Introduction

Objective

The objective of this web site is to highlight situations which many people believe are unacceptable.

If you believe it might be said:

“this should not happen in the civilized, democratic, accountable society in which [we are told] we live”.

And you think that an ordinary person like you might say:

“there but for the grace of God go I”

Is the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman usable ?

The question is:

What are the risks in referring a complaint to the SPSO ???

There are several risks. Noted that the SPSO procedures fail to meet some of the most basic Human Rights:

Unlike a court of law where all information, data, and documents are seen by both sides, who both have the obligation to provide to the other party any such data, information, and documents which might assist that party in the case, the SPSO does NOT enable this basic human right.
Read more: Is the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman usable ?

Linn Park - Closure of Path - Correspondence

The correspondence with the various council officials and councillors [the council] and a group of councerned Chartered Engineers [the Engineers] is given below.

The first point is that the council have neither qualification, learning, or experience whereas the Engineers are competent persons. Note the capital "E". The points of contention are:

The "RSK survey" cannot be described as a survey. It was a walk past with a desk study of other reports. The report is deficient because
- It fails to provide relevant information - such as when is the next rock fall likely [e.g. one in ten years]
- it fails to project the magnitude of the next event - will it be as before a few small rocks, or larger.
Without this information, any remedial works design will be highly suspect.
The council failed to conduct a "risk assessment" of the risks which blocking off the path has caused, which are substantial.

A Court Case - when SW et al failed.

This case was raised in what used to be called The Small Claims Court but is now the Simple Procedure. The rules etc are laid out on the web site at: https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/rules-and-practice/rules-of-court/sheriff-court---civil-procedure-rules/simple-procedure-rules. These are in effect what used to be contained in The White Book - the bible of court procedure. The rules in Sections 1.6 and 1.6 of Part 1 apply.

In the view of the author of this report, the rules are excellent, and as good as one could wish for IF they were observed, BUT where breaches occur unless these are disciplined, then one is back to what might call "lawyering" viz lawyers doing all those things which they ought not to such as making unevidenced assertions, not once but many times.

Water Charges - Bullying by Scottish Water Business Stream

Is this just a rant, or is there other published evidence ?

Here are two web sites which report adverse behaviour:

So once we have established that there is a problem, who is responsible. It is of course the employees in the Revenue Protection Department of Scottish Water as directed by their Board, and Scottish Water Business Stream who pursue the invoices which are erroneously raised.

A Head Teacher on Education ....

This is an email received from a member of Accountability Scotland when he joined.

As a new member of AS, I share the concern of other members with regard to the lack of transparency and accountability in a number of Scottish Public Authorities. Of particular interest to me is the school inspection process.

Nancy Smith and Renfrewshire Council - Statutory Notice Repair Scandal...

What is this all about ?

This is the story of a ground floor flat in a "Four in a Block" property in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire. It is about Jeanette Knox's attempts to get the house she owned repaired under an order from the local council. Meanwhile a younger relative with special needs continues to live in a flat deemed unfit for human habitation.

After Jeanette's health problems, her campaign was taken up by her sister Nancy Smith who lives in Barrhill.

Read the story of Nancy Smith and Renfrewshire Council - Statutory Notice Repair Scandal...

All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing