Mobile phone network EE has been fined £1 million for failing to comply with rules on handling customer complaints.

An investigation by telecoms regulator Ofcom found the firm – owner of the Orange and T-Mobile brands – did not provide certain customers with accurate or adequate information about their right to take complaints to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme.

The watchdog said that EE failed to write to a number of customers to tell them about their right to take their complaint to an ADR eight weeks after they first raised their concerns.

In addition, between July 2011 and February 2014, EE sent paper bills to Orange customers and written notifications to Orange, 4GEE and T-Mobile customers that did not reference that they can use its ADR scheme for free.

Claudio Pollack, Ofcom’s consumer and content group director, said: “It’s vital that customers can access all the information they need when they’re pursuing a complaint.

“Ofcom imposes strict rules on how providers must handle complaints and treats any breach of these rules very seriously. The fine imposed against EE takes account of the serious failings that occurred in the company’s complaints handling, and the extended period over which these took place.”

A FORMER Labour MP and transport minister is among four new cross-party appointments at the think-tank Reform Scotland.

Tom Harris, who lost his Glasgow South seat to the SNP in May’s general election, takes up a post on the organisation’s advisory board.

Other appointments include Siobhan Mathers, a former policy convenor of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Paul McLennan, an SNP councillor and former leader of East Lothian Council, and Steve Thomson, a Highlands and Islands Enterprise board member.

The think tank has also announced that Alan McFarlane, founding partner of Edinburgh-based investment management business Dundas Partners LLP, will replace Ben Thomson, who has stepped down as chairman.

Mr McFarlane said: “This series of major announcements represents a re-charging of Reform Scotland.

“We will be embarking on a series of ambitious reports in the lead-up to the Scottish Parliament elections of 2016, which will outline how Scotland can reform the way it creates wealth and provides public services.”

EVEN at the time it must have seemed like a truly bizarre idea. In the midst of the Northern Ireland Troubles, it was suggested that the entire population of Hong Kong should be uprooted and relocated in a new city built in the middle of the province.

While the scheme may appear too preposterous for words, newly-released files at the National Archives in Kew, west London, show that it nevertheless sparked a flurry of correspondence in Whitehall.

The plan was the brainchild of a lecturer at Reading University, Christy Davies, who warned that when Britain handed back Hong Kong to China in 1997, there would be no future for its 5.5 million inhabitants.

The alternative, he suggested, was to resettle them in a new “city state” to be established between Coleraine and Derry – a move, he said, which could “revitalise” the stagnant Northern Ireland economy.

When details of his scheme appeared in the Belfast News Letter in October 1983, they caught the eye of George Fergusson, an official in the Northern Ireland Office.

He fired off a memorandum on the subject to a colleague in the Republic of Ireland department of the Foreign Office, declaring: “At this stage we see real advantages in taking the proposal seriously.”

Among the benefits, he suggested, was that it would help convince the Unionist population that the government in Westminster was truly committed to retaining Northern Ireland in the UK.

“If the plantation were undertaken it would have evident advantages in reassuring Unionist opinion of the open-ended nature of the Union.

“There would be corresponding disadvantages in relation to the minority community [and Dublin],” he said.

It is not clear whether his tongue was in his cheek when he wrote, but by the time the reply came back two weeks later from David Snoxell at the Foreign Office, somebody had twigged that the idea was perhaps not entirely serious.

“My initial reaction, however, is that the proposal could be useful to the extent that the arrival of 5.5 million Chinese in Northern Ireland may induce the indigenous peoples to forsake their homeland for a future elsewhere,” Mr Snoxell drily replied. “We should not underestimate the danger of this taking the form of a mass exodus of boat refugees in the direction of south-east Asia.

“On the other hand, the countries of that region may view with equanimity the prospect of receiving a God-fearing, law-abiding people with an ingrained work ethic, to replace those that have left.”

