team have produced a guide to local government finance. It will help non-finance professionals understand how much money local authorities have to spend, the various sources of that money and how it is distributed across authorities.

First things first: NDR is Non Domestic Rates, frequently referred to as business rates and GRG is General Resource Grant. This is the money that the Scottish government allocates to local authorities. GRG is the bulk of local authority budgets.

The guide covers revenue spending: the money that pays for the day-to-day running of services. The funding provided for capital (building things) and any money borrowed are not included in the guide.

The guide covers both the money from Scottish government and via local taxes and charges. This includes non domestic rates and council tax. So you can read about how the GRG is arrived at. Which is via "discussions" with COSLA followed by calculation of individual council allocations using “Estimated Service Expenditure" and "Total Estimated Expenditure". On top of those calculations there are “funding floors”. Working out estimated service expenditure involved Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) which is a “needs based” calculation. Needs based means that is should take account of the relative needs of the populations of each local authority including for example relative poverty rates. Handily there is also more detail on what "Estimated Service Expenditure" etc mean.

Lack of well written papers on the complexities on local government finance make it harder for people to participate in discussions and campaign against cuts to local government budgets. Even a quick read of the two page executive summary will help those trying to make sense of the debate round cuts and service funding. Taking the time to read the full paper would be time well spent.

IPCC Report: Political will essential to deliver on 1.5C Paris target

Today’s stark report on the devastating impacts of climate change should make us all sit up and commit to urgent action.

Politicians need to do the right thing and we must make them, including ensuring a fair and just transition to a zero carbon future.

The warning from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes it very clear that without urgent and unprecedented changes to energy, transport and land use, the world risks catastrophic temperature rise.

The Guardian report said today: “The world’s leading climate scientists have warned there is only a dozen years for global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5C, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people.”

The good news is that the scientists – including the head of Scotland’s new Just Transition Commission - believe it is affordable and feasible to keep to the 1.5C Paris Agreement target, but they point to the need for political will to make sure that policies are put in place in time.

Top priority in Scotland must be to strengthen the climate change Bill currently going through the Scottish Parliament to a target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest, with 77% by 2030.

It’s good that the Scottish Government will now seek new advice on meeting 1.5C from the UK Committee on Climate Change (CCC), but it’s clear from the IPCC report and the recent CCC report on Scottish progress that we must have a step change in cutting emissions, particularly in transport and agriculture.

UNISON wants to see massive investment in public transport, including renationalisation of rail and reregulation of buses, as part of the move to greener transport - and much greater public ownership of energy, including municipal energy.

We are campaigning with the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition and the Just Transition Partnership (JTP) to strengthen the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Bill.

As well as stronger targets, we want Scotland’s new Just Transition Commission to be set in statute in the Bill and to report to Parliament on progress.

The JTP welcomed Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham’s appointment last month of Professor Jim Skea as Chair of the Commission.

Dave Moxham, Deputy General Secretary of the STUC and co-chair of the Just Transition Partnership, stressed that Scotland’s trade unions see tackling climate change as a moral, social and economic imperative. However, in meeting emissions reduction targets, we must ensure a just transition for the workforce and communities which currently extract or depend on the use of fossil fuels.

Just transition includes both measures to support retraining and new jobs for those in affected industries, with support for workers and communities, and measures to produce new, green and decent jobs and livelihoods as well as healthy communities. It aims to address environmental, social and economic issues together.

There are clear economic opportunities if we are ahead of the game in building a greener future, but we must ensure no-one is left behind and so climate plans must be integrated with an industrial strategy.

Professor Skea, is co-chair of the working group behind today’s IPCC report. His comments today are reported in the Guardian:

“We have presented governments with pretty hard choices. We have pointed out the enormous benefits of keeping to 1.5C, and also the unprecedented shift in energy systems and transport that would be needed to achieve that.

“We show it can be done within laws of physics and chemistry. Then the final tick box is political will. We cannot answer that. Only our audience can – and that is the governments that receive it.”

