Neil Gray under fire over 'using ministerial car to visit the pub'
Gray has previously faced heavy criticism for having been chauffeured in a ministerial car to attend major Aberdeen cup matches at Hampden Park.
The Health Secretary was gifted VIP seats on three occasions to watch the Dons play Hibernian, Rangers and Celtic in the League Cup and Scottish Cup.
The Scottish Government said he was attending the games as a guest of the Scottish Football Association to discuss 'essential' business which related to his ministerial brief.
Gray, who is an Aberdeen fan, declared the football trips as official business as they occurred across his time wellbeing economy, fair work and energy secretary.
READ MORE: Russell Findlay objects to BBC question on Kemi Badenoch's popularity in Scotland
However, The Daily Mail has now reported that Gray also used the taxpayer-funded car to travel to the Brig O'Don pub in Aberdeen before heading to the city's Pittodrie Stadium in May 2024.
The trip was logged as a visit to a 'personal address, Aberdeen', despite Gray not having a personal address in the city.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'This is an administration error. Mr Gray travelled from government business to a restaurant for a personal engagement before returning to government business.'
They further said the trip was 'in line with the rules around Government Car Service GCS use'.
The Scottish Tories and Scottish Labour said Gray had questions to answer.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said 'The decision to take a taxpayer-funded car to the pub is questionable enough – but the fact it was hidden from the public reeks of a cover-up.
'Neil Gray must come clean about exactly what happened here and explain why exactly this trip to the pub was legitimate government business.'
And Scots Tory depute leader Rachael Hamilton said: '[Gray] needs to explain why he and his team originally claimed that his ministerial limo took him to a home address rather than to a restaurant for socialising.
'Given the scandal the misuse of his government car caused, the Health Secretary ought to have double checked every journey to make sure that his account was factually correct, so this inaccuracy is hard to fathom.'
In January, Gray apologised for what he called an "inadvertent error" in his statements to parliament about the documentation of meetings at football matches he attended.
The SNP minister was accused of potentially misleading the Scottish Parliament by saying that minutes were taken at all the meetings in football stadiums.
Following a Freedom of Information request, the Sunday Post newspaper was told by the government there was no note produced of the meeting at the 2023 League Cup Final at Hampden Park, where Rangers defeated Aberdeen.
In November, Gray said it is legitimate for ministers to attend sporting events and he will continue to do so.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
29 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Parents need to go on record before being written out of it
This last concern is especially important given the widespread issue of council attempts to mothball, close, or otherwise change nursery provision. There has been a rash of nursery closures and mothballing–temporary closure–in recent years, with councils seeing declining rolls at small settings as a quick way to reduce their deficits. Different councils have taken wildly different approaches: some have attempted to avoid talking of 'mothballing' entirely and, in doing so, avoid a statutory requirement to consult with parents; others have delegated the authority over mothballing to unelected council officers; and at least one council has tried (without success) to stand by a belief that local authorities have free reign over when, how, and why to mothball nursery settings. For its part, the Scottish Government has consistently stated that there is statutory guidance requiring councils to consult with parents about mothballing nurseries. In many cases, this, combined with media and community pressure, has convinced local authorities to take this official route. Most recently, this led to a major reversal in Aberdeenshire Council, where a set of nurseries were slated to be mothballed without consultation and based on the decision of unelected officers. After increased pressure from parents, the media and the Scottish Government raised questions about the policy, the council ultimately held a special meeting to abandon the current proposals and review local policies. However, decisions were finalised in other local authorities before the spotlight was shone on the council, and some parents are still wary that delays and partial victories might make it harder for communities to continue applying pressure. This is because, despite councils often claiming to engage with communities, parents repeatedly tell us that this does not mean a real opportunity to impact decision-making or guarantee a fair (if undesirable) outcome. The word "fair" is important. Parents often say they understand the pressures on councils and know that they cannot have a perfect solution. Instead, they want the feeling that democracy has run its course: a fair outcome does not mean everyone gets what they want, but it does mean an outcome that preserves trust in the system. Instead, parents raising complaints are easily painted as troublemakers; the longer they persist, the easier that becomes. During a recent consultation in the Scottish Borders over changes to nursery provision, a group of parents emailed the education director and key councillors with a list of concerns following a meeting. Parents asked for an explanation of why the meeting was not recorded, argued that the council's official minutes did not reflect the whole discussion, and asked for some form of written assessment of the new type of nursery model that was being proposed for their children. Before getting straight explanations, parents received another type of response. In an email seen by The Herald, one Scottish Borders councillor entered into this correspondence chain, asking