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The update does not take matters terribly much further forward but, for anybody who is following the progress of the committee’s work, it would be useful if we could express our contentment with it and post it on the website. Are members content with that?
Thankfully the Scottish National Party Government has done the right thing and ended the destructive right-to-buy policy, a move that has helped local authorities across the country to have the confidence to build council houses once again.
Another part might be saying, “We, as a community, just don’t like this,” in exactly the same way as I do not buy food that I dislike the taste of not because of a rational case for not buying it but because I do not like it.
I think that health boards genuinely struggle with that issue. Before they had the national buying consortium, they regularly looked at the energy providers and tried to get more kilowatts per pound.
They are struggling to pay for essential items; they are not buying luxuries or having a coffee. They are struggling to decide whether to buy a loaf of bread or a tin of beans for the kids—and sometimes the children go without.
There are dispersal orders, for example. Community wardens also have a role. I have seen that they are playing a positive role in many communities.There is also the standard role of the police.
It seemed to us a bit daft that Parliament was required to approve what a traffic warden in Dundee should wear. We thought that it should be possible for people in Dundee City Council to determine that for themselves.
Questions and Answers
Date answered:
3 February 2010
SEPA''s Indicative flood risk maps, showing areas at risk from fluvial and coastal flooding are accessible on SEPA''s website http://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding.aspx.