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I think that the conventions that have been referred to date from the 70s and 80s, but I presume that there is a process whereby updates can be taken on board where that is felt necessary.
In return we get a fixed retirement date from the individual—stating a fixed retirement date is an obligation for flexible retirement—which gives us certainty for our manpower planning and budgeting.
We have had a decade of Scottish austerity, inequality is growing and poverty has become normalised. The number of food banks has grown in response to the erosion of the safety net that our councils play a key role in delivering.
For some, the timescale is less than that, but someone might say, “My brother’s coming over from Australia for the summer holidays. Can you hold on to the ashes until he arrives?”
For example, it may become more expensive and more bureaucratic to book holidays in EU countries, and there may be an issue with mobile roaming, as the charges may no longer be guaranteed.
We cannot leave people in poverty, out of work, in poor housing and dependent on food banks for nutrition and not expect all of that to impact on the NHS.
Questions and Answers
Date answered:
30 March 2009