NEWS RELEASE – Environmental injustice in Scotland

GREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release 25th May 2005

LIBDEMS & LABOUR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CREDENTIALS LAID TO WASTE

Responding to the publication of a report which highlights how Scotland’s poorest communities live in the most degraded environments, the Greens today said that the Executive’s “green thread” had again been exposed as ‘meaningless spin’.

Greens accused the Executive of making the situation worse despite Jack McConnell making an apparent commitment to ‘environmental justice’ three years ago, and called on more urgent action to address inequality in the planning system and to take more serious action on pollution.

Communities speaker for the Greens, Patrick Harvie MSP said:

“This report exposes yet again the lack of credibility the Executive has on environmental justice, and Mr Finnie’s response that it is ‘complex’ will enrage communities up and down the country who see the living conditions day-in day-out. The people of Greengairs for example are surrounded by open cast mines and landfill sites and it can’t look too complicated from where they are standing.

“The report is a wake up call, particularly for those Labour MSPs who see environmental issues as a ‘middle class luxury’. It’s the most deprived people in our society who suffer the most from a poor environment, and who often have the least ability to challenge the decisions which affect them. Politicians concerned about achieving social justice must understand that environmental justice is inextricably connected.

“This report gives a broad brush picture of the problem. A more detailed analysis which looked for example at the quality of urban green spaces and the trends toward building on them would show even greater problems.
“The Executive, and the First Minister in particular, talk about environmental justice but then they give the go ahead for major roadbuilding schemes, landfill sites and incinerators which blight our poorest communities. Their environmental commitments were always pretty threadbare, and we can see just how disappointing the delivery has been.”

For more information contact 0131 348 6360

(1) Motion lodged in parliament today by Patrick Harvie MSP

That Parliament notes with concern the publication of ?Investigating environmental justice in Scotland: links between measures of environmental quality and social deprivation? by SNIFFER; further notes the report’s findings that Scotland?s poorest communities are more likely to experience poor air quality and be living near to industrial pollution, derelict land or rivers with poor water quality, and that in rural areas opencast mines and quarries are more likely to be located closer to poorer communities; believes that the report clearly demonstrates that Scotland?s most deprived communities bear the burden of living in the worst environments and that this demonstrates the lack of progress in securing environmental justice for Scotland; calls on the Scottish Executive to renew its commitment to environmental justice and to explain what steps it will take to remedy the situation; considers the recent decision by Ministers to approve the M74 Northern Extension a step in the wrong direction; and believes that the Scottish Executive should demonstrate its commitment to environmental justice by heeding calls for a planning system which is fair at all stages, including the appeal stage.

(2) The Scotland and Northern Ireland Research forum (SNIFFER) published the research to inform work on environmental justice in Scotland. This research was jointly funded by the Scottish Executive, SNIFFER, SEPA, SNH and the Forestry Commission. Details of the findings of the research can be found at www.sniffer.org.uk

The environmental features included in the research were industrial pollution, air quality, derelict land, river water quality, landfill sites, opencast mines and quarries, greenspace and woodland. The deprivation levels of areas were calculated using the 2004 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

The research was conducted by a team from Staffordshire University and the University of Leeds, led by Jon Fairburn (Staffordshire University) and Professor Gordon Walker (Lancaster University).

Antisocial clothing?!

Have you been disturbed recently by the sight of someone wearing headgear designed to intimidate the public and to confer social status among peers, whose manner of speech made you think they were from some utterly alien culture?

No, I?m not talking about the Queen?s Speech. Apparently the hoodie is the latest sign of disrespect in our sick society. Young people who dare to step outside wearing them are clearly a threat to the moral fabric of the country, and should be forced to don a bright orange jump-suit, so that decent people ? those hard-working families we heard about during the election campaign ? will have no need to fear them.

At least that?s the picture of Britain which the Prime Minister seems to recognise. Both he and his deputy have endorsed the decision by the Bluewater shopping centre down south to ban hooded tops and baseball caps. Indeed Mr Prescott related his own tale of woe to radio listeners, in which he was the helpless victim of a group of youngsters who viciously wore their clothes at him in public.