That’s where we all come in. There are no jobs on a dead planet.

Let’s make sure Scotland’s politicians continue the unanimous commitment in 2009 of support for world leading legislation. We need them now to agree stronger targets and decisive policy action to protect the planet for future generations, with public sector action crucial in leading the way.

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Welcome climate change & #JustTransition commitments from Scottish Labour

Good news for hopes of ramping up the ambition in Scotland's new Climate Bill. Scottish Labour has today backed a net zero target by 2050 at the latest.


This is what the Stop Climate Chaos Scotland coalition has been pushing for. The Scottish Government is only committed to a 90% emissions reduction target by 2050, so Labour is going the extra 10%. And the party is backing a 77% 2030 target.


Scottish Labour's new policy, announced by Claudia Beamish MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change, Environment and Land Reform, also includes the Just Transition Partnership’s call for the new Just Transition Commission to be in the Bill, set up on a statutory long-term basis.
 
The JTP’s co-chair, Dave Moxham, Deputy General Secretary of the STUC, welcomed the Just Transition commitment, said that unions see tackling climate change as a moral imperative, and stressed the importance of a statutory Just Transition Commission.
 
UNISON is a member of the JTP and of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland. If you haven't already, please support the SCCS E-Action, calling on MSPs to improve the Bill so we can end Scotland's contribution to climate change within a generation.


Here are the press releases from the STUC and SCCS, including the full comments from Dave Moxham, and a welcome from SCCS. The Labour press release is copied below.




Press Release: STUC RESPONDS TO SCOTTISH LABOUR CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY


Welcoming Scottish Labour’s commitment to put a Just Transition at the heart of their plans to tackle climate change, Dave Moxham, Deputy General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) and co-chair of the Just Transition Partnership, said:

“Scotland’s trade unions are clear that tackling climate change is a moral imperative and Scotland must play its part in reducing emissions.  However, targets must not be met at the expense of the workforce and communities which currently extract or depend on the use of fossil fuels. That is why a Just Transition for workers and communities is so important.

“A statutory Just Transition Commission, involving workers with real frontline experience in the development of a proper industrial strategy, offers the opportunity to reduce emissions while creating new, good quality jobs and benefiting communities across Scotland.”

NOTES

The Just Transition Partnership was formed by Friends of the Earth Scotland and the STUC in 2016. Membership includes Unite Scotland, UNISON Scotland, UCU Scotland, CWU Scotland, PCS Scotland and WWF Scotland.

Press Release sent on behalf of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland

SCOTTISH LABOUR ANNOUNCES BACKING OF NET ZERO EMISSIONS TARGET – SCCS comment

Responding to the announcement today (Monday) of Scottish Labour’s long-term Climate Change Bill policy, which sets a target for Scotland to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest, Gina Hanrahan of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said:

“It’s great to see Scottish Labour back calls for the upcoming Climate Change Bill to include a target to end Scotland’s contribution to climate change by 2050 at the latest and increased action over the next decade.  It’s now up to all parties in the Scottish Parliament to come together, as they did in 2009, to ensure we continue to be amongst the world leading nations in tackling climate change. 

“Labour’s commitment to a Just Transition Commission in the Bill is also to be welcomed. Such a commission would ensure that the transition to a zero-carbon economy supports workers and communities, and creates new, green jobs.

“No country on earth will be left untouched by the worsening consequences of a failure to move fast. While we’ve enjoyed a period of record warm weather; the extremes of heat experienced around the world this year and over recent years can mean increased mortality, drought, fire, hunger and crop failure. We have all the solutions we need now to get us on the right pathway. Good policies to tackle climate change can help us avoid the worst impacts, but also bring new jobs, cleaner air, and reduced burdens on our NHS. MSPs of all parties need to act together so Scotland can play its part and enjoy all those benefits.”

