Banned for life for listening to the budget debate

While the drama on the floor of the City Chambers was going on, one member of the public in the packed and very small public gallery, claims she was huckled out of the building and told she was banned for life.

Grace Harrington along with other parents whose adult children use the Accord Centre in the East End, was attending Glasgow City Council’s budget meeting on Thursday to hear if the budget included any hope for a new centre for them.

The last time she sat in the public gallery she was driven to shouting down to the Councillors below. ‘They were telling a pack of lies,’ she later told this website.

And because she had been removed from the public gallery on that previous occasion, she believes she was targeted on Thursday. ‘I was doing nothing but listening. Then the attendant came over and said I was disrupting the meeting,’ said a stunned Grace. ‘He also told me I was not a model citizen and would never be allowed back in the City Chambers again.’

The Accord Centre users are adults with special needs such as Downs Syndrome, autism and other complex conditions. In Dalmarnock, the Accord centre is scheduled to be demolished to make way for a bus park for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. This week the first person has been told the centre will be closed, finally,  on Friday 24 February.

This will leave more than 50 families and their adult children without a day centre to attend. Following a visit by First Minister Alex Salmond, last May, the centre was stripped of all the facilities that had been provided to make it a useful and appealing place for people to use.

‘Now we’re being told that we’ll need to go to the Banbury community centre where a room has been hired and a fire exit has been made into a door with a ramp.’ said another parent. ‘That’s all we’re getting and it’s ‘take it or leave it’ as far as Glasgow City Council is concerned.’

The Accord families had high hopes that accommodation would be provided for their special needs within the plans of the Tollcross Acquatic Centre which is being improved for the Commonwealth Games. ‘We’re still waiting to hear what a feasibility study has suggested,’ said Grace. ‘We’ve always believed we were promised a ‘like for like’ building and centre but we’re still waiting and hoping.’

 

COURT DECIDES

The Court of the University of Glasgow has finalised the ‘reshaping’ of the University which has caused great unrest among students and staff.

With their budget decisions for 2011-12 made today (Wednesday 22 June 2011) Court accepted all the recommendations made by the panels that were established to consult widely with the academic schools as well as with student representatives.
This means that:
The School of Modern Languages and Cultures will maintain the teaching of the full current range of modern languages at the levels currently taught.
Anthropology, Archaeology, Classics and History will continue to be taught at the University of Glasgow.
Nursing and Healthcare will continue as normal, including admissions for academic year 2011-12 and 2012-13, pending the outcome of the Chief Nursing Officer’s review.
The Open Programme will continue to provide courses, but through an independent, self-supporting unit within University Services.
The Centre for Drug Misuse Research will close.
The University will continue to withdraw from the Glasgow School of Social Work.
The University will withdraw provision of the dedicated Liberal Arts programmes on the Dumfries Campus from 2012-13. In a statement, the University added: ‘The University is committed to a strong and positive future for the Dumfries campus as we develop our range of courses focused on environmental studies, health and social studies, and primary education, and liberal arts will continue to be a part of other interdisciplinary degree programmes at Dumfries Campus.’

Speaking later, the Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Glasgow Professor Anton Muscatelli, said that the decisions made at Court meant that the University was now in a very strong position going forward: “The past few months have been extremely challenging and I want to pay tribute to everyone who took part in what was a vigorous and comprehensive consultation programme. The difficult decisions that have been addressed, coupled with the work that has been done to turn-around our finances means that the future prospects for the continued excellence of the University of Glasgow are extremely promising. We will continue to provide a world-class learning and teaching environment, and look forward to the future development and success of the University with considerable optimism.”

Nasim Jamil attacker’s clothes ‘may be bloodstained’, say police

 

Police investigating the murder of radio presenter Nasim Jamil have renewed their appeal for information after it emerged her assailant’s clothes may have been bloodstained in the attack.

 

The Awaz FM agony aunt, 54, died as a result of severe head injuries she sustained in the ‘brutal’ assault at her home, 128 Byres Road, Hillhead, on Wednesday, 9 December.

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Raphael, officer in charge of the investigation, said:

‘We believe she attended a doctor’s appointment nearby around 1.30pm. I would urge anyone who saw Nasim anytime between then and early evening to come forward.

‘Byres Road is always busy with shoppers, pedestrians and motorists, and I appreciate that it may be difficult to remember seeing someone entering a close.  However, I am interested in speaking to anyone who saw anyone leaving the close at 128 Byres Road on Wednesday.

‘Did anyone notice someone running from the area or someone behaving in a suspicious manner? It may well be that the person responsible’s clothing will have been bloodstained. It is important that we speak to any person who could provide that little bit of information that could prove vital to our investigation.’

Any members of the public with information can contact the Police incident room on 0141 532 3559 or call Crimestoppers freephone number 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.