Worse, he added, the plan could have serious implications for the UK’s dispute with Dublin over the sovereignty of Lough Foyle.

“The Chinese people of Hong Kong are essentially a fishing and maritime people,” he wrote. “I am sure you would share our view that it would be unwise to settle the people of Hong Kong in the vicinity of Lough Foyle until we had established our claims on the lough and whether these extended to the high or low water mark.”

A Foreign Office colleague noted: “My mind will be boggling for the rest of the day.”

A COMMISSION looking at alternatives to the council tax should tackle “flaws” in the system to encourage more investment in the private rented sector, according to representatives of landlords.

The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) will give evidence to the Scottish Government’s Commission on Local Tax Reform today setting out four key areas for reform.

The commission, announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in November, is tasked with examining a fairer way of funding local government services.

SAL wants to see empty furnished properties entitled to the same six-month full council tax exemption that unfurnished properties qualify for, as long as they are being repaired, upgraded or marketed for new tenants.

The organisation also said that it was “unfair” that the exemption for unfurnished properties is not re-set when a property is sold.

It called for the system to be changed so that landlords cannot be pursued for outstanding money when tenants in a house in multiple occupation have agreed to take over liability for the council tax.

SAL also wants a two-year cut-off after which local authorities cannot pursue property owners for council tax when a tenant has been responsible for paying.

Chief executive John Blackwood said: “We have no fixed view concerning what form of local tax should replace the council tax but we do believe this is an opportunity to fix flaws in the current system.

“In particular, we feel there are disincentives which mean landlords might be dissuaded from investing in upgrades or non-emergency repairs because of the lack of council tax discounts available to other groups.

“By ending these practices, landlords would be able to invest more easily in their properties and provide a better service for tenants.

“A strong private rented sector providing value for money for tenants is not only of benefit for landlords and our customers but also to the local authority by adding to the high-quality housing stock in a given area.”

JUDGES have ruled that relatives of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing should not be allowed to pursue an appeal on behalf of the only man convicted of the atrocity.

A group of British relatives argued that they had a “legitimate interest’’ in trying to get the case of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi back before a court for a full appeal.

They believe the Libyan, who died protesting his innocence in his home country in 2012, was the victim of a miscarriage of justice and want his conviction overturned.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC), which is once again looking at Megrahi’s conviction, asked the Appeal Court in Edinburgh for guidance on whether members of the victims’ families can take forward an appeal.

Previous court decisions have meant that only the executor of a dead person’s estate or their next of kin could proceed with such a posthumous application.

A hearing took place at the court yesterday before the Lord Justice Clerk Lord Carloway, sitting with Lord Brodie and Lady Dorrian.

Delivering their judgment, Lord Carloway said that the law was “not designed to give relatives of victims a right to proceed in an appeal for their own or the public interest”. Two of the relatives of victims involved in the action – Dr Jim Swire and Rev John Moseley – were present in court for the hearing.

After the decision, they joined Aamer Anwar, solicitor for the Megrahi family and 26 British relatives of Lockerbie victims, to deliver a statement outside the court, saying the fight would continue.

Mr Anwar said: “It is regularly claimed that we place victims at the heart of the justice system, so why should the families of murder victims not have a legitimate interest in seeking to overturn the wrongful conviction of the person convicted of the murder of their loved ones?

“Justice does not die with the accused, in this case Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

“Despite 26 long years since the Lockerbie bombing, the families will not give up their fight for justice and the truth.

“The matter is not concluded as we remain instructed by al-Megrahi’s family.”

The panel of three judges had heard legal arguments from Ailsa Carmichael QC on behalf of the SCCRC and Gordon Jackson QC for the relatives.

Ms Carmichael told the court the SCCRC wanted to determine at an early stage whether relatives of victims might be classed as a “person with a legitimate interest to pursue an appeal’’ in the event that it decided to refer the case back to the High Court for a third appeal.