for them to "dial down some of the rhetoric.' The email called out two parents by name and included dozens of councillors on its recipient list. Read more Numerous examples of this type of treatment have been reported across the country. It can discourage open disagreement and cut off dialogue, especially when many parents do not have the luxury of volunteering their time to cut through bureaucracy. The result is that parents keep quiet, or are kept quiet enough, so that when the official council papers come out reviewing a consultation and summarising its findings, there is barely a whiff of the discontent that dominated the conversation. Instead, any reporter, councillor, or government minister reviewing the record a few months down the line will see a neat timeline of how the council ticked all the right boxes, held all the right meetings, and reached a decision. The situations in Aberdeenshire and Scottish Borders are only two of the many examples of parents struggling to be heard. Aberdeenshire's nursery ordeal gives an example of what can happen when enough pressure–and perhaps critically, enough resources to bring in legal advice early–is applied. There have also been multiple recent examples in Dumfries & Galloway where parents were able to convince councillors to step in and stop mothballing decisions. In one case, the council had no relevant policy on the books, and in another, nurseries were slated for mothballing with no input from the community. Had these decisions gone through, they would have been extremely difficult to overturn, and official reports written in flat council-speak would not have fully captured parents' opposition. That is why what is happening in the Scottish Borders is important, and why parents want their version of events to have a place. Parents in the Borders have spoken out following their recent consultation to voice concerns about its challenges. There were regular IT issues, meetings were not recorded, and minutes lacked detail; weeks later, they were left with many of the same questions they had at the start. When presented with the parents' concerns, a council spokesperson said that 'the consultation process was indeed adequate.' 'Consultation commenced on Monday 12 May and concluded on Sunday 1 June. 'Parents/carers in all affected settings were invited to 2 meetings to discuss the proposed models, and there was an opportunity to provide written feedback through a Microsoft Form. A focus group was held mid-way through the consultation.' The council recently voted to approve its new model for some nurseries–combining some primary and early learning classes to maximise efficiency–and to create a working group to write a new early years policy. But parents have spoken out to have their concerns on record. Speaking on behalf of concerned parents from affected settings at Cockburnspath, Walkerburn and Ednam nurseries, Dr Alice Blackwell said that she and other parents 'take issue' with the council's depiction of the consultation. "There were significant issues with the structure and execution of this consultation which has made it impossible for SBC to take our views into meaningful account." Importantly, these concerns are less about the final proposals than about the Council's process. Although there was initially clear consensus among parents at all affected nurseries when they were first slated for mothballing, some have now opted to wait and see how the situation develops. Most parents, even those with ongoing concerns, are hopeful that the new model, combining nursery and primary classes, can work. The problem is that they feel this is based more on hope than evidence. The council says it has been done before, and it has, but multiple nurseries that have used composite classes are no longer in operation. Another reason parents want their concerns about the process to be recorded is that they remember how the process began. In March, council officers tabled recommendations to list multiple nurseries as 'inactive,' a process that would have seen them close for the upcoming year. Officials explicitly claimed that this was not the same as mothballing, which by extension meant that they did not need to consult with parents. In fact, many parents, nurseries and even local councillors only found out about the plans days before they were to be approved. Scottish Government officials made it clear to the council that they were misinterpreting the guidance, and by the time the meeting was held, the word 'inactive' was dropped in favour of mothballing. After voting the measure through a contentious meeting, the council called another snap meeting to undo the decision and instead pursue the 'alternative' strategy of combining some nursery and primary classes. Each step of the way, parents only felt they were getting a reprieve. One lingering question is: why was all of this necessary? The original reason for wanting to list the nurseries as 'inactive' was that too few children were enrolled; the same was true for the attempted mothballing. The council has been explicit about why it began investigating the current composition model. A spokesperson said: 'SBC did identify the primary reason to look at changes, which was to avoid mothballing.' If the primary reason was to avoid mothballing the nurseries, then why not leave them as they were? When pressed, the council gave a clear response. 'We believe that we have been as clear as we can be through the report presented to Exec committee on 6 June, and through the consultation process with local communities, that the benefit is to achieve a model which provides places for children in their rural communities while addressing the challenge of operating services with very small numbers of children, and will allow us to look at how this can provide a degree of sustainability.' As councils battle tightening budgets, questions about sustainability will constantly swirl around rural schools and nurseries. This is why many parents want their concerns noted, because these difficult decisions might be revisited in the future, and the written record will be a key witness.
