Latest news with #MichelleThomson
The National
19 hours ago
- Business
- The National
Labour rushed to help Lindsey oil refinery. So why not Grangemouth?
Here, Michelle Thomson, the SNP MSP for Falkirk East – which includes Grangemouth, writes on the Labour Government's differing approaches. LIKE many, I was alarmed to hear of the potential closure of Lindsey Oil Refinery in North Lincolnshire at the end of last month. On June 30, Prax Group, the owners of the refinery, announced they were going into administration, and therefore the future of the site was at risk. The very same day, the UK Government sprang into action. Energy Minister Michael Shanks gave a statement to the House of Commons confirming the [[UK Government]] is funding the continued operation of the refinery, adding: 'The Government will ensure supplies are maintained, protect our energy security, and do everything we can to support workers.' Energy Minister Michael ShanksNow, I welcome this, and any action to save jobs is commendable. All options should be considered to keep Lindsey operating. But as the constituency MSP for Grangemouth, I cannot help but think – while the [[UK Government]] sprang into action for the Lindsey refinery the day the news broke, where was that sense of urgency and action for [[Grangemouth]]? Yes, the circumstances are different – but over a period of months, there was nothing even close to what took place for Lindsey in a day – no urgent statement, and little to no meaningful Government intervention. READ MORE: Labour admit 'not a penny' of £200m Grangemouth rescue fund spent This isn't the first time either. Many Scots were quite rightly astounded that the UK Government very quickly spent billions to save British Steel in Scunthorpe but came nowhere close for Grangemouth. It's worth repeating that Scotland generates well over 90% of the UK's crude oil in any given year – but now has no capacity to refine it. It's also worth repeating that Labour promised to save [[Grangemouth]] before the election and failed. Indeed, the leader of the Labour Party in Scotland said: "We would step in to save the jobs at the refinery." This is the second refinery to face closure on Labour's watch, with thousands of related jobs being lost elsewhere in the supply chain. It would appear that, when it comes to industry elsewhere in the UK, Westminster can immediately pull out all the stops – but when it's in Scotland, the [[UK Government]] simply isn't interested. READ MORE: 'Unacceptable': SNP hit out as Labour 'keep Tory-era veto on Scottish laws' Some may argue that these issues are for the Scottish Government to respond to. This is correct – but any response must include the power to take financial action in the form of significant borrowing powers. These are powers that the [[Scottish Government]] lacks. The truth is, Grangemouth is just as important to Scotland's industrial output as Lindsey is to England's. It's no wonder that a growing number in Scotland quite rightly feel that Scotland is an afterthought to this – or any – UK government. It begs the question: if the UK Government can immediately step in to save major industrial sites in England – on more than one occasion – then why not in Scotland? My view is, as it always has been, that the only way to ensure Scotland's massive natural wealth is utilised for the benefit of Scotland's people is with independence for Scotland.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE SNP MSP breaks ranks to call for NHS Fife boss Carol Potter and her board to RESIGN over gender storm
A Nationalist MSP has broken party ranks to urge NHS Fife bosses to quit over their handling of a transgender legal battle. Michelle Thomson last night hit out at the health board as it was revealed the dispute with nurse Sandie Peggie had so far cost taxpayers £220,500. The Falkirk East MSP is the first serving SNP politician to condemn NHS Fife's handling of the landmark tribunal relating to single-sex spaces. She accused the board – headed by chief executive Carol Potter, who earns at least £147,700 a year – of a seemingly 'breathtaking disregard for their duties of good governance and candour'. And the MSP raised concerns about the 'direct, and indirect cost to the public purse... at a time when the wider NHS is struggling'. Heaping pressure on Health Secretary Neil Gray to step in, Ms Thomson said she would be 'disappointed' if he continued to insist he had confidence in the board. Her intervention follows revelations last week that the health board had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds defending itself and trans medic Dr Beth Upton against a claim brought by Mrs Peggie. The 50-year-old A&E nurse has taken her case to an employment tribunal after being suspended from her job. NHS Fife chiefs took action against her after she challenged the presence of Dr Upton, born a biological male, in the female changing rooms at Kirkcaldy's Victoria Hospital. The huge costs associated with the ongoing tribunal were revealed on Wednesday following a months-long transparency battle between MailOnline and the health board. However, those close to the case said the true legal bill could climb to around £1 million once the tribunal, which continues this week, concludes. That would likely include extra internal legal costs and fees for outside counsel for NHS Fife, which is using an expensive English-based KC to defend their position, as well as the claimant Sandie Peggie's legal fees, which can later be requested from the health board. The case started before April's Supreme Court ruling clarified that the definition of a woman under the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex, meaning trans women have no automatic right to access female-only spaces. Last night Ms Thomson said: 'It cannot just be me who has considered what on earth is going on in the board of NHS Fife. 'The Supreme Court judgement was extremely clear, and so to then proceed with the remainder of the Peggie hearing when it can only result in abject failure for them seems to have breathtaking disregard for their duties of good governance and candour.' She added: 'The cost to the public purse will be significant at a time when the wider NHS is struggling. 'It's clear to me that all of the board must consider their position'. She added she would be 'extremely surprised and disappointed' if My Gray continued to claim he had confidence in NHS Fife and its leadership. Last week NHS Fife conceded that as of May 31, 2025, a total of £220,465.93 had been spent on legal costs relating to the tribunal. It was noted that the sum could pay for nine nursing assistant starting salaries of £23,362 or around 40 hip replacements. The Scottish Government last night said the Health Secretary continues to have confidence in NHS Fife and its leadership.