She said: “It would be a waste of public funds for the petitioners (the SCCRC) to move into a full consideration and carry out all the investigations that would be required in order to take that decision.”

However, Mr Jackson dismissed the public funds issue as “not all that relevant”, given all the work that has already gone into the case.

He said: “If they (the families) believe as they do that a miscarriage of justice has happened and there has been a wrongful conviction, as they do believe in the case of the death of their relative, then that in my submission is a legitimate interest.”

Megrahi was found guilty of the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the south of Scotland on 21 December 1988, in which 270 people were killed.

SPIDERS are able to travel across water like ships, using their legs as sails and silk as an anchor, scientists have learned.

The arachnids were already known to take to the air on “ballooning” flights, using their silk to catch the wind and carry them up to 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) a day.

Now spiders have been shown to be sailors as well as aviators.

Tests carried out on trays of water showed that many species adopted elaborate postures, such as lifting a pair of legs, to take advantage of wind currents.

In this way they “sailed” in turbulent, still, fresh and salt water conditions.

Britain’s dominant services sector enjoyed a marked pick-up in activity last month, following a temporary lull in May linked to the general election.

The latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (Cips) showed a reading of 58.5 for June, well above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction and up from the five-month low of 56.5 seen the previous month.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: “While uncertainty caused by the Greek debt crisis rules out any imminent hike in interest rates, the post-election rebound in service sector business activity adds to the likelihood of the Bank of England starting to nudge rates higher later this year.

“The survey data are indicating an acceleration of economic growth to 0.5 per cent in the second quarter, up from 0.4 per cent in the first three months of the year.”

However, Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the Bank of England was set to keep interest rates at their record low of 0.5 per cent its monetary policy committee (MPC) concludes its meeting on Thursday.

“It would be highly unlikely to act the day after the budget as the MPC will want to closely study Chancellor George Osborne’s plans and how they are likely to affect the growth and inflation outlooks,” Archer said.

“Wariness over just what will happen in Greece and how badly the rest of the eurozone could be hit will also likely foster near-term caution within the Bank of England in raising interest rates.”

The Queen has attended the official opening of a new £89 million research centre during a visit to Glasgow.

Along with the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen was given a tour of Strathclyde University’s flagship Technology and Innovation Centre.

During the visit the couple joined people across the country in pausing at noon for a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of last week’s beach massacre in Tunisia.

The centre was constructed as a hub for world-leading research, promoting partnerships between academics, business and the public sector.

The university said it is already attracting millions of pounds of investment to Glasgow and equipping graduates and postgraduates with sought-after skills for a career in industry.

University principal Professor Sir Jim McDonald said the formal opening and royal visit was a “defining event” for everyone at Strathclyde.

He said: “This is undoubtedly a historic occasion for the institution and we look forward to showing our distinguished visitors how our new centre represents our commitment to undertaking world-class research and translating its outcomes for maximum benefit to society and the economy.

“The centre further establishes Strathclyde’s position as the partner of choice for business, industry and the public sector.

“Our collaborations are opening up exceptional opportunities for students too, with sponsorships, internships and vocational projects to equip them with essential and relevant skills to develop their careers.”

Later in the day, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will visit South Glasgow University Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

Upon their official openings today they will be renamed the The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow and The Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow.

The new campus is replacing the Royal Hospital for Sick Kids at Yorkhill, the Southern General Hospital, Western and Victoria infirmaries and Mansionhouse Unit.

LOOK your best this summer with bold prints and kaleidescopic make-up, writes style blogger Laura Pearson-Smith

It has been a colourful couple of weeks for me now that summer is finally here. From trying out eye-catching new make-up brights to learning how to dazzle by the poolside in bold prints, there’s been nothing dull about my fortnight.

