Contrasting fortunes within a small Borders community
It is remarkable how often an internet search for information about Peebles and Peeblesshire throws up the adjective 'affluent' in descriptions of the perceived financial well-being of the Borders county's local residents.
The beautiful town by the River Tweed - home to around 8,000 citizens - and its equally attractive pastoral hinterland peppered with idyllic looking villages and hamlets all give off an aura of prosperity. Surely one of the most desirable parts of Scotland in which to live and work.
That affluent tag crops up time and again.
For example estate agents Edwin Thompson, in the blurb accompanying a property advertisement, describe Peebles as having become "a relatively affluent commuter town to the city (of Edinburgh)".
And Scottish Field magazine, in a recent feature on an upmarket local eatery under the heading Bordering on Beautiful declared "Peebles, with its affluent population of Edinburgh commuters...".
Meanwhile Montagu Evans, another property agent, tells us in an ad for premises available to rent "The town itself boasts a population in excess of 8,000 people, with an affluent surrounding catchment area".
However, it should be said not everyone living in Peeblesshire is suffering from affluence, as the recently published annual report for 2018/19 of the county-wide food bank demonstrates with a succession of alarming statistics.
Peeblesshire Food Bank, a registered charity and part of the Trussell Trust network, reported "The demand for crisis food parcels continued to surge during the year".
The number of referrals shot up by 59% from the previous year (311 compared to 196) while the number pf people fed by the food bank's volunteers increased from 330 to 523 (up 58%).
Perhaps the most shocking statistic of all concerned the number of children included in the total receiving emergency help - 131 compared to 73 in 2017/18, a monster (some might say monstrous) hike of 79% in the space of twelve months.
The value of food distributed totalled £17,278 (£14,649 in 2017/18).
And the report continued: "So far in the current year (2019/20) the increase in demand has continued, but thankfully at a lower rate, but still significant at 30% to 40% for children.
"Food donations from the generous people of Peeblesshire generally kept up with the increase in demand in the year under review. But in 2019/20 the food bank has increasingly had to purchase some essential items".
Tuesday, 24 December 2019
Monday, 23 December 2019
No contest for £4 million council contract
EXCLUSIVE by DOUGLAS SHEPHERD
A so-called transparency notice published by Scottish Borders Council today shows the local authority awarded £4 million worth of business to a local bus operator without seeking competitive tenders for the work.
According to SBC which spends around £3.5 million a year to subsidise loss-making bus routes in the Borders, only Berwick-on-Tweed based Borders Buses is able to deliver the required services on several core routes.
The VEAT (Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency) notice declares: "Scottish Borders Council intends to enter a strategic partnership arrangement for a number of key routes which mainly form the core supported bus service network across the area."
A so-called transparency notice published by Scottish Borders Council today shows the local authority awarded £4 million worth of business to a local bus operator without seeking competitive tenders for the work.
According to SBC which spends around £3.5 million a year to subsidise loss-making bus routes in the Borders, only Berwick-on-Tweed based Borders Buses is able to deliver the required services on several core routes.
The VEAT (Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency) notice declares: "Scottish Borders Council intends to enter a strategic partnership arrangement for a number of key routes which mainly form the core supported bus service network across the area."
And the notice explains it is the objective of the Council to ensure that the core
bus network in the Scottish Borders remains in place and provides economic
growth and social inclusion.
"The Operator and the Council shall work in
partnership to ensure the services are economically sustainable, relevant to
the communities they serve and be geared for growth. The core network is
Services 51/52, 60, 67 and 68. The arrangement will also include service E13."
The services 'awarded' to Borders Buses are Jedburgh-Edinburgh via St Boswells, Earlston and Lauder (51/52), Galashiels to Berwick (60), Galashiels to Berwick via Kelso (67), Galashiels to Jedburgh (68) and Earlston-Galashiels (E13).
The notice makes it plain that the 'deal' with Borders Buses is a "negotiated procedure without prior publication". Justification
for this selected award procedure is, says the council, on the following grounds: "The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a
particular economic operator for the following reason: absence of competition
for technical reasons."
A more detailed explanation for the fairly unusual procedure states: "It is clear from detailed market research, particularly
considered alongside the geography of the Borders area that there is no
commercial or other type of market operator in a position to bid for the group
of services in question.
"All other relevant factors have been considered and it
is therefore considered that the proposed award of a contract to Borders Buses
meets with the requirements of EU Directive 2004/18/EC, Annex B as incorporated
into Scots Law by the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations."
