Category Archives: Government

Government, Policing, Scotland

Staffing crisis in Police Scotland as hundreds quit crisis-hit force

POLICE SCOTLAND

HUNDREDS of probationary police officers have quit Police Scotland less than three years after signing up. Growing fears over plummeting morale in the crisis-hit force amidst several investigations into claims of bullying lays bare the huge task now facing police chiefs.

According to newly released figures, 269 have resigned since 2013, with more than 130 leaving within 12 months of joining the service. The statistics, released under freedom of information legislation, suggests soaring stress levels and a serious issue with morale.

This latest set of data comes just weeks after Chief Constable Phil Gormley, who faced several investigations into bullying claims which he denied, quit the force. Several senior officers are still suspended over allegations of bullying, intimidation and wrongdoing.

Figures obtained under FOI show that 139 probationers left in their first year, 89 resigned before completing two years and 41 quit within three years.

Officers complete their probation after two years, but this can be extended to three years if they take agreed time off – or fail to satisfactorily complete assessments.

Some politicians argue that officers and staff have paid the price for the SNP’s botched centralisation of the single force. They say this is one reason why we need an independent and expert review of policing.

While officials could not reveal why probationers had left, it is understood the reasons include performance, personal circumstances, failing to meet standards on fitness and health, or after deciding that policing was not the career for them.

There were claims in Scotland last year that a policewoman had quit the force after three years “in her dream job” because she was “physically and emotionally exhausted” and close to a “nervous breakdown”. It was said the young officer had to deal with “relentless ten-hour shifts and never-ending paperwork.”

Other officers who have been in touch with the Scottish Police Federation, the force’s governing body, have revealed there are serious safety concerns and stress levels are “through the roof”.

Police Scotland has recently introduced Your Wellbeing Matters, with more than 170 wellbeing champions now available in divisions across the country. This is being developed to provide a full range of support including specialist, confidential guidance, advice and other practical measures.

– Nearly 1,500 applicants fail fitness test

A TOTAL of 1,480 people who applied to become police officers in Scotland in the past three years have been rejected after failing initial fitness tests.

In the financial year 2016-17 alone, 4,489 took the Police Scotland fitness assessment and 686 were rejected.

The figures, part of the FOI request, show that in the period from 2014-15 to 2016-17, 14 per cent of would-be police officers failed to meet the standard.

A senior police officer from the force’s training department said: “The testing of fitness is carried out to ensure potential and probationary officers are fit to undertake the role of constable. Where applicants fail to achieve the required standard, they may re-apply following a period of time.”

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Britain, Business, Defence, Government, National Security

The GKN bid and threat to national security?

MELROSE

THE hostile takeover of the defence giant GKN is to be investigated by MPs amid concern that it could harm national security.

In a rare intervention in a corporate takeover, senior executives from GKN and the predatory bidder Melrose are being called before the business committee.

MPs want answers about the risk to jobs, pensions and the manufacture of key military components if the £7.4billion deal goes ahead.

It came as Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson expressed “serious concerns” about the proposed takeover.

Giving evidence to the defence select committee, Mr Williamson said he had written to Business Secretary Greg Clark about the deal, adding: “There is no clarity as to what the true approach is going to be in terms of the GKN military side of the business.

“We sometimes have to ask tough questions as to whether we should raise concerns about the break-up of large successful important businesses that have a real impact upon our national security. It would have been remiss if I didn’t do that on this occasion.”

Turnaround specialist Melrose’s bid for GKN, which employs 6,000 people in the UK and 58,000 worldwide, is facing close-scrutiny amid concerns over its potential impact.

Redditch-based GKN, which is nearly 260 years old, makes parts for fighter jets including the US-UK F-35, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and the US B-21 stealth bomber. It also produces components for aircraft and car firms including Airbus, Mercedes and Toyota.

The Government is investigating whether it could intervene on national security grounds. The business committee is to hold a hearing into the takeover on March 6.

Committee chairman Rachel Reeves said: “GKN is an important company for the UK and globally. This session will be an opportunity to hear from Unite [the union] and for GKN and Melrose to set out their case for the future of the business.”

