Secret Society

The whole issue of the cost and quality of school meals (or lack of them), which I've mentioned on several other occasions in earlier posts (going back as far as February this year), appears to be getting worse and worse by the minute ... it even features today on the main BBC Scotland website.

And, as if the subject-matter itself wasn't bad enough, I am still unable to find any clear reference to these cost-cutting measures in ANY paper that has gone before ANY Committee of the Council and/or find direct reference to it in ANY of the Budget Papers that were before the Council on 21st February?

It is absolutely typical of the 'secrecy' and 'lack-of-consultation' that is now epitomising this Lib/Nat Administration in Edinburgh ... I find it all (and I don't mean to demean the seriousness of the impact of these cuts) richly ironic, especially coming from Liberals who used to berate us daily - and I do not exaggerate - about our 'supposed' lack of openness and transparency during our last period of being in Administration from 2003-2007.

Well, what has subsequently happened from 2007-2008 makes previous regimes seem like paragons of democratic-virtue ... significant decisions, that will impact on the quality-of-life of literally thousands of people, are now simply being taken OUT of the democratic process.

It is an appalling state of affairs.