Borders Buses, previously known as Perrymans, is owned by Craig of Campbeltown Ltd which purchased the Borders business several years ago. In 2018 Borders Buses reported annual turnover of £9.645 million (£8.056 million in 2017).
The 2018 gross profit of £1.069 million increased from £855,393 in the previous year. Company accounts show an operating profit of £317,530 for 2018 (£167,616). The firm employed 194 staff in 2018, up from 173 in 2017.
In his Review of Business, director Colin Craig reported: "The company has continued working to enhance local and long distance services and to improve fleet quality, in co-operation with local authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships whilst consolidating its core activities.
"2019 will see further significant investment in fleet and personnel and, where opportunities arise, route coverage. Continuing uncertainties over fuel prices, funding of concessionary travel and Bus Service Operators Grant schemes, along with potential cutbacks in local authority budgets are all expected to contribute to another challenging year".
Thursday, 19 December 2019
Interesting stuff in the FOI vault
DOUG COLLIE presents a few nuggets from the recent Freedom of Information updates at Scottish Borders Council
The Freedom of Information archive which forms part of Scottish Borders Council's sizeable website had, until recently, lain untouched since July. But now requests and responses for the four missing months up to November can be seen on the updated web pages.
Here at Not Just Sheep & Rugby a few of the recently published entries caught our eye.
They encompass a wide range of topics from staff relocation costs and pothole compensation to the cost of the Borders Schools Public Finance Initiative (PFI) and the amount spent on agency staff at Scottish Borders Cares, the company which provided home care for elderly and vulnerable clients until it had to be wound up at the beginning of December.
The Freedom of Information archive which forms part of Scottish Borders Council's sizeable website had, until recently, lain untouched since July. But now requests and responses for the four missing months up to November can be seen on the updated web pages.
Here at Not Just Sheep & Rugby a few of the recently published entries caught our eye.
They encompass a wide range of topics from staff relocation costs and pothole compensation to the cost of the Borders Schools Public Finance Initiative (PFI) and the amount spent on agency staff at Scottish Borders Cares, the company which provided home care for elderly and vulnerable clients until it had to be wound up at the beginning of December.
A requester asked the council for the number of employees
who have had relocation costs covered to work in the local authority, and the
amount paid to those employees since 2011. The applicant also wanted the information broken down by job type.
The following details were released by SBC:
Year Relocation Costs Paid £
2011/12 19233.00
2012/13 6991.34
2013/14 12807.39
2014/15 6572.33
2015/16 8694.78
2016/17 4190.74
2017/18 12219.16
2018/19 4539.89
The council added: "Unfortunately we are unable to provide the post title and
the number of employees where relocation expenses have been paid as per your
request, as Scottish Borders Council does not hold this information in a
recorded format."
The poor state of some of the region's roads appears to have cost the authority a significant sum during financial year 2018/19 with 350 claims from drivers who suffered pothole damage to their vehicles.
A FOI request was made in the following terms:
1. I am wondering what your pothole/road defect compensation
claims process is. Is it internal or passed out externally to a company?
2. How
many Pothole compensation claims did you receive in the last financial year?
April 2018 to April 2019.
3. What was the total value of pay outs for these
claims?
4. What was the highest amount of compensation paid out for
a single claim in this time period?
Response:
1. Public Liability claims relating to potholes/road defects
are passed to Scottish Borders Councils insurers, Zurich Municipal.
2. 350
3. Payments so far have totalled £31,317.00
4. £2,797.37.
The highly controversial 2007 initiative to construct three new Berwickshire secondary schools (Eyemouth, Duns and Earlston) under the extremely expensive PFI arrangements was the subject for an information request lodged in August.
Here is a comprehensive copy of the request and response which appears on the website: Request -
1) The projected total (whole life) cost of the scheme, in
£, detailed when the scheme was first agreed (i.e. the original projected cost
of all Unitary Charge Payments over the full life of the scheme).
2) The projected total (whole life) cost of the scheme, in
£, as at August 1, 2019 (i.e. the real cost for previous years and projected
cost for future years of all Unitary Charge Payments over the full life of the
scheme).
If there is a difference between 1 and 2, please can you
provide details of:
A) The date(s) the projected costs changed
B) The reason(s) the projected costs changed
Please can I also request: 3) A copy of the original
contract/agreement;
4) An itemised list of any payments made to the PFI
contractors for services not included in the original PFI deal, from the
beginning of the deal to the current date, and to include exact details of what
was being paid for.