Ends

NEWS FROM SCOTTISH LABOUR

NEWS: SCOTTISH LABOUR LAUNCHES CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY WITH CLEAR TARGETS TO REACH NET ZERO EMISSIONS BY 2050

Scottish Labour will today today (Monday, August 13th) announced its long-term Climate Change Bill policy, which sets a target for Scotland to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest.

This plan is in contrast with the Scottish Government, who propose reducing emissions by 90% by 2050.

Labour proposes a pathway to zero emissions with interim targets of a 56% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, and 77% by 2030, supported by a Just Transition Commission. 

Launching the policy at the BRE Innovation Park at Ravenscraig, Claudia Beamish MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change, Environment and Land Reform will say that it is an “immensely important instrument for Scotland’s future and our standing in the global community.” 

The BRE Innovation Park, situated on the site of the former Ravenscraig Steel works, showcases bold inclusive future opportunities with its full-scale demonstration buildings displaying innovative design, materials and technologies for low carbon living. BRE engages with New College Lanarkshire, highlighting how vital the development of initial and transferable skills will be as we progress towards net zero emissions. 

Scottish Labour will continue to engage with trade unions, businesses, local government, and the third sector to develop the plans for long-term climate action and the ‘Just Transition’ for workers. 

Claudia Beamish MSP, Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Climate Change, said: 

“This summer has been another of record high temperatures, prolonged heatwaves, and extreme weather.  It is our duty to step up for global climate justice, and Scottish Labour’s climate policy addresses these obligations, while giving Scotland time to adapt in a just way for the workforce and communities. 

“This policy recognises the huge inequality in Scotland’s current and historic greenhouse gas emissions, compared to other parts of the world.  The most catastrophic effects of climate change are impacting on the lives and environments of those who did the least to cause it, and this policy recognises greater ambition is needed for those at the front line of facing the effects of climate change.  

“Inter-generational justice is also central to this policy.  We cannot push the job of tackling climate change onto the shoulders of the young.  We need interim targets of 56% by 2020, and 77% by 2030, to ensure we start to act now. 

“Based on Scotland’s historical emissions since the Industrial Revolution, and per capita wealth, Scottish Labour has concluded we must hit net zero emissions by 2050, at the latest. 

“The SNP Government’s draft Bill is far too timid, and ignored the 99% of consultation respondents who called for steeper targets.

“Scottish Labour has always led actions for fair economic transformation and social justice. Ambitious targets mean a clear signal to markets; giving confidence to businesses, investors, and communities. Action must now be spread fairly across all sectors and wider society.

“Scottish Labour will always be the party of the workers, and a statutory, long-term ‘Just Transition Commission’ must be in the Climate Change Bill to safeguard our communities and jobs against injustice. 

“For the sake of those on the frontline of climate change around the world, for our beautiful planet, and for our children: no more complacency – now for real ambition.”

BRE Housing and Energy Director Lori McElroy added:

"When making decisions about targets for emissions and energy efficiency, we should start from the premise of making the best use of scarce resources and impacts on people.  Over a quarter of Scotland’s households are still living in fuel poverty – that's 650,000 homes – this is where our efforts need to be focused.

“Research suggests that the improvement of existing homes could support up to 6,500 jobs throughout Scotland over the next ten years, giving a much-needed boost to the Scottish economy.  BRE is working closely with New College Lanarkshire to support skills and training in this area.

"Poorly heated, damp and cold homes can pose significant health risks for people.  In the winter of 2016/17, an additional 2,720 people died during the winter months in Scotland, compared with the average for the rest of the year.  The World Health Organisation has in the past estimated that 30% of such deaths are attributable to cold homes.

“The BRE Innovation Park@Ravenscraig exists to test solutions to our ageing building stock – showcasing new ways of thinking about constructing new and retrofitting existing buildings, allowing innovative approaches to be tested in a safe environment. Our research shows that better, warmer, safer homes not only promote better quality of life for people but could also save the NHS in Scotland around £60m per year.” 

ENDS