It?s a bit rich for the DPM to take such a stand, what with his own record for public violence. But nor does Bluewater?s justification hold much water, blue or otherwise. In defending itself against criticism, it stated that the ban had nothing to do with stigmatising young people, and applied to anyone deliberately obscuring their faces.

I find it hard to believe that this ban will be applied to those shoppers who cover their faces for religious reasons, since they would quite rightly find themselves up before a court in no time. Why should other clothing choices be given any less protection form discrimination?

It is unsurprising that this move has been initiated by a privately run shopping centre rather than by a police force. Many such premises consider the presence of young people a nuisance, not for reasons of security or antisocial behaviour but because they tend to spend lots of time but little money compared with adults. But the alternative choices for young people in some parts of the UK have steadily diminished over the years, as town centres die off and out-of-town shopping centres take over.

This is nothing less than the stealth privatisation of public space.

It may not occur to the young people who hang about at Bluewater, or indeed to the private security who operate there, but when public space is surrendered so too are many of the freedoms which should exist throughout society. A shopping centre is not a high street, and on entering it you cease to be a citizen and become merely a consumer. Compare a busy shopping street with the sterile environment of a ?mall?. The former is full of real life with all of its glories and all of its faults ? people busking, people selling the Big Issue, people preaching, people begging, people wandering? and those ?guaranga? guys who never seem to give up. Some of it?s great, some of it?s not, but it?s all real. Now look at the shopping mall ? there?s none of that real life. There isn?t even real air to breath! You will never see a political message there ? too much danger of that kind of thing distracting the happy masses from the all-important task of consuming.

Young people have recently been urged by the Scottish Executive to become more aware of political change and their own power to ?Be the Change?, through a Young Scot campaign. I?d go further and propose a peaceful and constructive protest march right through every shopping mall which refuses to treat young people as equal citizens.

NEWS RELEASE – ID Cards commitment at last

GREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release, Thursday 19 May, 2005

ID CARDS: EXECUTIVE FINALLY COMMITS TO RESPECT PARLIAMENT’S CALL FOR STATEMENT ON BIG BROTHER DATABASE

A commitment by the First Minister today to respect Parliament’s wishes for an Executive statement to MSPs on ID card legislation before the summer recess has been welcomed by the Greens. It follows the inclusion of ID cards legislation in the Queen?s speech earlier this week and a Green-led vote by Parliament in February demanding an Executive statement on the use of the scheme?s national identity database.

Patrick Harvie MSP, Green Speaker on Justice, who pressed Jack McConnell at First Minister’s Questions today, said, ?I am very glad that the Executive will respect the decision taken by Parliament ? though it has taken a fair bit of pushing from Greens to secure that commitment.

?The use of the national identity register – the vast database which will share personal data across government departments without individuals? consent – is the real threat to civil liberties. The Labour Party seems determined to wire us all up to this system, and we will continue to match that with our determination to protect civil liberties and spend public money on things people need such as schools, hospitals and a decent transport system.?

Patrick Harvie added, ?Liberal Democrats abstained from the vote in February, arguing that a single word gave them an excuse not to support it. The First Minister’s announcement today shows why it is more important to build cross party agreement on the concerns we all share, rather than seek an excuse to not work together in the public interest.?

ENDS

For further information call the Green MSP press office on 0131 348 6360.

Notes to editors

1. S2M-2821 Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green) : Identity Cards Bill? That the Parliament regrets the inclusion of the Identity Cards Bill in the Queen?s Speech today; notes that a majority of MSPs backed parliamentary motion S2M-2463 which outlined various concerns with the proposals for identity cards and demanded a full statement from the Scottish Executive on the intended use of the identity database by devolved institutions; believes the proposals to be flawed on political, technical and financial grounds; notes that the introduction of this legislation will be costly, impractical and an ineffective response to problems of security and fraud; believes that the legislation poses an unacceptable threat to civil liberties and may contravene the European Convention on Human Rights; notes that, despite the Parliament?s decision on motion S2M-2463, the Executive has not yet delivered the full statement; resolves to use all powers available to it to safeguard the civil liberties of people in Scotland, and repeats its call for the Executive to comply with the terms of the motion by giving a full statement to the Parliament before the summer recess.