Response
1) £312,902,351 at
financial close
2) £302,237,514 at 31
March 2019
A) At handover and every year with inflation adjustments.
B) Phased implementation and annual RPI
movements.
3) Redacted copy
attached, Some third party personal information has been redacted from the
attached document as it is exempt from disclosure under 38(1)(b) of FOI(S)A
2002, There is some further information
redacted, The Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002 allows a public authority to withhold information in
response to a request, where one or more exemptions listed in FOI(S)A applies.
In this case Scottish Borders Council believes the following exemption applies:
S33(1)(b) Protecting Commercial Interests. We have considered the public
interest test and it will always be in the public interest for the Council to
obtain best value and by disclosing this information would prejudice this.
4) None
Finally, the ill-fated SB Cares LLP, the company set up by SBC to run home care services from 2015 onward appears to have required the services of agency staff during its relatively short existence.
In September a FOI requester asked:
Please list the total amount of money SB Cares has spent on
Home Care Agency Workers during 2016/17, 2017/18 and to the date of processing
this FOI request. Please include a
breakdown of wages, travel expenses, accommodation costs and any subsistence
allowance. Please list the Agencies which SB Cares has used for
delivering Home Care.Please list the
locations where Agency workers have had to travel from in order to deliver home
care in the Borders.
Response:
2016/17 Caddon
Healthcare £10,301.06 - total £10,301.06.
2017/18 Scottish Nursing Guild £6,502.62 Caddon
Healthcare £942.42 Ranstead Care £677.95
Total - £8,122.99.
2018/19 Scottish Nursing Guild £137,878.92 Caddon
Healthcare £27,098.73 McSense Communication £200.25 Total - £165,177.90.
2019/20
@27/09/19 Scottish Nursing Guild
£21,796.66 Caddon Healthcare £14,522.00 Total -
£36,318.66.
There isn’t this level of breakdown on the
invoices that we receive from the agencies, therefore the Council is not able
to provide the information regarding breakdown of wages, travel expenses,
accommodation or subsistence allowance nor the
locations where Agency workers have had to travel from in order to
deliver home care in the Borders.
Sunday, 15 December 2019
BIG deal - big running costs!
by EWAN LAMB
A fully staffed office costing over £500,000 a year to run will be required to deliver the Borderlands Inclusive Growth (BIG) deal, it has been revealed. A programme manager's post will carry a £97,000 salary.
The cross-Border economic initiative involving five local authorities in the North of England and the South of Scotland is expected to inject up to £345 million into the so-called Borderlands over 10-15 years with the money coming from the UK Government and the Scottish Government. It has been estimated that £150 million of the total will be invested in Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders.
Details of the amounts each council will pay towards the running costs are contained in a report to be considered this week by Scottish Borders Council. Their partners in the first Scotland-England co-operative venture of its kind are Dumfries & Galloway Council, Carlisle City Council, Cumbria and Northumberland county councils.
The report shows the BIG deal will need a PMO (Programme Management Office) to be set up at a cost of £531,000 in its first year including £242,000 for staffing costs. Staff members will include the programme manager (£97,200), two programme officers (each £57,400) and an administration officer (£29,200). Non staffing costs are expected to add up to £145,000.
BIG deal partners have already commissioned a law firm to draw up a 79-page collaboration agreement which includes details of a number of boards, committees and a proposed Economic Forum which will nominate representatives from the private sector.
The amount of money to be paid by each local authority will be linked to the portion of BIG deal money received. It works out like this:
However, there is a warning that management costs may rise as the deal proceeds.
Scottish Borders Council is told: ". It should be noted that the budget requirement may increase as the PMO requirements of the Deal expand and that this will be the subject of future reports to Members."
It is claimed in the report prepared for Borders councillors: "The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal supports the Scottish Borders Economic Strategy 2023 as the outcomes from the Deal seek to achieve inclusive economic growth.
"The Inclusive Growth Deal complements the opportunities presented by the establishment of the South of Scotland Enterprise and the preparatory work for the new Agency being carried out by the South of Scotland Economic Partnership. It will also complement the projects being implemented as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal."
And according to the document: "Until now the Borderlands Partnership has operated on an informal basis under the principles of a Memorandum of Understanding where each of the partners agreed to co-operate to reach agreement on the Heads of Terms for a Deal.
"The arrangements relating to the Borderlands Partnership now need to move towards a formal governance arrangement in order to proceed to Final Deal Agreement. Given that the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal extends over two countries this presents challenges in terms of putting in place appropriate governance arrangements.
