Tag Archives: cuts

College Merger

Responding to the news of a merger between Motherwell and Cumbernauld colleges, Motherwell and Wishaw MSP John Pentland said: “Given the Scottish Government’s huge cuts in further education, and Cabinet Secretary Mike Russell’s backing for mergers, colleges are under a … Continue reading →

Quote | Posted on January 15, 2013 by | Tagged , , ,

College Budget Cuts

Posted on December 6, 2012 by

Motherwell and Wishaw MSP John Pentland has condemned the Scottish Government treatment of Motherwell College and the further education sector. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, he said: “The Further Education sector is in a dire situation and we must honestly … Continue reading →

Posted in education, finance | Tagged , , , ,

North Lanarkshire funding cut

Posted on December 5, 2012 by

Motherwell and Wishaw MSP John Pentland has slammed the Scottish Government for its unfairness to local authorities and North Lanarkshire Council in particular. His comments came in response to the announcement of this year’s local government settlement, which confirms the … Continue reading →

Posted in finance, local government | Tagged ,

(Not Quite) All Quiet on the Budget Front

Posted on November 16, 2012 by

I have recently finished looking at the Local Government budget. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what will be in my committee’s report or what was said in the committee when we discussed the draft report. The former is secret until it … Continue reading →

Posted in finance, local government | Tagged , , , ,

North Lanarkshire Council Budget

Posted on September 20, 2012 by

Commenting on North Lanarkshire Council’s announcement on its budget options, which include the possibility of 1300 job losses, John Pentland said: “I am very concerned about these potential job losses, many of which will be in my Motherwell and Wishaw … Continue reading →

Posted in local government | Tagged , ,

800 waiting for Motherwell College places

Posted on September 13, 2012 by

Motherwell & Wishaw MSP John Pentland has slammed the Scottish Government over its colleges policy. “This is the second consecutive year that there has been a problem. In 2010 there was no waiting list for Motherwell College, but the last … Continue reading →

Posted in education | Tagged , , , ,

Strathclyde Police: 814 staff cut

Posted on May 23, 2012 by

The latest figures for police staffing in Strathclyde show a drop over the previous five years from 3,083 to 2,269. The latest figures, for the fourth quarter of 2011 show 814 staff have been shed, or 26% of the 2006 … Continue reading →

Posted in justice | Tagged , ,

Councils are still cut the deepest

Posted on March 21, 2012 by

An additional £70m to local authorities comes at a price and is only a fraction of the money cut from local government in the Scottish budget. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, John Pentland said: “This money has been trumpeted as a good … Continue reading →

Posted in local government | Tagged ,

The Councils’ cut is the deepest

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Local authorities are shouldering the lion’s share of the cuts… Motherwell and Wishaw MSP John Pentland has highlighted that the Scottish Government is imposing much higher cuts on local authorities than the rest of the Scottish budget combined. Speaking in … Continue reading →

Posted in finance, local government | Tagged ,

Target the tax gap, not pensions

Posted on December 8, 2011 by

Motherwell and Wishaw MSP John Pentland has called on the UK Government to target the £120bn tax gap, introduce a robin hood tax, and address bankers’ bonuses rather than making public sector workers take pension cuts to pay for the … Continue reading →

Posted in economy | Tagged , , ,