Borders' huge increase in agency spending on social workers

EXCLUSIVE by DOUG COLLIE

Newly published information shows the amount being spent by Scottish Borders Council on agency social workers in its children's services department has increased seven-fold in the last six financial years, the bill for 2018/19 totalling £626,577.

Meanwhile the council is also spending record sums on temporary staff to run the region's adult social work services, the bill last year costing local taxpayers £779,773. The combined expenditure of £1.406 million is far above the 2012/13 figure of £378,216 which included just £95,419 for temps in the children's service.

SBC provided the 2018/19 statistics in response to a Freedom of Information request from Dee Green who had asked a number of other Scottish local authorities for data on agency numbers and expenditure.

Ms Green had already been told by councils serving Edinburgh, Dumfries & Galloway, Aberdeenshire, South Lanarkshire and Dundee that they had not spent anything on agency social workers to deliver children's services in 2018/19. The results of her research have been published on the What Do They Know website.

According to comparisons made by the Community Care organisation, it costs local government departments considerably more to take on agency social workers than to hire permanent staff members. Pay rates of up to £35 an hour for locums were being quoted by Community Care back in 2016 as being offered by stretched local authorities.

In a previous FOI response in 2017 Scottish Borders Council revealed that it was paying on average £175 per day for agency workers in children's services and £152 in the case of adult services. In both sections of the service the average time spent in the Borders by these temps was given as 103 days.

So far as children's social work was concerned the annual totals in fees paid to agencies providing locums were: 2012-13 £95,419; 2013-14 £139,032; 2014-15 £264,365; 2015-16 £236,629; 2016-17  £467,751 (to 1st March 2017).

The figures for the adult services were: 2012-13  £282,797; 2013-14  £168,921; 2014-15 £327,880;  2015-16 £409,266; 2016-17 £588,089 (to 1st March 2017).

Now the new information from the Borders Social Work & Integration and Children & Young People department confirm that spending on agency staff continues to spiral upwards.

Details included in the response show which private companies received council cash over the last full financial year. The breakdown is as follows:

Children’s Services: Randstad Care Limited £7,502.97 Sanctuary Personnel Limited £12,742.72 The Social Care Community Partnership Limited £479,478.16 The Harmony Employment Agency Limited £4,768.48 Tripod Partners £62,589.78 Taylor Davenport £16,660.00 Randstad Public Services CAR £29,790.78.

Adult Services: Bibby Financial Services £13,498.05 MacDonald McEwan Limited £167,864.10 Piers Meadows Recruitment Limited £67,154.26 Randstad Public Services CAR £398,503.06 Sanctuary Personnel Limited £122,408.22 The Social Care Community Partnership Limited £10,345.46.

An article published by The Guardian newspaper last year stated: "Experts said the difficulty experienced by councils in attracting permanent staff meant vulnerable children and families were often seeing multiple social workers in a single year, making it harder for them to engage with services.

"They said the large-scale use of agency social workers was a poor use of dwindling local authority funds, as locums received a higher hourly rate than permanent staff, on top of the fee paid to the company they were employed through.

"Ray Jones, a former director of children's services and emeritus professor at Kingston University, said working conditions for social workers had deteriorated, with bigger caseloads, less support and inadequate pay, which made locum work more attractive.

"'You're paying more for a poorer service [with agency workers] because what you need in terms of children's and adult social services is continuity - people who know the people they are working with, can build relationships with those families over time, and know their history', he said".

£220 million costs missing from Lowood 'guidance'

EXCLUSIVE by DOUGLAS SHEPHERD

The sizeable sums of public and private money required to develop the Lowood Estate in the Scottish Borders, and the financial resources needed to deliver the overall Tweedbank Masterplan do not feature in Supplementary Planning Guidance [SPG] which will now be put out for public consultation.

Although the absence of any meaningful published capital expenditure figures in the documents produced by Scottish Borders Council could be seen as hindering the consultation process, details of just how much cash could be needed for the massive project were in fact presented to the council in private as long ago as January 2018. These vital statistics appear to be part of a closely guarded secret.

The presentation took place several months before the local authority concluded a deal with two companies based in the faraway Cayman Islands which resulted in SBC buying the Lowood land by the banks of the River Tweed for £9.6 million plus expenses and fees. The confidential report from consultants Turner & Townsend Cost Management Ltd. contained a breakdown of the likely sums needed for each aspect of the Masterplan based on August 2017 prices.

It is worth noting that Turner & Townsend's estimates excluded any allowance for legal or professional fees, and increases which were likely to be incurred due to inflation were not factored into the calculations either.

According to the confidential report the grand total needed to complete the Masterplan measures stood at £216.319 million in January 2018, close to a preliminary estimate of £220 million.

