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Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

I, too, am a member of Fife Council, at present.

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

Like David Torrance, I am a Fife councillor.The question that I had intended to ask has mostly been answered, but I have a supplementary about Jenny Stewart’s very interesting comments about inputs and outcomes which mirrors Mr Torrance’s point about measuring such things. Mig...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

At a national level, everyone has agreed that preventative spend is a good thing. We need to separate out preventative spend, with regard to the causal links to the benefits, from the general revenue support that we provide on a day-to-day basis. Kevin Stewart mentioned earlie...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

I refer you to page 4 of your introductory slides, which shows “Scottish and UK GDP Growth”. I want to ask about the veracity of the numbers, so that I understand them. This is not intended to be a political question. What is the contribution of oil and gas around the shore in...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

Does the panel see any scope for any efficiency savings or reductions in costs within the general workforce so that the people who I feel strongly should have the living wage can be paid properly? Returning to the subject of scales, we are talking about people who are earning ...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

Hello, panel.I have two questions. Preventative spend is an extremely difficult thing to measure, as you have all indicated. As a former salesman, I am concerned that it is possible to dress almost anything up as preventative spend. Could you give us your ideas on some simple ...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

I was very impressed when Councillor Keenan referred earlier to designing services based on need rather than demand—I think that I am paraphrasing him correctly. That will be very important in priority-based budgeting, which, as Kevin Stewart said, is really zero-based budgeti...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

May I take that further? I learned from the previous panel that preventative spend could be tied in with partnership working, joint ventures and so on. Every council should obviously be trying its best to do its own internal preventative spending but, using the change funds, t...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

From what he said earlier, I am pleased that the cabinet secretary is not forgetting about local income tax—which is a far more equitable way of raising money in the community.We have been bashing around ideas on what is preventative spend with all sorts of people. What are yo...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

One of the tests might be that other parties should be involved and that there should be a substantial element of joint working and partnership. Each council should be doing its best anyway, but do you think that there should be a requirement for partnerships involving the hea...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

Good morning. I am sorry that this is perhaps not as specific a question as you would like, convener. I think that we are all in favour of that great concept of prevention rather than cure. However, as a councillor, I can think of all sorts of clever ways of dressing up spendi...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

I am glad that Lorraine Gillies said what she did about the long-term spend. There is often a tendency to go for quick hits. You need simple and, hopefully, understandable systems and processes that allow you to measure things over a five or even a 10-year period. It is good t...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

Following our previous panel discussion, I would like to ask you more or less the same question, which was augmented by colleagues and the previous panel. What is preventative spend? Coming from a local government background, I know that almost anything can be dressed up as pr...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

We do not want to make everyone at the coalface do number crunching and bookkeeping all the time, but we need to be able to measure and to show the sceptics the benefits to people. The benefit, of course, is that the young chap that Mr Paterson talked about does not go into cr...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Committee

I declare that I remain an elected member of Fife Council.

Bill Walker SNP Committee

I wish that John Wilson would not steal my speeches. I support what he said. This is a valid matter, but it has been subject to a very heavy consultation and the Scottish Government is considering it. It is a question of timing, and I do not think that now is the right time. W...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

We do not know what the Scottish Government will decide to do, if anything, so it would be appropriate to consider the petition at a later stage. We are not not considering it; it is just that the timing is not quite right. That is why I support what the convener has said.

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petitions

I hear everything that Claire Baker says and agree with much of the feeling behind it. I am the local member at the Dunfermline end of the road but, unfortunately, I do not see what more we can do with the petition. Things are happening, albeit too slowly, and I do not know wh...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petitions

I declare an interest as a long-serving, longsuffering fan of Heart of Midlothian Football Club.Sandra White put it well, and I am all for helping to develop football, too. There are many positive aspects, despite some of the negative stuff—I am thinking about recent behaviour...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petitions

I agree with what has just been said. The problem is that such steps could apply to other breeds. We are talking about Staffies, but all sorts of other dogs—I could probably list six or seven breeds—should be included in the action. From my purchasing and rehoming of dogs over...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petitions

Are there working groups for other breeds? That relates to the point that I made earlier.