Scotsman
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
The 'extraordinarily high' manager ratio in the SNP Government, as employee's 'urine' gripe revealed
Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Scottish Government is operating with 'an extraordinarily high' ratio of one manager to every staff member as concerns grow about the size of the civil service. Joe Griffin, the new Permanent Secretary, revealed just under 50 per cent of civil servants are line managers with no 'specific plan or specific time' to reorganise the workforce. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad St Andrew's House is the Scottish Government's headquarters, based in Edinburgh. | TSPL In front of the Parliament's finance committee on Tuesday, Mr Griffin was asked to account for the workforce headcount, high salaries and the fact the majority of staff work from home. From October, Mr Griffin said, civil servants will be expected to return to the office at least 40 per cent of the week. Recent internal communications, released under Freedom of Information, said workers would be told to return to the office three days a week in line with their Westminster colleagues. However, when quizzed about working practices, Mr Griffin said two days a week would be the starting point, with a further increase expected in the future. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Civil servants have expressed fury about the proposed end to working from home, with some questioning whether their 'civil rights' were being breached and asking for transport costs. Some civil servant concerns On the Government's internal communication system, Saltire, one worker said he was concerned about using public transport, adding: 'At least in the safety of my Fiat Tipo I'm not going to be sitting in someone else's urine.' Some staff groups expressed specific worries, such as a spokesperson for military wives saying women with partners in the armed forces should be allowed to continue to work from home. 'Some people have reacted to that decision, and I understand some of the anxieties that people have,' Mr Griffin said. 'We absolutely need to make sure that we are taking account of diversity and inclusion requirements, but the direction of travel is clear for the reasons that I've given. So I think let's secure the two days a week policy first.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Extraordinarily high' Michelle Thomson, the SNP MSP, described the number of civil service line managers as 'extraordinarily high' and asked what plans were in place to reduce it. Michelle Thomson MSP. Image: Press Association. 'Being relatively early in my tenure, I can't give you a specific plan and a specific time,' Mr Griffin said. But, he added: 'It is in play'. Should civil servants refuse to the return to the office there will not be, he said, any disciplinary measures taken. Civil service numbers on the rise Figures this week show the civil service has risen to its highest number since the Scottish Parliament was founded in 1999 at 27,400 staff. Public sector workers are paid more than £2,000 on average more than those in the private sector. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sick days among the civil service have also risen and are now nearly nine days a year per worker. Craig Hoy, the Tory MSP, asked why Mr Griffin was unable to say what the optimum workforce number would be or any timeline for a reduction in headcount. The permanent secretary said he agreed the 'core civil service needs to come down'. He added: 'There is a direction of travel of trying to reduce some of those some of those figures.' On the growth of the civil service, he pointed to the introduction of additional devolved issues such as the welfare system and the creation of Social Security Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
The Independent
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Top civil servant told to ‘get on it' after Supreme Court ruling on gender
The Scottish Government is seeking to 'prepare the ground' to act when new guidance on gender is issued, the country's most senior civil servant has insisted. Permanent Secretary Joe Griffin came under fire from MSP Michelle Thomson, who told him it was a 'very poor look' that 10 weeks on from the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman, the government had 'not done anything about it'. Mr Griffin insisted the Scottish Government was 'taking action where we think that is appropriate and possible', pending a further update from regulators at the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). But with two women's rights groups – For Women Scotland and Sex Matters – now threatening further legal action against the Scottish Government, Ms Thomson told the top civil servant he should 'get on it'. She challenged the Permanent Secretary on the issue in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling back in April that the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. That judgment came about after a challenge to the Scottish Government by For Women Scotland – with ministers, including First Minister John Swinney, making clear that while they accept that, they are waiting for further guidance from the EHRC before acting. Ms Thomson however pointed out that at Holyrood the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has ruled that the use of toilet facilities designated as either male or female will be based on biological sex – preventing trans people from using the toilet of their preferred gender. Mr Griffin insisted there is a 'range of action we have been taking already', adding that Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville had tasked him with leading a short life working group 'to take stock of the actions we need to take'. Speaking as he gave evidence to MSPs on the Finance and Public Administration Committee, Mr Griffin said: 'These are the actions we are taking while we wait for the end of the EHRC process to review their statutory guidance. 