Stylish Happenings

Attending the Debenhams’ Summer Soiree event at hot new Glasgow restaurant Gusto was a great way to welcome in the sunshine. Debenhams showcased colourful summer swimwear collections from their Designers at Debenhams ranges such as Butterfly by Matthew Williamson and J by Jasper Conran, and the new summer beauty releases currently on sale in their beauty hall from the likes of Bare Minerals and Too Faced. Guests supped cocktails and enjoyed some delicious Gusto canapés whilst being treated to manicures from nail polish brand Essie and bespoke flower crown-making masterclasses from florist Lorraine Wood.

I also headed along to the launch event at Glasgow’s House of Fraser store for the new Benefit Cosmetics’ coloured They’re Real Liner and Mascara releases. Their famous black They’re Real Mascara (£19.50 from House of Fraser) and Liner (£18.50) now come in a variety of colours. I love the electric blue mascara and the green eyeliner - they’re a great, quick way to create a show-stopping eye make-up look.

The #BLOW Finnieston hair colour and style bar in Glasgow’s West End (famous for creating the glittery roots look that Miley Cyrus is a fan of) has just launched a new hair braid menu. I went along to their launch event, and had one of their braided styles done on my own hair. I love braids during the summer months. There are lots of styles available to choose from, so if you want to try out a different look, head down there.

What To Buy On A Shopping Spree

I’m in love with a beautiful silk skirt by Louche. The soft Sha Floral Skirt (£39) is available at Joy stores, and is perfect for any summer weddings you have in your diary.

Something else I’ve been loving is Fleur de Force’s book. Beauty and fashion YouTuber Fleur de Force’s The Glam Guide is full of useful life and style tips. Every girl needs this work of art in her life. You can pick it up in Waterstones stores for £11.29.

If you’re looking to pick up some new make-up for summer, the Smashbox L.A. Lights Blendable Lip & Cheek Colours (£25 from Boots) is amazing. The cream formula sticks blend really well, and you can apply them sheer or really build up the colour intensity.

Instagram Of The Week (@LPearsonSmith)

I am obsessed with being organised and with pretty stationery, so I combined both of these loves by ordering myself a custom A5 Personal Planner (£19.95 from Personal Planner UK). I can now keep track of all my work, meal plans and exercise schedule in one place, and decorate it each week.

• Laura Pearson-Smith is a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogger at A Life With Frills. You can drop her a tweet at @LPearsonSmith.

THE Scottish Human Rights Commission has reported concerns about Police Scotland’s use of stop-and-search tactics to the United Nations, claiming the practice is still being carried out unlawfully.

The commission included its criticisms of the policy in a report to a UN committee examining the UK’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the code promoting observance of human rights internationally.

The report to the UN’s human rights committee highlighted the need for stop-and-search to take place within the legal framework set out by the covenant.

Professor Alan Miller, chair of the commission, said: “Stop-and-search has its place as a means of ensuring public safety. However, it should only be carried out where there is a clear legal basis for interfering with someone’s basic right to privacy.

“We should all be free to go about our daily business unless the police have reasonable suspicion that we are doing something illegal. Police Scotland has repeatedly failed to take appropriate steps to address the concerns that the commission and others have raised.

“A review announced in February promised progress but, in reality, has not led to any tangible change.

“Unlawful stop-and-search continues to take place on Scotland’s streets. This must stop.”

The use of stop-and-search in Scotland has been criticised by opposition politicians, who have voiced concerns at the number carried out, particularly on children.

The commission’s report noted a total of 519,213 searches were carried out in Scotland between April and December 2013. The figure was a far higher than the 312,645 searches conducted by London’s Metropolitan force for the whole of 2013.

Some 2,912 of these searches related to children and 79 per cent of the searches of children were conducted without any statutory basis or reasonable suspicion of a crime.

In 2014, Police Scotland agreed to stop non-statutory searches of children under 12. But subsequent information suggested it was still going on.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Stop-and-search can be a valuable tool in combating crime and has led to the seizures of dangerous weapons, drugs and stolen goods. However, clearly it is important to get the balance right between protecting the public and the rights of the individual.”