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petitions

I agree with what has just been said. I hate the phrase “postcode lottery”—I think that you used the word “passport” just now, convener—but, when the petitioners spoke to us, I was shocked by the idea that the availability of insulin pumps is so variable. That just seemed wron...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petitions

I am quite happy with representatives making those inquiries. Glasgow is not too far to go, but I would volunteer to go to the Western Isles, as I have not been there for at least 10 years. This is not a big committee, but it makes economic sense for only two or three members ...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Committee

Subordinate Legislation

I think that I understand Robson rotation, but when I talked to people about the issue, one thing that I discovered was that they are used to looking at things alphabetically. With a name like Walker, I am always up against it. There might be an issue within parties when they ...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Committee

Proposed High Hedges (Scotland) Bill

Good morning, Mark. I have two follow-up points. In my mailbag, I have had lots of correspondence on the issue in Fife. Unfortunately, trees are often part of the problem, because they can form a neat barrier. The issue is not just shadow, but the views that people should be a...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Proposed High Hedges (Scotland) Bill

A tree can be a barrier not just to light coming in, but to a view. We all like a view from a garden and do not want to be fenced in—that is why I raised the issue. It is difficult to see through trees for most of the year.

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Proposed High Hedges (Scotland) Bill

Do you agree that the evidence from England not only supports your proposal but shows that the existence of legislation will act as a deterrent and encourage people to behave properly in the first place, such that there will be no need to go down another route? If we had such ...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Committee

Current Petition

Perhaps I should declare an interest. I am still a member of Fife Council.My question leads on from what colleagues have said. In the complex situation that we are in, unfortunately, with child sexual exploitation, how does the Scottish Government hold the 32 councils to accou...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petition

I will pursue that a little bit. I am not in favour of a national social work agency by any means, and of course we do not want to increase administrative costs, but I am glad that you have touched on inspections. That approach will be quite difficult, with 32 local authoritie...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petition

Bill Walker SNP Committee

To supplement what colleagues have said, I think that we should not consider the petition at present. There is a wonderful further education college in my constituency, and I want to support it in every way. However, the petition is a bit too narrow and we should refer it to t...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petitions

I did not realise that there have been 13 discussions on the petition—that is an unfortunate number. During my short time as a member of the committee, I have learned that petitions can go on and on unless a decision is made. Gil Paterson asked members to continue their consid...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Current Petitions

I support that. Until recently, I was not aware how many people call NHS 24 from mobile phones, which is pretty expensive. People phone when there is a serious matter that does not merit a 999 call. I hope that consideration of the 111 number will be concluded soon, so that we...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Committee

Decision on Taking Business in Private

I declare an interest as an elected member of Fife Council.

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Building Repairs (Scotland) Bill

Good morning, Mr Stewart. My question goes back to the consultation that you have done so far, particularly with the Scottish Government, which has history in this regard, so I reckon that there is quite a lot of information. I am not asking you to praise the Scottish Governme...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Building Repairs (Scotland) Bill

Constituents who knew that you were working on the matter have asked whether, if the bill progresses through the member’s bill route, you have any idea of the timescale involved. Do you get the feeling that it will get nods along the way?

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Good morning, Mr Muir. I am very interested in this subject. You want the Government to carry out“an independent ‘fit for purpose’ review”because the SPSO is set up by the Parliament. How do you see an investigative body being selected, bearing it in mind that you are asking t...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

I understand the concept of independence once those people are in place, but do you see the Scottish Government or the Parliament appointing them? How will it work, to get at the independence concept?

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I will follow that up on a practical level. I am still a local councillor in Fife and we have a pretty good relationship with the police. For example, at ward level we work with constables and sergeants; at area committee level, we work with chief inspectors; and at Fife Counc...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Chamber

Budget (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I hear what Claudia Beamish says about wanting more money for certain things and reducing the cuts. I do not like the word “cuts”, but sometimes that is what they are. If we are not to implement the cuts that she mentions, will she and her colleagues please tell us which budge...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Chamber

Everyone else is getting a geographical mention. I am one of the poor souls in the constituency of Dunfermline in West Fife who does not have broadband in his house. I have petitioned the cabinet secretary, but to no avail.Does the cabinet secretary agree that the tremendous c...

