Thread 7 - No pitch forks or Pom Poms - Scottish political shenanigans

[TheShadowyFeminist]

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A ridiculous amount I agree but not explicitly as suggested to ferry documents about.

Not exclusively for documents, but nonetheless an extortionate cost to the taxpayer.
Sturgeon, Blackford et all are busy frothing about the cost of a Downing St refurbishment- it’s certainly a convenient distraction from the disclosure of their spending and yet more deleted emails up here.

It's all the government cars. Not just to deliver documents and papers. Mostly used to ferry folk about as well.

Not entirely sure how this spend compares to the spend of other similar sized countries but I would assume that all governments have cars and drivers of some sort in their employ.

@Bytheloch

A ridiculous amount I agree but not explicitly as suggested to ferry documents about.

Not exclusively for documents, but nonetheless an extortionate cost to the taxpayer.
Sturgeon, Blackford et all are busy frothing about the cost of a Downing St refurbishment- it’s certainly a convenient distraction from the disclosure of their spending and yet more deleted emails up here.

So do you think that other governments don't employ drivers and have cars?

Everyone is quite rightly frothing at Boris's decorating antics. The two are hardly comparable.

So do you think that other governments don't employ drivers and have cars

Do I think other regional councils governments use chauffeured service to transport documents and their town mayors around? Probably, but it’s not my ‘higher tax rate in Scotland’ being spent by them.

Do I think they can justify a chauffeur service taking the FM to her studios for the daily TV gig during 2020-2021, nope. Makes Mariah Carey look like a forestry commission volunteer in comparison.

Well if she wasn't driven she'd be the only country leader that I can think of who would take the bus or drive herself around. It's a security issue really isn't it?

Anyway seems like a perfectly reasonable expense to me. The number is pretty high right enough. Would be interesting to see it compared to other similar sized countries like I say. Then we could get a handle on whether it was appropriate or not.

Was it really essential to be chauffeur driven from GW to Edinb every day to broadcast to the nation. Absolutely not.

Re the documents having a chauffeured service one wonders if all those redacted documents and the Education report had such premium treatment when asked to disclose exactly how much was spent on this, they couldn’t say as the paperwork relating to these journeys was ‘routinely destroyed’ 🧐

Well many people valued the daily briefings so arguably yes it was worth it. Like I say she's hardly going to drive herself or get the bus.

@forfucksakenett

Well many people valued the daily briefings so arguably yes it was worth it. Like I say she's hardly going to drive herself or get the bus.

The FM is on record as saying she wants Scotland to become more like the Scandinavian countries. Many of whose politicians cycle or walk to work or take public transport - often photographed doing so.

It’s not a point about whether the briefings were valuable. But on that point, emails discussing the daily briefing have also been conveniently deleted too...wonder what they contained?

Double standards and sleaze everywhere - NS and the crofter need to look closer to home instead of crawing at Boris today.

I don't object to crucial documents being transferred by car securely, but 4.7 million is a huge sum for such a small country!

Again, I'm wonder who benefits exactly from being paid these large sums, and how they manage to get awarded these contracts.

What “crucial documents” need to be driven around?

There are secure government email addresses, etc.

It’s bollocks. How anyone can defend this beggars belief.

@Bytheloch

It’s not a point about whether the briefings were valuable. But on that point, emails discussing the daily briefing have also been conveniently deleted too...wonder what they contained?

Double standards and sleaze everywhere - NS and the crofter need to look closer to home instead of crawing at Boris today.

Well it is a bit. You said it was a waste her being driven to the briefing every day. I'm saying no it wasn't given that many felt the briefings were very valuable and she's hardly likely to drive herself or get the bus.

@CirclesWithinCircles offers a lovely alternative view which sees our politicians cycling everywhere and using public transport but we're sadly not there yet so she's unlikely to be driving herself at this point.

The daily briefings is a separate issue but could very easily be done from home.

Again, I'm wonder who benefits exactly from being paid these large sums, and how they manage to get awarded these contracts.

Let’s assume the emails relating to the tendering and details about the companies subsequently awarded the contracts, have been deleted too...

@WouldBeGood

The daily briefings is a separate issue but could very easily be done from home.

The value of them in and of themselves is a separate issue. The notion of whether she should be driven to them is related. The PP mentioned it as a specific example.

Yeah, but no need to travel, whatever the views in the merits of the briefing.

No you're right. She should have set herself up in her kitchen with a selfie stick.

Or-heaven forbid- someone other than the FM could have hosted them?

Interesting article in the telegraph:

www-telegraph-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/04/28/snp-scotland-do-facts-matter/amp/?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=16196263589742&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2F2021%2F04%2F28%2Fsnp-scotland-do-facts-matter%2F

I really agree with that article @RedactedTaeFeck

So, what documents need ferried around @forfucksakenett? Or anyone?

Not being an employee of the Scottish Government I have absolutely no idea. Key personnel? Visitors to the country?

I also have no idea what is a reasonable yearly budget for government cars. It would be nice to se want other countries spend for a bit of comparison.

What I do know is that government cars is not some alien concept unique to Scotland. I would imagine that most governments have them and utilise them for all kinds of things. Americans even fly theirs to other countries. I remember President Bush visiting Scotland around about 2005 / 2006 maybe and a whole convoy of US government cars were in convoy going down bloody Hope street of all places.

@WouldBeGood

So, what documents need ferried around *@forfucksakenett*? Or anyone?

I expect that there might still be legal papers that require a wet signature but I know in my line of work they have worked very hard to do away with wet signatures due to covid and also just to make sure that there were less delays. I'd be surprised if there were not many cases where ferried around paper documents couldn't have been sent electronically and encrypted.

I'm sure many multi million pound deals and decisions have been completed electronically within private industry.

As for the briefings, if studio quality filming was required, couldn't these have been done in Glasgow on the days where it wasn't done as part of the FMQs?

At one job I had, we were encouraged to think that if this was our own small business, would we still spend the money on X. Sometimes it was yes, most times it was no, that there was a cheaper way to do something and we weren't getting value for that spend. Maybe similar needs to filter into government?

Just realised you said documents. Again I have no idea. The main point of government cars are for people not documents I should think. In fact the article pretty much does say that.

@forfucksakenett

Well if she wasn't driven she'd be the only country leader that I can think of who would take the bus or drive herself around. It's a security issue really isn't it?

Anyway seems like a perfectly reasonable expense to me. The number is pretty high right enough. Would be interesting to see it compared to other similar sized countries like I say. Then we could get a handle on whether it was appropriate or not.

I don't disagree with cabinet or NS being driven but 4.2 million is ridiculous!

In Scottish govt depts which the civil servants work in your not even allowed to get a flight if there is a train or ferry option regardless of how long it takes.
So higher up govt spends nearly a million a year and others have to spend 14 hours on trains to crucial meetings (pre pandemic)

It's a ridiculous amount of money!