SNP attacks “botched” Scottish Natural Heritage relocation
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has rounded on the Scottish Executive, accusing it of “botching” the relocation of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) from Edinburgh to Inverness.
When the SNH’s Edinburgh office lease came up for removal, the Executive decided that the quango was a prime target for its policy of relocating civil service staff to the regions.
However, controversy has dogged the move, as the majority of staff at the SNH are reportedly unhappy about the proposed move to Inverness, and opposition parties are questioning the rationale and supposed cost savings behind the move.
Shadow Finance Minister Fergus Ewing today branded the plans a “mini-Holyrood” and pointed to the continual rise in estimated costs.
Last week a relocation package for staff was outlined by the SNH. Staff moving to Inverness will be paid a £10,000 incentive grant, and a further £10,000 retention payment if they remain in the Highlands for two years.
SNH Chairman John Markland said: “We believe that these packages will give us the best opportunity to take as many of our staff as possible with us to Inverness. The more staff we can take with us, the less severe will be our business continuity challenges and the fewer staff will end up being made redundant.
“Any redundancy is wasteful of training, experience and morale quite apart from the drain on taxpayer resources to pay one team of people off and recruit a new team. We have therefore chosen to focus the resources that we are prepared to put in, to achieve an attractive relocation package.”
Those remaining behind are entitled to standard civil service redundancy packages, believed to be in the region of £40,000.
Though unions are backing the relocation plans, officials from the PCS union have warned that only around 50 of the 250 staff are likely to move.
Mr Ewing said the affair could threaten future decentralisation of public sector jobs.
“There are serious doubts, if a large number of staff refuse to move, whether SNH will be able to continue to operate.”
He warned that the “bribes” offered to SNH staff mean that any future staff asked to move can legitimately seek similar payments.
He said there had been ” recent relocations of bodies where no such payments were made” including the Scottish Public Pensions Agency move from Edinburgh to Galashiels.
“So surely they will be consulting their Unions and demanding for themselves the bribe that SNH have received?” he said.
“Relocation and decentralisation are policy aims supported by most including the SNP, but not at any price. The Scottish Executive first said that the move to Inverness would cost around £12 million. Now the net cost is £22 million. And the gross cost has been estimated by the trade union as £45 million. The Minister did not dismiss this figure, which makes the SNH move a ‘mini Holyrood’.”