Bill Walker SNP Chamber

I know that we are getting very technical, but does the member agree that the problem with copper wires and the distance from the exchange can arise almost anywhere? There are places throughout the central belt, such as Cumbernauld, my area of west Fife and Kirkliston—which we...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Committee

Decision on Taking Business in Private

I declare an interest as an elected member of Fife Council.

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Good afternoon. I want to follow that up at a local level. In Fife, we have a pretty good relationship between Fife Council and the police, especially at local level. We have wards, area committees and so on, and as a councillor I regularly meet constables, sergeants, inspecto...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

As I have said, in Fife we have a pretty good relationship with all ranks in the matrix structure, from that of chief constable downwards, and I am sure that the same is true in Dumfries and Galloway. A look at those relationships might be worth while. I should say also that I...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I will have another go—you heard us discussing this with the previous panel—at the idea of local commanders. In Fife, we have a good relationship at the lower levels—by which I mean wards, area committees and so on—between communities and the police. That works very well and i...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

This might be the final question. I was heartened to hear Kevin Smith mention earlier that an inspector or chief inspector would be the local commander to look after Clackmannanshire. I live near there, and that is good.The position of local commander will be at the heart of t...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I hope that David O’Connor will remember that I said to the previous panel that superintendents are all very nice people.I am very much in favour of the whole thing, but its success on the ground will revolve around the local commander. In Fife, we have good relationships thro...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I will ask a question that is similar to the one that I put to the police. I am pleased to say that in Fife, or certainly in west Fife, which is my part of the world, there is a pretty good relationship between the fire and rescue service and the communities, although in recen...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Chamber

Scottish Executive Question Time · Year of Homecoming 2014

7. To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made regarding the programme for the year of homecoming 2014. (S4O-00585)

Bill Walker SNP Chamber

Scottish Executive Question Time · Year of Homecoming 2014

I thank the cabinet secretary for her helpful response. Does she agree that the city of Dunfermline—as Scotland’s ancient capital, the burial place of King Robert the Bruce, the location of the highly successful annual Bruce festival and the birthplace of Scotland’s greatest p...

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP Committee

I declare an interest as an elected member of Fife Council.

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Living Wage Inquiry

I am interested in what you have said, and would be interested to hear your comments on one thing that you did not touch on. Most people agree that, broadly speaking, the living wage is a good idea; it is just a matter of how, when, how much and so on. You did not mention comp...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Living Wage Inquiry

The issue comes up in my area of Fife. We have what are loosely called foreign contractors operating in Fife, and they seem to be able to undercut local businesses. I know that, to its credit, Fife Council organises courses and so on to help companies to make the best bids. Of...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Dangerous Buildings and Building MOTs

Some of my questions have been answered in the responses to Anne McTaggart. I agree with David Gibbon that a great deal of work on buildings is reactive. To some extent, it is the same with cars, but I remind John McKinney that at least cars must have MOT tests when we are req...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Dangerous Buildings and Building MOTs

I guess that the issue is about having a good body of information about buildings, as all our buildings are pretty old. However, most of the existing buildings do not have such a body of information about them, detailing where the cables and pipes are, et cetera. I realise tha...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Dangerous Buildings and Building MOTs

Very good, Kevin.

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Dangerous Buildings and Building MOTs

My question is probably for Alastair Mackenzie. I am a councillor in Fife, and I know that local authorities get involved only when a building is found to be dangerous, which is sometimes a bit late.I listened to what Margaret Mitchell said to the previous panel about the duti...

Bill Walker SNP Committee

Dangerous Buildings and Building MOTs

As I understand it, the building MOT will have to be self-financing through charges and so on. As someone who is wary of duplication, I wonder whether, with the great amount of local authority expertise that you have, you think that such an approach could be extended to ensure...

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Committee

Local Government and Regeneration Committee 05 October 2011

05 Oct 2011 · S4 · Local Government and Regeneration Committee

Item of business

Draft Budget 2012-13 and Spending Review 2011

Walker, Bill SNP Dunfermline Watch on SPTV

I, too, am a member of Fife Council, at present.