Assistant chief constable Wayne Mawson said: “Police Scotland recognises it is important to strike a balance between protecting the public and the rights of the individual and we are committed to complying with the Human Rights Act and our code of ethics, where stop-and-search must be carried out with integrity, fairness and respect.”

MPS should abandon the crumbling Houses of Parliament in favour of a less confrontational modern chamber, a senior Labour MP has suggested.

Chuka Umunna said the debate over how to conduct urgent repairs costing up to £7 billion was an ideal moment to move forward and turn the historic Palace of Westminster into a tourist attraction.

“It’s a beautiful building and it often feels like you are in a museum. So why don’t we turn it into a museum?” he asked in an interview with the Evening Standard.

“How in 2015 is it that we are carrying on with a Commons that cannot even seat all its members? How can we continue with a chamber that nurtures the ridiculous tribalism that switches so many people off?” - suggesting a semi-circular arrangement like that used in many other countries instead.

“I think that would change the nature of debate. Sketchwriters would hate it.”

It was revealed recently that the taxpayer faces a bill of up to £7.1 billion to stop the Palace of Westminster falling down unless MPs and peers agree to move out while the work takes place.

A study by independent consultants has highlighted the appalling condition of Parliament - with potentially deadly fire risks, collapsing roofs, crumbling walls, leaking pipes and large quantities of asbestos.

If politicians refuse to leave the building, patching it up to basic standards will take around 32 years and could cost between £4.9 billion and £7.1 billion.

Even if they relocate to another venue and allow renovation teams free run of the historic site, it will still need six years and an estimated £3.5 billion capital outlay.

Equities slid as the shadow of Sunday’s Greek referendum on the eurozone bailout depressed investor sentiment.

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has urged the country to vote against austerity proposals – with financial markets worried about contagion if the country leaves the single currency launched in 1999.

The FTSE 100 index closed down 44.69 points at 6,585.78, and has fallen 168 points over the week as the issue has continued to unnerve investors.

Trustnet Direct analyst Tony Cross said: “Regardless of the outcome, a degree of volatility on Monday morning seems inevitable – there’s no clean outcome for this.

“The expectation is that a verdict from Greece may well be released late on Sunday night - what happens beyond that, however, is another step into the unknown.”

That uncertainty outweighed positive economic news from Britain’s dominant services sector, which grew more than expected last month.

Even though the sector accounts for 75 per cent of British GDP the news did also not greatly impact the pound, which was flat against the dollar at $1.56.

Sterling was also broadly unchanged against the European currency, trading at €1.40. “The betting is that any rise in UK interest rates is still quite some way off,” one dealer said.

Heavyweight miners were down on news that iron ore prices have slipped 5 per cent. BHP Billiton was 24p lower at 1,248.5p, Anglo American fell 15.8p to 902.4p and Glencore was down 3.1p to 252.7p.

Royal Bank of Scotland was 6.8p down to 359.3p after reports that the bank could face a $13 billion (£8.3bn) fine from US regulators over claims that it misled investors in mortgage-backed securities.

Other banks were also in negative territory, with Barclays 3.5p lower at 263p, HSBC down 5.1p to 572.9p and Lloyds Banking Group slipping 1.1p to 85.1p.

Elsewere, BP gave up further early gains, following on from a 4 per cent lift on Thursday when the oil major revealed that it had reached a $18.7bn (£12bn) legal settlement in the US to cover the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill five years ago. The shares later closed down 3p at 434.4p.

A FURTHER day of strike action has been announced by west of Scotland ferry workers.

Two-thirds of services were suspended last Friday as CalMac staff sought reassurances over the future of the Clyde and Hebrides operations.

A tendering process is under way that could see routes change hands from the publicly-owned company to private firm Serco.

The RMT union said a further day of action will be held on Friday July 10, when workers will be asked not to book on to shifts.