" Burness Paull, Solicitors, were appointed by the partners to provide advice on governance for the Deal. It should be noted that there are no existing precedents for Scottish and English local authorities participating in an integrated initiative of this kind."
A section dealing with the proposed Economic Forum says: "UK and Scottish Governments have requested that there is private sector representation and engagement in the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. It is planned that an Economic Forum will be established to provide the mechanism for achieving this.
"Each of the five local authorities will nominate two private sector representatives to join the Economic Forum following an open recruitment process. In addition to the ten positions, there will be an additional four places to include Cumbria LEP, North East LEP and two places for South of Scotland Enterprise, or other agreed organisation. The members of the Economic Forum will nominate a Chair who will become a member of the Borderlands Partnership Board."
A fully staffed office costing over £500,000 a year to run will be required to deliver the Borderlands Inclusive Growth (BIG) deal, it has been revealed. A programme manager's post will carry a £97,000 salary.
The cross-Border economic initiative involving five local authorities in the North of England and the South of Scotland is expected to inject up to £345 million into the so-called Borderlands over 10-15 years with the money coming from the UK Government and the Scottish Government. It has been estimated that £150 million of the total will be invested in Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders.
Details of the amounts each council will pay towards the running costs are contained in a report to be considered this week by Scottish Borders Council. Their partners in the first Scotland-England co-operative venture of its kind are Dumfries & Galloway Council, Carlisle City Council, Cumbria and Northumberland county councils.
The report shows the BIG deal will need a PMO (Programme Management Office) to be set up at a cost of £531,000 in its first year including £242,000 for staffing costs. Staff members will include the programme manager (£97,200), two programme officers (each £57,400) and an administration officer (£29,200). Non staffing costs are expected to add up to £145,000.
BIG deal partners have already commissioned a law firm to draw up a 79-page collaboration agreement which includes details of a number of boards, committees and a proposed Economic Forum which will nominate representatives from the private sector.
The amount of money to be paid by each local authority will be linked to the portion of BIG deal money received. It works out like this:
COST
APPORTIONMENT %
Carlisle/Cumbria
34.9% - £185,319
Dumfries
and Galloway 24.3% - £129,033
Northumberland
22.2% - £117,882
Scottish
Borders 18.6% - £98,766
Total - £531,000.However, there is a warning that management costs may rise as the deal proceeds.
Scottish Borders Council is told: ". It should be noted that the budget requirement may increase as the PMO requirements of the Deal expand and that this will be the subject of future reports to Members."
It is claimed in the report prepared for Borders councillors: "The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal supports the Scottish Borders Economic Strategy 2023 as the outcomes from the Deal seek to achieve inclusive economic growth.
"The Inclusive Growth Deal complements the opportunities presented by the establishment of the South of Scotland Enterprise and the preparatory work for the new Agency being carried out by the South of Scotland Economic Partnership. It will also complement the projects being implemented as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal."
And according to the document: "Until now the Borderlands Partnership has operated on an informal basis under the principles of a Memorandum of Understanding where each of the partners agreed to co-operate to reach agreement on the Heads of Terms for a Deal.
"The arrangements relating to the Borderlands Partnership now need to move towards a formal governance arrangement in order to proceed to Final Deal Agreement. Given that the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal extends over two countries this presents challenges in terms of putting in place appropriate governance arrangements.
" Burness Paull, Solicitors, were appointed by the partners to provide advice on governance for the Deal. It should be noted that there are no existing precedents for Scottish and English local authorities participating in an integrated initiative of this kind."
A section dealing with the proposed Economic Forum says: "UK and Scottish Governments have requested that there is private sector representation and engagement in the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. It is planned that an Economic Forum will be established to provide the mechanism for achieving this.
"Each of the five local authorities will nominate two private sector representatives to join the Economic Forum following an open recruitment process. In addition to the ten positions, there will be an additional four places to include Cumbria LEP, North East LEP and two places for South of Scotland Enterprise, or other agreed organisation. The members of the Economic Forum will nominate a Chair who will become a member of the Borderlands Partnership Board."
Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Liabilities pile up at troubled waste treatment plant
by EWAN LAMB
The group of companies which own the Avonmouth Bio Power gasification plant near Bristol - a facility which wowed a delegation of Scottish Borders councillors during a visit - have run up multi-million pound liabilities as a result of the malfunctioning plant's closure since June 2016.