The Lowood element of the plan would require £106 million, including a £10 million sum to cover acquisition of the estate. Various infrastructure costs linked to the future developments at Tweedbank and set out in the report totalled more than £21 million.

The overall figure needed by the council and its development partners almost equates to the total spend on capital projects by the local authority over a ten-year period. Proposals included in the last ten-year capital programme which received approval in 2018 will require the investment of £294 million.

The new SPG document, also drawn up by external consultants, does not specify how many houses will be built during the various phases of residential developments on and around Lowood even though numbers will be crucial to the scheme's economic viability. There is a strong hint given that a so-called 'indicative' figure of 300 new dwellings is likely to increase when planning permission is sought for the various zones of housing land.

However, specific figures on house building were included in the Turner & Townsend report of January 2018. It allowed for 437 housing units made up of 284 two-beds, 59 three-beds, 59 four-beds and 35 five-beds.

A figure of £5.4 million was also quoted as the likely cost of converting Lowood House - home to the Hamilton family but now in council ownership - into a boutique hotel. Yet housing numbers and other key details concerning the intended developments on the estate are not mentioned in the SPG.

A press release issued by SBC to coincide with a council discussion to approve the SPG claimed: "The draft SPG provides direction on the development of new residential and high quality business space within Tweedbank, with 350 jobs estimated to be created and the potential to generate £150million of Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Borders economy."

One observer commented: "It seems strange that SBC has been able to come up with job numbers and GVA figures but has declined to produce detailed costs or tell us how many houses will be built on this very sensitive site. On that basis it will be difficult to say whether the so-called Masterplan is viable".

In early 2018, during negotiations between the council and agents for Lowood's owners, councillors were also told in private: "The agents have indicated that the estate has had a number of property developers making enquiries now that the site has been identified in the LDP [Local Development Plan].

"However, the owners' preferred way forward is to deal directly with the council if we can conclude within the identified timescale".

And the confidential documentation also stated: "The council will seek to identify suitable development partners, both public and private sector, to ameliorate any development risks".

So far the council has not publicly identified any development partners. The consultation period during which comments and representations can be made on the SPG's contents will run for twelve weeks.

Lowood housing numbers set to increase from 'indicative' 300

EXCLUSIVE by DOUG COLLIE

Further indications have been given that the development of the Lowood Estate in the Central Borders will see the volume of houses accommodated on the site increase from the original figure of 300.

A series of documents outlining Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) for the attractive estate by the banks of the Tweed - purchased from two Cayman Islands-based companies for £9.6 million by Scottish Borders Council - will be considered by councillors later this month.

The SPG has been provided by consultants LUC who were commissioned by the local authority last year. The proposals for the Lowood/Tweedbank area will be the subject of twelve weeks of public consultation once the documentation is approved by the full council.

LUC's reports include the following statement: "295 Residential units (indicative only) This figure confirms the indicative number of 300 units on the site as stated in the LDP [Local Development Plan] can be provided.

"It should be noted that it is likely applications for each (of the five) zones may exceed the indicative number and therefore the overall figure will be increased. Any proposed increase in numbers will be subject to scrutiny in terms of design, site layout and infrastructure provision."

The prospect of the increase in house numbers is repeated in a separate report to the council by Rob Dickson, SBC's Executive Director and Charles Johnston, lead planner.

Their submission explains: "The LDP states an indicative figure of approximately 300 housing units on the site. The Draft SPG identifies an indicative housing number for each zone and confirms that number can be achieved.

"The figures for each zone are indicative only and it is likely that in practice the overall number of units will exceed this number. This is not unusual and the critical test is whether a proposal for each zone is acceptable in terms of design, site layout and infrastructure issues are satisfactorily resolved."

Critics have already claimed even 300 houses on Lowood would represent over-development and would have the potential to ruin the estate's attractiveness. It seems certain further criticism will be levelled at the proposals during the forthcoming consultation.

LUC's report also outlines proposals for a neighbourhood centre with opportunities for tourist related provision and for infill commercial spaces such as studios, workshops and small retail. The future redevelopment of Lowood House, the mansion which is currently home to the Hamilton family could involve hotel, education, residential or commercial use. There are also plans for a commercial zone at Tweedbank..

A mission statement included in the report states: "The historic heart of the site is envisioned to carry through into a strong neighbourhood centre and act as an anchor point for new place making. Design solutions to the individual zones will be subject to further detailed development, building on the general criteria already identified in the Council’s Place making and Design SPG.

"The site has relatively limited existing development, creating a real opportunity for the development of these zones to provide unique, high quality design solutions which will act as an exemplar and introduce more creative and contextual contemporary design to the Scottish Borders.

"The historic estate character of the site can act as a creative springboard for place making – creating something bold and new with a strong sense of place. The development of the site as whole and the individual zones themselves are likely to be carried out in a series of phases and a key consideration will be the need to ensure that each phase of work can be completed fully, including appropriate boundary treatments to avoid having “raw” edges."