Members working for Argyll Ferries will strike the same day as they too seek assurances about job security, conditions and pensions, the shipping union said.

CalMac’s contract to run the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services comes to an end next year and the Scottish Government has put the contract out to tender, in compliance with EU law.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Despite the most strenuous efforts to negotiate a settlement on CalMac, we are still not getting the clear assurances that we seek that will defend the safety-critical jobs and working conditions that go hand in hand with delivering safe and efficient lifeline ferry services to the communities that we serve.

“It is a cold, hard fact that privatisation is all about a race to the bottom in order to maximise profits and our members will not sit back while they are caught in the crossfire of the tendering process.

“Our members on Argyll Ferries now find themselves staring down the barrel of exactly those same kind of attacks on jobs and working conditions, and have delivered a massive and rock-solid mandate for action.”

The RMT is calling on Argyll Ferries to insert a term into its employment contract stating that there will be no compulsory redundancies and no changes to staffing levels or conditions of service without reaching agreement with the union.

• {http://bit.ly/1DK0pb7|Have you visited our new Scottish food and drink site?|Have you visited our new Scottish food and drink site?}

AN agency doctor hired to do a week’s work has cost the NHS more than £19,000, it has emerged.

Health chiefs in the Western Isles drafted in the consultant psychiatrist who spent 40 hours on duty and the rest of the time on call.

The £19,305.22 fee paid was revealed after a freedom of information request to the health board.

It said agency staff are only used when there are no other options to provide cover and “high” costs can be incurred when a gap has to be filled urgently.

NHS Western Isles’ spending on temporary consultants increased from £452,000 in 2012 to £1.2 million last year, according to reports, while the number of consultants employed dropped from 43 to 36 over the same period.

The £19,000 paid to the consultant specialising in old age care included VAT and a fee to the agency.

A spokeswoman for NHS Western Isles said: “During a period of extended sickness absence in 2013, a consultant psychiatrist was hired from an agency to cover one week’s annual leave for the remaining consultant.

“The locum consultant undertook 40 normal working hours and provided 128 hours on call for which the cost to the board was £19,305.22. This figure is the gross total paid to the agency and includes 20 per cent VAT.

“NHS Western Isles’ spending on temporary agency consultants rose from £452,000 in 2012 to £1.2 million in 2014.

“The number of temporary agency consultants hired decreased from 43 in 2012 to 36 in 2014, but it is important to bear in mind that the duration of locum placements varies considerably.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “We have a record number of consultants working in Scotland’s NHS and boards are working hard to recruit even more. Workforce in the Western Isles is up 3 per cent under this government.

“When the use of agency staff is required, we have long-standing framework contracts in place which allow us to engage staff at nationally agreed rates of pay.

“These contracts are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they continue to meet the needs of NHS Scotland and health boards have been advised to only use agencies that are on the nationally agree contract.

“We have also established a national supplementary staffing group which will look at the use of all temporary staff and seek to make recommendations on how we can reduce it.”

• {http://bit.ly/1DK0pb7|Have you visited our new Scottish food and drink site?|Have you visited our new Scottish food and drink site?}

Lumping parental responsibilities on state agencies will mitigate against children’s interests being served, writes Tiffany Jenkins

Most parents raise their children the same way: according to their own beliefs, hopes and dreams, with all the idiosyncrasies that accompany them, under the pressured, day-to-day realities of their busy lives – but they all do it with love. The nature of domestic life is that it is messy, but even when people get things a little wrong, and that’s not hard, everyone is trying to do their best. And mostly, the kids turn out all right, if determined to do everything differently from mum and dad. Some things never change.

What everyone needs is to be allowed to get on with it. To be trusted to do a reasonable job, and not blamed for problems that are nothing, or not much, to do with childrearing. But that, it would seem, is impossible. The trouble is, in the last few decades, the family and the early years of a child’s life have been identified, in political circles, as the breeding ground for social problems. The family is fingered as the place where everything goes wrong: poor educational attainment, obesity, joblessness, stress, addiction, criminality, if not intentionally so, then accidentally so, according to policymakers. I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to get rid of it altogether.