Annual accounts for the various businesses which, in some cases, were published three months late on the Companies House website, show the spiralling level of debt since the group took over the 'cutting edge' facility from bankrupt New Earth Solutions.
Although Scottish Borders Council at one time hoped to adapt the technology at Avonmouth for a custom-built waste treatment centre to deal with the region's rubbish the plant has been dogged with various technical issues since its opening.
When Avonmouth Bio Power Energy Ltd and its parent Avonmouth Bio Power Ltd. decided to suspend operations in 2016 it was originally hoped to have the centre producing power from waste again by 2018. But it was subsequently confirmed the plant would not reopen until 2020 although there is no mention of a date for the restart in the latest set of accounts.
Avonmouth Bio Power Energy (formerly called New Earth Energy [West] Operations) now owes creditors £14.634 million (2018 figure £14.412 million). The firm's net current liabilities total £13.494 million (£12.637 million).
A report signed by director Ian Brooking says: "The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis notwithstanding the company's net current liabilities of £13.494 million which the directors beliueve to be appropriate for the following reasons:
"The company is dependent for its working capital on funds provided by the parent company Avonmouth Bio Power Ltd.. The parent company has provided the company with an undertaking for at least twelve months that it will continue to make available such funds as are needed by the company.
"This should enable the company to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future by meeting its liabilities as they fall due for payment. The directors acknowledge that there can be no certainty that this support will continue although they have no readon to believe that it will not do so".
Meanwhile sister company Avonmouth Bio Power Property Ltd (formerly New Earth Energy [West] Ltd) owes creditors £8.222 million, the same figure as last year. Net current liabilities stand at £7.049 million (£7.010 million).
Financial statements for the parent Avonmouth Bio Power Ltd which were lodged on time show creditors are owed £33.668 million (£15.524 million) with net current liabilities of £13.142 million (£5.003 million).
According to these accounts: "The company is dependent for its working capital on funds provided to it by its shareholders, Aurium Avonmouth LLP. The shareholders intend making funds available as are needed by the company, and in particular will not seek repayment of the amounts currently made available.
"This should enable the company to meet its obligations in relation to works required for redevelopment activities".
The 'officers' of Aurium Avonmouth LLP are listed as Aurium Capital Markets Ltd, Aurium Developments Ltd and Cogen Ltd. The principal activity of Aurium Avonmouth Ltd. is as a holding entity for an 85 per cent equity investment in Avonmouth Bio Power Ltd.
Aurium Capital Markets' officers include two companies - Barrowby Investments Ltd and Maybridge Ltd - both registered in the Cayman Islands.
The proposed development of a £23 million waste treatment plant for the Scottish Borders by New Earth Solutions was abandoned in February 2015, only four months after the visit to the Avonmouth facility by elected members and top brass from the Newtown St Boswells-based local authority. The failed venture cost Borders taxpayers £2.4 million.
The group of companies which own the Avonmouth Bio Power gasification plant near Bristol - a facility which wowed a delegation of Scottish Borders councillors during a visit - have run up multi-million pound liabilities as a result of the malfunctioning plant's closure since June 2016.
Annual accounts for the various businesses which, in some cases, were published three months late on the Companies House website, show the spiralling level of debt since the group took over the 'cutting edge' facility from bankrupt New Earth Solutions.
Although Scottish Borders Council at one time hoped to adapt the technology at Avonmouth for a custom-built waste treatment centre to deal with the region's rubbish the plant has been dogged with various technical issues since its opening.
When Avonmouth Bio Power Energy Ltd and its parent Avonmouth Bio Power Ltd. decided to suspend operations in 2016 it was originally hoped to have the centre producing power from waste again by 2018. But it was subsequently confirmed the plant would not reopen until 2020 although there is no mention of a date for the restart in the latest set of accounts.
Avonmouth Bio Power Energy (formerly called New Earth Energy [West] Operations) now owes creditors £14.634 million (2018 figure £14.412 million). The firm's net current liabilities total £13.494 million (£12.637 million).
A report signed by director Ian Brooking says: "The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis notwithstanding the company's net current liabilities of £13.494 million which the directors beliueve to be appropriate for the following reasons:
"The company is dependent for its working capital on funds provided by the parent company Avonmouth Bio Power Ltd.. The parent company has provided the company with an undertaking for at least twelve months that it will continue to make available such funds as are needed by the company.
"This should enable the company to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future by meeting its liabilities as they fall due for payment. The directors acknowledge that there can be no certainty that this support will continue although they have no readon to believe that it will not do so".