And in a section headed Design, LUC suggest: "In general these residential zones should draw inspiration from the traditional layout of Borders towns and villages with mixed density housing. In each residential zone developers should aim for the highest standards of architecture and design, whether contemporary or traditional in feel."

The SPG also reveals: "A preliminary energy analysis for the site has been undertaken by ARUP on behalf of the Council, based on a broad range of assumptions for the technologies assessed. In the absence of a spatial masterplan and firm plans for the buildings proposed for Lowood, initial indications suggest that the most viable technology option, based on the assumptions for homes, other buildings, site density, etc, will be distributed air source heat pumps. Roof-mounted PV and solar hot water heating could also provide a compatible renewable contribution of power and heat."

There are no detailed development costs for the project within the published SPG.

But Mr Dickson and Mr Johnston say: "The Council has developed a detailed financial model for the costs of acquisition of the Lowood site and the wider redevelopment of Tweedbank. The model shows the costs of development of the various tranches of the Tweedbank development, including Lowood, as these are currently understood along with the associated economic benefits and a range of scenarios associated with funding. 

"The full development appraisal of the site was considered by Members previously. That initial modelling indicates that the Council’s investment in the site should be recouped through the development phases through the onward sale of the site with 179 jobs created during the construction phase and a further 173 jobs created in the post construction period, and a potential economic impact of £150 million GVA in the economy."

According to LUC: "The high quality environmental setting of the site provides an excellent location

for a 'care village' with a dementia hub, the need for which has been identified by the council, where residents and patients could receive therapeutic care.

"The proposed development offers potential to support access along the riverbank, encouraging recreational use of the area, connecting to popular tourist attractions nearby, including Abbotsford House, Melrose Abbey and Scott's View."

But a list of so-called constraints to development includes this warning: "Services to the development site face limitations. In particular the Galashiels Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) is nearing capacity. Currently all flows from Tweedbank have to pass under the river to access the WWTW. Consideration must be given to water and sewerage provision, ensuring that the infrastructure is appropriate for the number of units developed".

Sponsorship appeal for 'race to the sea'

by DOUGLAS SHEPHERD

Members of the public are being asked to sponsor the tagging of Tweed salmon smolts which will be fitted for acoustic tracking during this year's hazardous spring migration to the sea at Berwick.

As part of a new study to find out why so many juvenile fish are lost during their long distance journey from the upper Tweed those who donate to the £40,000 project by the Tweed Foundation will have access to regular updates on the progress of their smolt via the foundation's tracking blog.

And according to the organisation's website: "We will also be awarding a prize at the end of the smolt run for the fastest smolt to make it out of the estuary and into the sea, the start of their long migration to the feeding grounds.A single tag costs £275. Our suggested minimum donation is £25 for part sponsorship."

Small scale tracking studies on Tweed were carried out in 2010 and 2011 on Sea Trout smolts with 81% losses in the first year and 56% in the second.

In 2019 a pilot study was carried out using salmon smolts with a sample of 39 tagged fish tracked in the main river from Galafoot to Berwick. Only sixteen smolts made it to sea, representing a 59% loss.

A report on last year's project concludes: "The main finding was that of the 23 smolts that did not make it all the way to the estuary, 21 disappeared in the Middle River. With a larger, more representative, sample will the same pattern of losses be found, and can we more precisely locate where these losses are taking place?"

Using acoustic tracking technology, in Spring 2020 150 smolts will be tagged from the Gala Water tributary. The tags will become active on 1st April. Receiver listening stations along the river will then track their progress downstream, helping to identify where losses take place.

The Foundation says it expects to repeat the work in 2021, with the findings contributing to the tracking research being carried out on other rivers in Scotland.

The tracking will complement other related work including dietary analysis of Goosanders and Cormorants - fish eating birds blamed by many anglers for the smolt losses - regular bird counts and a pilot tracking study of Goosanders.

"It is important that fisheries managers understand all the factors that may impact on fish stocks", the Foundation explains. "Those that have the potential to prevent juvenile Salmon from surviving to the migration stage and getting safely out to sea are of major concern, because at that stage the fish are irreplaceable. The diet analysis study is welcomed and will help rivers to better understand the interaction between birds and fish, and will assist the Scottish Government in making informed decisions when balancing the requirements of the different protected species."

In a separate report published in March 2019 the Tweed Foundation pointed to "a very significant and worrying drop in the number of Salmon returning to Tweed over the last four seasons."

That report said: "This is of huge concern both for the conservation of the Atlantic Salmon and for the Borders rural economy, which relies heavily on visiting anglers for its income. This drop in returning Salmon is due to many factors – most of which are taking place out at sea. 