'Once that is finalised we will then be able to take a further series of actions.' He added: 'We are taking action where we think that is appropriate and possible, pending the finalisation of the EHRC guidance.' When Ms Thomson then demanded to know what action had been taken 'beyond talking about taking action', Mr Griffin told her: 'Specific actions, I can't give you that right now.' But he insisted the work being done was looking to 'prepare the ground' so that the government is ready to implement changes once the EHRC guidance is finalised. The Permanent Secretary said: 'We in the Scottish Government are in a very similar position to the UK Government and the Welsh Government in our understanding of our responsibility being we need to wait for the guidance for the implementation of some actions.' But with two potential further legal challenges that Ms Thomson said could potentially result in a 'significant loss of public money', the SNP MSP told him she was 'staggered why you are not acting now'. Mr Griffin said the advice he was given 'remains nevertheless that we should wait for the statutory regulator to finalise their guidance'. He added: 'I am assured that the advice that I've got is the correct advice. 'We find ourselves in a very similar position to our colleagues at Westminster and in Cardiff.' But Ms Thomson told him: 'I think my firm advice to you would be to look afresh at that. It is no justification under law, frankly, to say: 'Ah well, that's what everybody else was doing.' 'The Supreme Court judgment was compellingly clear, there is a threat of two further legal actions. My firm advice to you, Permanent Secretary, would be to get on it, because I think you are ultimately the accountable officer responsible for ensuring the Scottish Government upholds the law. 'And regardless of your view in this matter, I personally think it is a very poor look that we're 10 weeks later and we haven't done anything about it.'
Scotsman
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
The 'extraordinarily high' manager ratio in the SNP Government, as employee's 'urine' gripe revealed
Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Scottish Government is operating with 'an extraordinarily high' ratio of one manager to every staff member as concerns grow about the size of the civil service. Joe Griffin, the new Permanent Secretary, revealed just under 50 per cent of civil servants are line managers with no 'specific plan or specific time' to reorganise the workforce. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad St Andrew's House is the Scottish Government's headquarters, based in Edinburgh. | TSPL In front of the Parliament's finance committee on Tuesday, Mr Griffin was asked to account for the workforce headcount, high salaries and the fact the majority of staff work from home. From October, Mr Griffin said, civil servants will be expected to return to the office at least 40 per cent of the week. Recent internal communications, released under Freedom of Information, said workers would be told to return to the office three days a week in line with their Westminster colleagues. However, when quizzed about working practices, Mr Griffin said two days a week would be the starting point, with a further increase expected in the future. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Civil servants have expressed fury about the proposed end to working from home, with some questioning whether their 'civil rights' were being breached and asking for transport costs. Some civil servant concerns On the Government's internal communication system, Saltire, one worker said he was concerned about using public transport, adding: 'At least in the safety of my Fiat Tipo I'm not going to be sitting in someone else's urine.' Some staff groups expressed specific worries, such as a spokesperson for military wives saying women with partners in the armed forces should be allowed to continue to work from home. 'Some people have reacted to that decision, and I understand some of the anxieties that people have,' Mr Griffin said. 'We absolutely need to make sure that we are taking account of diversity and inclusion requirements, but the direction of travel is clear for the reasons that I've given. So I think let's secure the two days a week policy first.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Extraordinarily high' Michelle Thomson, the SNP MSP, described the number of civil service line managers as 'extraordinarily high' and asked what plans were in place to reduce it. Michelle Thomson MSP. Image: Press Association. 'Being relatively early in my tenure, I can't give you a specific plan and a specific time,' Mr Griffin said. But, he added: 'It is in play'. Should civil servants refuse to the return to the office there will not be, he said, any disciplinary measures taken. Civil service numbers on the rise Figures this week show the civil service has risen to its highest number since the Scottish Parliament was founded in 1999 at 27,400 staff. Public sector workers are paid more than £2,000 on average more than those in the private sector. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sick days among the civil service have also risen and are now nearly nine days a year per worker. Craig Hoy, the Tory MSP, asked why Mr Griffin was unable to say what the optimum workforce number would be or any timeline for a reduction in headcount. The permanent secretary said he agreed the 'core civil service needs to come down'. He added: 'There is a direction of travel of trying to reduce some of those some of those figures.' On the growth of the civil service, he pointed to the introduction of additional devolved issues such as the welfare system and the creation of Social Security Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