Meanwhile sister company Avonmouth Bio Power Property Ltd (formerly New Earth Energy [West] Ltd) owes creditors £8.222 million, the same figure as last year. Net current liabilities stand at £7.049 million (£7.010 million).
Financial statements for the parent Avonmouth Bio Power Ltd which were lodged on time show creditors are owed £33.668 million (£15.524 million) with net current liabilities of £13.142 million (£5.003 million).
According to these accounts: "The company is dependent for its working capital on funds provided to it by its shareholders, Aurium Avonmouth LLP. The shareholders intend making funds available as are needed by the company, and in particular will not seek repayment of the amounts currently made available.
"This should enable the company to meet its obligations in relation to works required for redevelopment activities".
The 'officers' of Aurium Avonmouth LLP are listed as Aurium Capital Markets Ltd, Aurium Developments Ltd and Cogen Ltd. The principal activity of Aurium Avonmouth Ltd. is as a holding entity for an 85 per cent equity investment in Avonmouth Bio Power Ltd.
Aurium Capital Markets' officers include two companies - Barrowby Investments Ltd and Maybridge Ltd - both registered in the Cayman Islands.
The proposed development of a £23 million waste treatment plant for the Scottish Borders by New Earth Solutions was abandoned in February 2015, only four months after the visit to the Avonmouth facility by elected members and top brass from the Newtown St Boswells-based local authority. The failed venture cost Borders taxpayers £2.4 million.
Sunday, 1 December 2019
Financial nightmare for the Dream Team
EXCLUSIVE by DOUG COLLIE
They are the only English football club playing in Scottish league and cup competitions, and once humbled the mighty Glasgow Rangers to become world famous giant killers back in 1967.
But despite their unique status and rich history Berwick Rangers FC are on a long losing streak on and off the field although their annual wage bill of £192,000 adds up to less than a Manchester City super star's earnings in a single week.
The plight of the 'Wee Rangers' has been laid bare in a new set of annual accounts for the year ending May 31st 2019, although for some reason there is no mention in the Review of Business that the abysmal Berwick performances in Scotland's League Two last season cost the club its cherished senior status.
After their humiliation in the pyramid play-offs in May at the hands of Highland League side Cove Rangers, the so-called Dream Team now languish in the lower reaches of the Lowland League alongside the likes of Vale of Leithen and Gretna.
So having suffered a sharp decline in turnover while the players and their hapless manager embarked on a disastrous losing run in the second half of the 2018/19 campaign there seems little doubt far fewer fans will bother to turn up and pay their hard earned cash over the course of the current campaign.
Board chairman John Bell writes in the latest depressing accounts: "Turnover is heavily influenced by the performance of the club in league and cup competitions and there is a delicate balance between maintaining costs within turnover and fielding a good quality competitive playing squad.
"Turnover reduced by nine per cent during the year which produced a loss of £43,229 (2018 £49,796). This was primarily due to a poor run in league and cup competitions".
According to the accounts the total wage bill for players and other staff (total workforce 30) came to £192,920 in 2018/19, considerably less than the previous year's figure of £229,886. The donation from the Supporters' Club - the main shareholder in Berwick Rangers - prevented the financial situation from being a whole lot worse. The supporters handed the club £28,710, down from £34,118 the previous year.
In recent days the directors have made a plea for new investment on the club website via a post on the club's website.
They are the only English football club playing in Scottish league and cup competitions, and once humbled the mighty Glasgow Rangers to become world famous giant killers back in 1967.
But despite their unique status and rich history Berwick Rangers FC are on a long losing streak on and off the field although their annual wage bill of £192,000 adds up to less than a Manchester City super star's earnings in a single week.
The plight of the 'Wee Rangers' has been laid bare in a new set of annual accounts for the year ending May 31st 2019, although for some reason there is no mention in the Review of Business that the abysmal Berwick performances in Scotland's League Two last season cost the club its cherished senior status.
After their humiliation in the pyramid play-offs in May at the hands of Highland League side Cove Rangers, the so-called Dream Team now languish in the lower reaches of the Lowland League alongside the likes of Vale of Leithen and Gretna.
So having suffered a sharp decline in turnover while the players and their hapless manager embarked on a disastrous losing run in the second half of the 2018/19 campaign there seems little doubt far fewer fans will bother to turn up and pay their hard earned cash over the course of the current campaign.