The Herald Scotland
32 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Industry leader writes to SNP minister over new nuclear ban
The long term commitment includes a major new plant in the south of England that will create 10,000 jobs, as well as small modular reactors. Louise Gilmour, the GMB Scotland secretary has written to Gillian Martin, MSP and Scottish energy secretary, 'to urge the Scottish Government to review its stance on blocking new nuclear'. She said the new investment 'includes £14.2 billion for an entirely new nuclear site at Sizewell, and also £2.5bn in cutting edge small modular reactor (SMR) technologies'. Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary. (Image: Andrew Cawley) Ms Gilmour wrote: 'Both of these investments will not just protect our energy security, but create thousands of well-paid, skilled jobs in their construction, and in the long term, hundreds of well-paid jobs in operations and research. 'A total of 10,000 jobs will be created at Sizewell alone. Where in Scotland are jobs being created at such a scale? Scotland's manufacturing base – in construction and energy – is dying.' She continued: 'We have experienced the closure of Grangemouth in Falkirk, of Aggregate Industries in North Lanarkshire, the slashing of jobs at Tarmac in East Lothian, the trickle of job losses from the North Sea, and the yards at Methil and Arnish being brought back from the brink yet again and still there are no major renewable works in those yards 'We are now contending with the planned closure of Alexander Dennis which would be yet another blow to the Falkirk area. This is not sustainable.' READ MORE: 'Amidst broken promises on a green jobs revolution, the Scottish Government cannot afford to scoff at the offering of nuclear energy on the table. An offer that would in large part be funded by the UK Government. The ban against new nuclear – especially SMRs – must be lifted.' Gillian Martin, Scottish energy secretary. (Image: Getty Images) The union said green-lighting new mini reactors in Scotland could create thousands of skilled jobs generating hundreds of millions of pounds for surrounding communities. Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the government is 'investing in Britain's renewal, with the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation ... this landmark decision is our Plan for Change in action', adding: 'We are creating thousands of jobs, kickstarting economic growth and putting more money people's pockets.' The Scottish Government declined to answer in direct response but a spokesperson said to this and earlier questions from The Herald: 'The Scottish Government is focussed on supporting growth and creating jobs by capitalising on Scotland's immense renewable energy capacity rather than expensive new nuclear energy which takes decades to build, creates toxic waste which is difficult and costly to dispose of and does not generate power at a cost that will bring down energy bills.' The union said the nuclear industry supports around 3,700 jobs in Scotland and contributes about £400 million to the Scottish economy.