"What fisheries managers can do is to ensure that as many smolts as possible  – the ‘final product’ of the Salmon’s river phase – are able to successfully migrate down the river and out to sea. Through many years of careful monitoring and management in the river, the Tweed fisheries management bodies of River Tweed Commission and Tweed Foundation know that conditions in the Tweed have not altered and that our juvenile fish habitat is extremely good and very productive."

The Tweed had seen an increasing population of Cormorants over the last five years or so, with numbers highest during the autumn and winter months. This was taking its toll on the survival of young fish and was one of many factors contributing to the current decline in adult Salmon returning to the world famous river.  

"Scaring techniques are being employed to help move the Cormorants back out to sea, their ‘natural’ habitat, so that the fish have a better chance of survival in the river.

"During the spring, fish-eating birds impact on the smolt run but they also damage  juvenile fish stocks during the autumn and winter months – predating not only on Salmon, but on Tweed’s trout and grayling stocks as well, which are an integral part of the angling economy on the river."

Meanwhile this weekend Scottish Government agency Marine Scotland has published a notice inviting tenders for a £37,000 contract involving the tagging and tracking of fish eating birds in Scottish Rivers

An abstract from the tender specifications states: "The Scottish Ministers wish to deploy thirty GPS GSM tags on two Scottish rivers. The principle requirement of the work will be to assess the movement and behaviour of piscivorous birds in riverine environments during the period of salmon smolt migration (focussed around April and May) and to understand the consequences of management procedures such as bird scaring."

Deadline for the submission of tenders is January 29th.

Berwickshire coastline to be studied again

by EWAN LAMB

A global marine consultancy based in Croydon has been handed a £136,000 contract by Scottish Borders Council to produce a management plan for the much studied Berwickshire coast.

According to the council's description of the project, named the Berwickshire Coast Shoreline Management Plan and Eyemouth Coastal Study, the Berwickshire Coastline was previously included as part of the St Abbs Head to River Tyne Shoreline Management Plan or SMP (Sept 1998). 

From the Scottish/English Border south the SMP has been updated to current guidance and there is now a requirement to do the same for the Berwickshire Coast. 

"The SMP aims to provide guidance to authorities and regulatory bodies as to the future sustainable management of the Berwickshire Coastline, essentially providing an agreed high level approach, intent and framework for management", says the contract notice. "In addition the SMP will set out an understanding of coastal behaviour, the pressures, constraints and opportunities for sustainable use of the coastal zone to allow and guide others in developing their own planning."

Successful bidders for the study work are  Mott MacDonald, Mott MacDonald House,, 8-10 Sydenham Road, Croydon. The consultancy is a global engineering company which has been involved in major marine projects across the world. The value of the contract is given as £136,960. When tenders were invited last September the cost was estimated at £150,000.

In another council document detailing the potentially vulnerable areas of the Berwickshire coastline, it is claimed there are approximately 70 residential properties and 50 non-residential properties at risk of flooding. The annual average damages are approximately £300,000.

The council's detailed brief says the study will assist planners, individuals and organisations with interest in the coast.The consultant will be responsible for the Topographical, Environmental and Ecological Surveys to inform the Coastal Flood and Erosion Risk Study.

"The consultant will also be responsible for scoping, specifying and producing tender documents for any additional survey works at any stage of the project. These surveys may include: structural, ground (including contamination), archaeological, geophysical, topographical etc. to go out to competitive tender.

"The consultant will determine the best time to undertake these surveys within the study timelines. The contract document(s) for this work must be approved by the employer (SBC) before tenders are invited. The employer may, in some cases (to be agreed suitably in advance) issue the tender documents and be responsible for awarding the contract(s) following receipt of a tender report by the Consultant.

"In scoping any archaeological surveys the consultant will work in close liaison with members of the archaeological service at SBC. The consultant will undertake their own visual inspection and assessment of structures and scope any further investigation work which may be required including any intrusive testing, underwater inspection by diving, foundation examinations, etc. The consultant will supervise any survey contract(s) that are awarded. The consultant will undertake any interpretative reporting from the surveys carried out."

In conclusion, the council contract award notice states: "The aims of the commission are to; update the existing Shoreline Management Plan for the Berwickshire coast in line with Shoreline Management Plan 2 guidance: undertake a coastal study in Eyemouth to develop a holistic understanding of the risks of coastal flooding and erosion within the town.The outcome will be recommendations on the most sustainable combination of actions which will be required to manage risk over the short, medium and long term."

A 115 kilometre stretch of the Berwickshire and North Northumberland coast from Fast Castle in the north to Alnmouth in the south is designated as a European Marine Site following detailed studies of the entire area.

And in the early years of this century the Scottish Government offered funding for another study of the Berwickshire seaboard.

The folks who miss out in 'affluent' Peeblesshire

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".

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."

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".