Board chairman John Bell writes in the latest depressing accounts: "Turnover is heavily influenced by the performance of the club in league and cup competitions and there is a delicate balance between maintaining costs within turnover and fielding a good quality competitive playing squad.
"Turnover reduced by nine per cent during the year which produced a loss of £43,229 (2018 £49,796). This was primarily due to a poor run in league and cup competitions".
According to the accounts the total wage bill for players and other staff (total workforce 30) came to £192,920 in 2018/19, considerably less than the previous year's figure of £229,886. The donation from the Supporters' Club - the main shareholder in Berwick Rangers - prevented the financial situation from being a whole lot worse. The supporters handed the club £28,710, down from £34,118 the previous year.
In recent days the directors have made a plea for new investment on the club website via a post on the club's website.
It says: "Berwick Rangers FC will hold their AGM for the 2018/19
season on Monday 6th January 2020, and are expected to announce significant
losses once again for a season which saw the Club lose it’s place in the SPFL.
"Chairman John Bell has extended an invitation to any group or individual
willing to invest in the Football Club to get in contact, with any credible
options being put before the shareholders in seven weeks’ time."
Mr Bell writes: "The current Board is making huge efforts to halt the slide
of recent years, but with relegation bringing declining league subsidy, gate
money, advertising and hospitality, it’s only right that we seek to explore
every option for securing the future of Berwick Rangers.
"One area where we
achieved significant improvement was in shirt sponsorship, and we’re very
grateful to the three businesses who stepped forward. I said in August that we needed the support
of fans and the local business community to stabilise the Club’s finances, and
having made an early exit from the Scottish Cup, we know this is going to be
another very tough year.
"I would ask any
party who feels that they can contribute to the future of the Club to get in
touch before the 7th December and have an open and honest dialogue with the
Board and major shareholders, so we can work up some proposals at least a month
before the AGM. Guaranteeing that we have a Club to support in future years may
require tough decisions to be made in the New Year, and expectations adjusted
accordingly.”
"The largest shareholder, the Supporters Club, announced last
month they were willing to listen to offers for their stake in Berwick Rangers,
and the Supporters Trust, which is the second-largest shareholder is also open
to new ideas about the governance of the Club."
It is to be hoped someone of financial substance does step forward after recent misfortunes which have seen the a once respected and competitive club slide into obscurity on the road to threatened oblivion. Perhaps Raheem Sterling or even Pep Guardiola would care to donate a couple of days' pay for a very worthy cause!
Saturday, 30 November 2019
The Borders anti-Semite Tory MP -part two
DOUGLAS SHEPHERD concludes our feature on Captain Archibald Ramsay
The Borders Tory MP who peddled anti-Jewish propaganda before the outbreak of World War Two denied being a fifth columnist or a saboteur even though the British Government saw fit to have him banged up in jail for more than four years.
Captain Archibald Maule Ramsay had been educated at Eton, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, before serving with the Coldstream Guards in the First World War until he was severely wounded in 1916. He was subsequently based at Regimental H.Q., at the War Office and the British War Mission in Paris until the end of The Great War.
In 1920 he became a Member of His Majesty's Scottish Bodyguard. And in 1931 he was elected a Member of Parliament for Peebles and Southern Midlothian, defeating the sitting Labour MP Joseph Westwood by 8,250 votes. But Ramsay's margin of victory was cut to just 1,462 in the 1935 election.
The reasons for his incarceration in Brixton Prison were made public in 1952 when Ramsay published his controversial biographical story under the title The Nameless War.
Ramsay was not charged with any crime after being detained on May 23rd 1940 on returning to London from a fortnight's break in Scotland. But a lengthy 'charge sheet' setting out the particulars justifying his detention was handed to him by the authorities.
The schedule read as follows: The said Captain Archibald Maule RAMSAY, M.P. (i) In or about the month of May 1939, formed an Organisation under the name of the "Right Club," which ostensibly directed its activities against Jews, Freemasons and Communists. This Organisation, in reality, was designed secretly to spread subversive and defeatist views among the civil population of Great Britain, to obstruct the war effort of Great Britain, and thus to endanger public safety and the defence of the Realm.
The Borders Tory MP who peddled anti-Jewish propaganda before the outbreak of World War Two denied being a fifth columnist or a saboteur even though the British Government saw fit to have him banged up in jail for more than four years.
Captain Archibald Maule Ramsay had been educated at Eton, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, before serving with the Coldstream Guards in the First World War until he was severely wounded in 1916. He was subsequently based at Regimental H.Q., at the War Office and the British War Mission in Paris until the end of The Great War.