GKN’s fate was thrown into doubt last month when Melrose tabled its offer to buy the firm, which was rejected by board members as cheap and opportunistic.

Melrose’s strategy is to sell firms on it has acquired at a profit within three to five years, raising fears that GKN will be broken up piecemeal and sold off around the world.

Melrose suffered a £28million loss last year and has presided over factory closures and hundreds of job cuts.

The firm has said it welcomes the opportunity to appear before the select committee. It also said that while it believes there are no competition or national security issues, it asserts that it will be in the national interest for Melrose to be the guardian of GKN businesses. As a British public company, it says it is fully aware of its ownership responsibilities.

GKN said it was happy to give evidence to the committee.

 

AS MPs launch an inquiry into the hostile bid for Britain’s oldest engineering company, it is a relief that Westminster has at last woken up to this grave threat to our national interest.

Anyone who believes the get-rich-quick asset strippers at Melrose are fit to take over GKN should look closely what happened to FKI, another company that fell into their clutches ten years ago.

After selling off most of the firm’s assets for a huge profit, Melrose kept control of gas turbine manufacturer Brush – which has performed weakly ever since, with the threat of job losses now hanging over it.

Earlier this week, Melrose reported a loss of £28million after writing-off £145million from Brush’s value. Can such City takeover firms, relying on loans for their acquisitions, really be trusted to takeover GKN?

For 260 years, this flagship engineering firm has been vital to our defence, making cannonballs for Waterloo and Spitfires for the Battle of Britain. To this day, it remains a world-beater in the sort of technologies we will need after Brexit, whether building parts for stealth aircraft or driveshafts for new electric cars.

True, GKN needs to improve its efficiency. But it would be madness to let it be broken up and sold to the highest bidders at home and abroad.

As leading industrialist and Government adviser Sir Richard Lapthorne puts it: “The hollowing out of Britain’s industrial base has gone too far. The Germans and French would not even dream of allowing this.”

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Britain, Business, Defence, Government

Acquisition firm seeking to takeover GKN made £28m loss in 2017

MELROSE

THE PREDATORY firm plotting to snap up British defence giant GKN suffered a £28million loss last year.

Financial results for turnaround company Melrose also showed it has presided over factory closures and hundreds of job cuts.

Its annual loss for 2017 was fuelled by problems with power generation firm Brush, which it took over and acquired a decade earlier.

The loss-making figures will add to questions about Melrose’s suitability to own GKN, a key supplier to defence and aerospace industries with more than £9billion in sales.

Melrose has made a £7.4billion offer for GKN, which has some 58,000 employees worldwide including 6,000 in the UK, and makes key parts for fighter jets, airplanes and motor vehicles.

But the bid has been rejected by the board of GKN as being “cheap and opportunistic”, triggering the biggest hostile takeover battle in a decade and calls for the UK Government to intervene.

Alex Chisholm, permanent secretary for the business department, has been quizzed about the bid by the Commons business committee.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is also under pressure in answering questions from the defence committee. GKN has significant stakes in military projects and supply chains.

Melrose insists it remains well-placed to push ahead with its offer. Chairman Christopher Miller said: “Substantial long-term value is being created with significant investment in new technology, new products and operations.” The financial woes at Melrose stem from a takeover of engineering group FKI in 2008, which included buying Brush.

Melrose has also disclosed that it was writing-off £144.7million in value from this division, including £31.1million on the closure of its factory in Changshu, China. Melrose said Brush’s generator sales fell 43 per cent last year.

The results revealed that up to 270 jobs are at risk at Brush’s production factory in Loughborough. It is also closing its facility in Ridderderk, Netherlands, and shifting work to the Czech Republic.

Elsewhere, Melrose closed loss-making operations in the heating and ventilation division of Nortek, the US manufacturer it bought in 2016.

A spokesperson for Melrose said: “Brush remains a fine business which we are happy to support … The real number investors will focus on is the dramatic increase in underlying profits and the near doubling of the dividend, which reflects our confidence in the progress being made at Nortek.”

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