In the same item of business

The Convener (Joe FitzPatrick) SNP

I welcome everyone to the seventh meeting in 2011 of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee in this session. As usual, I ask everyone to ensure that...

Mark Griffin (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lab

I am a member of North Lanarkshire Council.

David Torrance (Kirkcaldy) (SNP) SNP

I am a member of Fife Council.

Bill Walker (Dunfermline) (SNP) SNP

I, too, am a member of Fife Council, at present.

Kevin Stewart (Aberdeen Central) (SNP) SNP

I am a member of Aberdeen City Council.

The Convener SNP

I thank members for that. I will kick off with a general question. Will panel members briefly outline what they consider to be the main issues for local gove...

Jenny Stewart (KPMG)

I run KPMG’s public sector business in Scotland and I am part of our United Kingdom leadership team, so I have a view of what is happening in local governmen...

The Convener SNP

How can we tease out whether variations in spending are down to efficiencies, inefficiencies or demand?

Jenny Stewart

The detail is not great, as ever, and there is a lot of work to do on that. However, there is a clear framework around which we can ask why there are differe...

Kevin Stewart SNP

That was interesting. The committee has talked a lot about how difficult it can be to benchmark, because sometimes we are comparing apples with oranges. In y...

Jenny Stewart

Yes—it is true that there is an issue about whether data are comparable on a like-for-like basis. However, problems with data should not stop us trying to as...

Bob Christie (National Community Planning Group)

Thank you. I will talk about that from the perspective of the national community planning group, which comprises local authority chief executives, national h...

Fiona Kordiak (Audit Scotland)

Some of the points that I will make on behalf of Audit Scotland are similar to points that Jenny Stewart made. There are clear challenges in the budget for l...

David Torrance SNP

I want to talk about preventative spend. Over the next three years, the Government will spend some £500 million on three funds. What areas of local governmen...

Jenny Stewart

There were quite a lot of questions there. Will you go over what you asked? You asked about outcomes.

David Torrance SNP

How can we measure outcomes? We often throw money at things but do not get outcomes. What areas of local government would be best to take work forward? How c...

Jenny Stewart

I am sorry, but I should have mentioned at the outset that I am a director of Volunteer Development Scotland and of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Co Ltd. Obviousl...

Bob Christie

There is a challenge in measuring outcomes. Right from the start of the single outcome agreement process, it was recognised that that was going to be a huge ...

Fiona Kordiak

At its simplest level, measuring outcomes is pretty straightforward—for example, educational attainment improves or health improves—but there is a need to ge...

David Torrance SNP

I want to go back to the point about keeping people in their own environment. Why have local authorities been so slow to take up initiatives such as telecare...

Jenny Stewart

I can send you heaps of stuff on telecare and telehealth. We are trying to widen the definition so that we are looking across the whole piece—taking the indi...

Bill Walker SNP

Like David Torrance, I am a Fife councillor.The question that I had intended to ask has mostly been answered, but I have a supplementary about Jenny Stewart’...

Jenny Stewart

The holy grail of outcome-based budgeting is being able to know that if you put £10 in one place you will get X amount of output in another. As we know, howe...

Bob Christie

The challenge of knowing what works chimes very well with the three key challenges that Fiona Kordiak identified and which I will, if I may, summarise. First...

Bill Walker SNP

At a national level, everyone has agreed that preventative spend is a good thing. We need to separate out preventative spend, with regard to the causal links...

Fiona Kordiak

It is always a good idea to ask users what works. Sometimes they will give you a different answer from the one that you expected.

Kevin Stewart SNP

That leads me on to my question. Jenny Stewart mentioned priority-based budgeting and Fiona Kordiak spoke about consulting with communities over a long perio...

The Convener SNP

It is good when our witnesses work as a team.

Bob Christie

Aberdeen faced financial pressures on a scale that we are only now beginning to appreciate throughout the rest of Scotland, and we can learn from it. The Imp...

Mark Griffin Lab

What are panel members’ views on the financial and accountability issues that local government will face as a result of the draft budget proposals on council...