In 1920 he became a Member of His Majesty's Scottish Bodyguard. And in 1931 he was elected a Member of Parliament for Peebles and Southern Midlothian, defeating the sitting Labour MP Joseph Westwood by 8,250 votes. But Ramsay's margin of victory was cut to just 1,462 in the 1935 election.
The reasons for his incarceration in Brixton Prison were made public in 1952 when Ramsay published his controversial biographical story under the title The Nameless War.
Ramsay was not charged with any crime after being detained on May 23rd 1940 on returning to London from a fortnight's break in Scotland. But a lengthy 'charge sheet' setting out the particulars justifying his detention was handed to him by the authorities.
The schedule read as follows: The said Captain Archibald Maule RAMSAY, M.P. (i) In or about the month of May 1939, formed an Organisation under the name of the "Right Club," which ostensibly directed its activities against Jews, Freemasons and Communists. This Organisation, in reality, was designed secretly to spread subversive and defeatist views among the civil population of Great Britain, to obstruct the war effort of Great Britain, and thus to endanger public safety and the defence of the Realm.
(ii) In furtherance of the real objects of the Organisation,
the said RAMSAY allowed the names of the members of the Organisation to be
known only to himself, and took great precautions to see that the register of
members did not leave his possession or control ; and stated that he had taken
steps to mislead the Police and the Intelligence Branch of the War Office as to
the real activities of the Organisation. These steps were taken to prevent the
real purposes of the Organisation being known.
(iii) Frequently expressed sympathy with the policy and aims
of the German Government ; and at times expressed his desire to co-operate with
the German Government in the conquest and subsequent government of Great
Britain.
(iv) After the formation of the Organisation, made efforts,
on behalf of the Organisation, to introduce members of the Organisation into
the Foreign Office, the Censorship, the Intelligence Branch of the War Office,
and Government departments, in order to further the real objects of the
Organisation as set out in (i) hereof.
(v) After the outbreak of war, associated with and made use
of persons known to him to be active in opposition to the interests of Great
Britain. Among such persons were one, Anna Wolkoff, and one, Tyler Kent, a
Coding Officer employed at the Embassy of the United States of America. With
knowledge of the activities in which Wolkoff and Kent were engaged, he
continued to associate with them and to make use of their activities on behalf
of the "Right Club" and of himself. In particular, with knowledge
that Kent had abstracted important documents, the property of the Embassy of
the United States of America, he visited Kent's flat at 47, Gloucester Place,
where many of the said documents were kept, and inspected them for his own
purposes. He further deposited with the said Kent the secret register of the
members of the "Right Club," of which Organisation Kent had become an
important member, in order to try and keep the nature of the Organisation
secret.
(vi) Permitted and authorised his wife to act on his behalf
in associating with, and making use of, persons known to him to be active in
opposing the interests of Great Britain. Among these persons were Anna Wolkoff,
Tyler Kent, and Mrs. Christabel Nicholson.
In a statement given to the Commons Speaker and MPs by Ramsay from Brixton
Prison he declared: "All the particulars alleged as grounds for my detention are based on
charges that my attitude and activities in opposition to Communism, Bolshevism,
and the policy of organised Jewry were not genuine, but merely a camouflage for
anti-British designs.
"I became finally
convinced of the fact that the Russian and Spanish revolutions, and the
subversive societies in Britain, were part and parcel of one and the same Plan,
secretly operated and controlled by World Jewry.
"I now took the decision to proceed at once with the
formation of a group similar in character to the group of representatives of
Christian and patriotic societies, which I had worked with up to the emergence
of the Jewish problem ; but this time a group which would place opposition to
that menace in the forefront of its activities. The group was finally
inaugurated in May 1939, and was the Right Club. The first object of the Right
Club was to enlighten the Tory Party and clear it from any Jewish control.
"Together with many members of both Houses of Parliament, I
was fully aware that among the agencies here and abroad, which had been
actively engaged in promoting bad feeling between Great Britain and Germany,
Organized Jewry, for obvious reasons, had played a leading part."
Despite the catalogue of 'particulars' laid against him Ramsay was able to draw his £600 a year MP's salary throughout his lengthy stay in prison.
He did not seek re-election at the 1945 General Election. Labour captured the Peebles and Southern Midlothian seat from the Unionists when David Pryde - defeated by Ramsay in 1936 - achieved victory by 6,496 votes.
Archibald Ramsay died in 1955.
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