NEWS RELEASE – ID cards raise their ugly head again

GREEN MSP MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release, Tuesday 17 May, 2005

QUEEN?S SPEECH: GREENS CALL FOR IMMEDIATE EXECUTIVE STATEMENT ON BIG BROTHER DATABASE

The Executive should immediately deliver a statement to Parliament on the use of the national identity database, Greens said today as the Queen?s speech announced the planned introduction of ID cards. MSPs were today urged to back a call for the Parliament to use all means at its disposal to oppose the introduction of ID cards and the accompanying Big Brother database. (1)

Greens forced a vote in Parliament in February this year in which Parliament rejected ID cards and demanded a statement from the Executive on the use of the national identity database. (1) LibDems abstained in the vote despite their Westminster counterparts opposing ID cards in London.

Executive ministers have claimed that ID cards will not be necessary for access to devolved services such as schools and hospitals ? but Greens argue that the Executive is avoiding the substantive issue of the national identity database. The Executive?s failure to deliver a statement leaves Scots in the dark as to how the database will be used and who will have access to it.

Patrick Harvie, Green Glasgow MSP, who led the Greens? debate in February today said, “The Executive has so far ignored the will of Parliament by failing to deliver a statement, despite repeated requests. This is becoming increasingly urgent as legislation looks set to be pushed through Westminster in the coming months. Will ministers now listen to the will of the Parliament and object to the introduction of this flawed scheme?

?In terms of civil liberties, this scheme threatens to set Britain back decades. The ID card and national database scheme is seriously flawed, will be extremely costly and will not tackle terrorism. On the issue of benefit fraud, it is little more than a distraction from the billions that go unclaimed every year. Once introduced, who knows how future governments will use the database.”

Greens argue that ID cards will:

?Be costly and impractical: There is scepticism about the cost and operability of the scheme (£5.5bn and rising), as well as the government’s ability to manage the technology. Large government IT projects are renowned for cost over-runs and technical hitches. This will be the most ambitious such project in history.

?Lead to loss of privacy: There will be a massive database containing an unprecedented amount of personal information on people.

?Worsen harassment of minority groups: They’ll provide another pretext for stop-and-search, often directed at ethnic minorities

?Have little impact on counter-terrorism: Terrorist networks would soon be able to produce counterfeit cards or papers enabling people to get legitimate cards. When Home Secretary, David Blunkett admitted that it would be possible to register for a card using a false identity, but was satisfied that a person would then “be stuck with it for life”. How much of a problem would this really be for a suicide bomber?

?Have little effect on illegal working: Employers who are already willing to break the law won’t be put off by identity cards.

?Be subject to ‘function creep’: The functions of the card will grow over time as it stores more personal information. More agencies will demand to see it, effectively making it necessary for people to carry one.

ENDS

For further information call the Green MSP press office on 0131 348 6360.

1. Draft text of motion lodged in the Scottish Parliament today by Patrick Harvie:

That the Parliament regrets the inclusion of the ID Cards Bill in the Queen’s Speech today; notes that a majority of MSPs backed parliamentary motion S2M-2463, which outlined various concerns with the proposals and demanded a full statement from the Scottish Executive on the intended use of the identity database by devolved institutions; believes the proposals to be flawed on political, technical and financial grounds; notes that the introduction of this legislation will be costly, impractical and an ineffective response to problems of security and fraud; further believes that the legislation poses an unacceptable threat to civil liberties and may contravene the European Convention on Human Rights; further notes that, despite the vote on motion S2M-2463, the Executive has not yet delivered this statement; resolves to use all powers available to it to safeguard the civil liberties of people in Scotland and repeats its call for the Executive to comply with the terms of motion S2M-2463 by giving a full statement to Parliament before the Summer recess.