The Herald Scotland
33 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
As politicians bicker, Scotland faces losing Alexander Dennis
This is all the more so when it comes to manufacturing job losses in Scotland, perhaps because of the extent to which this sector has dwindled over the decades. The news that up to 400 jobs are at risk at Falkirk bus manufacturing firm Alexander Dennis is first and foremost a massive blow to the people directly affected. It means there is a very real prospect of hundreds more people joining the ranks of the unemployed in an area hit hard by the closure of Scotland's only oil refinery at Grangemouth, with the loss of around 400 job losses. It is always disheartening when concerns over widespread job cuts come a distant second in the minds of those seeking to score political points from corporate decisions taken to reduce workforces. Yet, coming so soon after further job cuts were announced by oil and gas giant Harbour Energy in Aberdeen, a move blamed by the company on the UK Government's energy profits levy, the proposed cuts at Alexander Dennis have led to an impression of decline in Scottish industry. Opponents of the Scottish Government have been quick to assert that events at Alexander Dennis are yet more evidence of the administration's flawed strategy and failure to protect industry and jobs. These critics repeatedly point to the delays and cost over-runs in the delivery by the nationalised Ferguson Marine shipyard of two ferries to serve the west coast and the time it has taken to find a buyer for Prestwick Airport, which was taken into state ownership in 2013, in justification of these claims (even though Prestwick is now regularly making profits and beginning to build a lucrative air freight operation). The Scottish Government has also come under for fire failing to deliver the amount of "green" jobs in the transition from oil and gas production to renewable energy that ministers forecast. Read more: But in the matter of Alexander Dennis, which has been part of NFI Group since the North American company acquired the firm for £320 million in 2019, any culpability on the part of the Scottish Government seems hard to discern. Winnipeg-based NFI, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, looks simply to have assessed its costs and concluded that it can save money by consolidating its UK bus body building operations into a single site. Unfortunately for Scotland, the site selected for this work is in Scarborough, not Falkirk. Euan Stainbank, the Scottish Labour MP for Falkirk, said the Scottish Government should have done more to support Alexander Dennis by ordering more buses from domestic manufacturers to serve local networks. He said Greater Manchester had bought more than five times the amount of buses from Alexander Dennis than had been purchased to serve the industry in Scotland. But ultimately in Scotland it is down to private bus companies to decide which manufacturers they wish to buy their vehicles from – not the Scottish Government. Naturally, those fighting to prevent the proposed cuts in Falkirk are urging Scottish ministers to do all they can to stop or limit the amount of redundancies during the consultation period that is now under way. Perhaps there is some financial incentive that can be offered to entice NFI to change its mind, but it is hard to be optimistic. Paul Davies, president and managing director of Alexander Dennis, hinted at the limitations of UK policy when the proposed cuts were announced on Wednesday. 'While stakeholders have been sympathetic of the situation, the stark reality is that current UK policy does not allow for the incentivisation or reward of local content, job retention and creation, nor does it encourage any domestic economic benefit,' he said. 'We have warned of the competitive imbalance for some time and would like to see policy and legislative changes that incentivise the delivery of local benefit where taxpayer money is invested. We strongly believe funding that supports public transport should lead to investment in local jobs, domestic supply chains, technology creation and a recurrent tax base.' There is a certain, painful irony to the situation too. While the Grangemouth refinery was declared by Petroineos to be no longer financially viable in the face of global competition and the drive to net zero, the Alexander Dennis site in Falkirk has been involved in the production of buses powered by electrical batteries and hydrogen, in other words at the cutting edge of modern transport technology. As veteran Scottish politician Kenny MacAskill, leader of the Alba Party, noted, it is 'perverse when Scotland is awash with renewable energy and is the base for the UK's green hydrogen that a company specialising in hydrogen buses is forced to relocate elsewhere'. Sadly, past experience in Scotland suggests that once a company decides to close operations, there is no going back. Petroineos could not be persuaded to change course at Grangemouth, and back in 2009 Diageo proceeded to shut down its Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock despite significant protests at the time. It looks for all the world that the proposed cuts at Alexander Dennis are destined to become another sad chapter in Scottish industrial history, and one that will be especially poignant given the company's proud and long manufacturing legacy.