2. The vote was 52 for, 47 against, 15 abstentions.
Motion agreed by the Parliament: *S2M-2463 Patrick Harvie: Identity Cards-That the Parliament notes the Identity Cards Bill currently being considered by the Westminster Parliament; is concerned at the lack of time devoted to the scrutiny of this Bill, which has left important questions unanswered over how the identity card scheme will work in practice; believes the proposals to be flawed on political, technical and financial grounds; is concerned that the national identity card and database offer an ineffective response to problems of security and fraud and pose an unacceptable threat to civil liberties; notes that the current cost estimate for the scheme is £5.5 billion and that further escalation of this cost is expected; rejects the Prime Minister’s belief, stated on 1 December 2004 in the House of Commons, that “it is legitimate and right, in this day and age, to ask people to carry identity cards” which appears to go far beyond the current scope of the Bill and would require the consent of the Scottish Parliament; welcomes the Scottish Executive’s position that identity cards will not be required to allow access to devolved public services, and calls on the Executive to make a full statement on the intended use of the identity database by devolved institutions.

For more see www.no2id.net
and
www.scottishgreens.org.uk/idcards

NEWS RELEASE – Fair planning system dumped

LEAKED CABINET PAPER: EXECUTIVE DUMPS PROPOSALS FOR FAIR PLANNING SYSTEM

Greens reacted with shock but with little surprise as a leaked Cabinet document revealed a ‘power grab’ away from local communities on planning decisions. The leak exposes the potential for the Libdem/Labour Ministers to force through plans for nuclear power stations, motorways and other environmentally damaging developments. The document makes it clear that previous commitments from Ministers about their plans to make the planning system more democratic are simply a smokescreen as they intend to do the opposite.(1)

Patrick Harvie MSP, who has led campaigns in the Scottish Parliament and in his constituency in Glasgow to give more power to local communities is aghast at the proposals. He said: “This exposes yet again the duplicity of Libdem and Labour Ministers. The reform of the planning system will be even more regressive than many of us had imagined.

“It appears that not only will individuals, campaigners and community groups remain locked out of major decisions, but even their locally elected representatives will have a reduced role as Scottish Ministers take significant new powers for themselves.

“The cynical mind may be looking ahead to 2007 with the suspicion that New Labour wants to impose a top-down system before Councils become more representative of real people’s views under the more proportional STV voting system.

“This issue is likely to become the last major test of Jack McConnell’s claim to take environmental justice seriously. When he stood in front of the cameras in February 2002 to throw his weight behind the concept, he must have felt pretty good about himself. Telling the media of his determination to tackle the ?real injustice in that people who suffer the most from a poor environment are those least able to fight back?, the First Minister cannot have imagined that he was talking about anything other than the planning system.

“Now, a little more than three years later, the Executive has already failed on landfill and incineration, it has failed on GM crop trials, it has failed on road building. If it fails to deliver a planning system designed for sustainable development and with real safeguards against environmental injustice, there will be not one green shred left to the Executive’s record.”

Notes to editors:

(1) The document from Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm MSP apparently states:
“The NPF (National Planning Framework) would gain its legitimacy from approval by cabinet and scrutiny by parliament. There would not be a role for a lengthy, exhaustive formal public consultation, nor for a planning inquiry led by reporters . . . The inclusion of a project in the NPF, however, will limit the scope for it to be challenged on the grounds of need . . . simplifying the inquiry by limiting the issues to those such as location and detailed consideration of associated environmental effects.”

It proposes: “A new and fundamentally different approach to planning based on a structured hierarchy of national, major, local and minor planning applications.” Ministers would “identify projects of national strategic significance”. They could “dictate” even local plans on issues such as waste management, hospitals or schools.

In language which will alarm local authorities, the document says the minister proposes “a more proactive approach” to issues the executive “expects to see addressed”. It says that “mechanisms would need to be put in place to enable ministers to reconcile conflicts” over competing priorities for land use.

The minister also proposes “a development control process to give ministers the opportunity to intervene to expedite decisions on national strategic developments, which would involve a swifter call-in process. As our top priority is to grow Scotland’s economy, we should make it clear to planning authorities that major applications should be given top priority”