Policymakers pose early intervention into a child’s life as the solution to any problem that might arise later. It is a flawed approach that has negative consequences: social solutions to such problems are neglected – structural issues are ignored; and the family has become the focus of intervention, intervention that seems to know no end. The state is sent into the heart of the family, at conception – almost at the point of foreplay – with the intention of creating a peaceful and prosperous society, where there are no tears before bedtime and everyone lives happily ever after. The problem is that such intervention – and the assumptions behind it – will cause more harm than good.

It is an approach that explains the disastrous “named person” scheme, which is shaping up to be a unpopular and discredited policy, even before it is even fully implemented. Thankfully, maybe just in time, the initiative is the focus for growing concern and critical scrutiny. Maybe the Scottish Government will rethink. I hope so.

The named person scheme is part of the Children’s and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, which has been passed by the Scottish Parliament, which takes effect from August 2016. It means that every child from birth until the age of 18 years will have a named person overseeing their welfare. The aim is to shift public services towards early intervention whenever a family, child or young person “needs help”, instead of responding to a crisis.

So every single child will have a named person – someone who is not their mum or dad, a member of their extended family, or in their circle of friends – to watch over them, and watch over their parents. Up until this scheme, professionals involved in children’s lives had to have a reason to be there: education, health or serious concerns about abuse. Up until this law, state intervention required justification – no longer is this the case.

And few are happy about it. First came a trickle of questions from parents, who felt uneasy; that they were being undermined, pushed aside, considered unfit. Some are pursing a legal challenge, arguing the scheme breaches the human rights of parents. Now the initiative is being attacked from professional quarters: charities and even the police. A consultation on draft guidance for the scheme has revealed that many of the bodies and charities, which are to be involved, are unsure of what they are meant to do, what their responsibilities are. A recently published government paper has revealed that many organisations believe a consultation document on the Named Person plans, published in February, is unclear.

This is to be expected, because the scheme is unclear – inevitably, because the scope of the named person is so broad.

The legislation says that the named person has a duty to “promote, support or safeguard the development and wellbeing of the child or young person”, and that the named person will have a statutory role to look after the child’s “wellbeing”. But what does that mean? The Scottish Government breaks down well-being as having eight “indicators”: healthy, nurtured, safe, achieving, active, respected, responsible and included. All desirable of course, but vague and subjective – how active is active, for example? Most important of all, these indicators should not be subject to outside intervention.

Concerns about the scheme expressed by Police Scotland have been set out in a briefing paper prepared by Chief Superintendent Alan Waddell for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). He explained there was “a lack of clarity as to the expectations, roles and responsibilities” of the police. Mr Waddell also highlighted what could be a very serious problem: that this scheme could “impact on our ability to accurately assess vulnerability”. In other words, the initiative will pull much needed attention and resources away from those most in need, and direct it towards every single child. This will be not only wasteful and confusing for everyone – the authorities included – but families in need of help, who are at risk, will be overlooked.

Only when there is a very serious problem facing a child should the state agencies step in. They will be less able to act in these cases, if paying attention to the “well-being indicators” of every young person.

Sensibly, Ken Macintosh, the Labour MSP and a candidate for the leadership in Scotland, has pointed out that the scheme would not make children safer. He has called on the Scottish Parliament to “revisit the legislation and to fully scrutinise the SNP’s plans to interfere in family life”.

It’s about time. The named person scheme is an unprecedented and damaging intervention into family life that will direct help away from those most in need. It should be scrapped.

NEXT year our MPs will vote on the future of Trident, and whether to replace it at a cost of £100 billion. The debate is sure to be passionate and divisive, particularly because Scotland has just returned 56 SNP members to Westminster, representing a party that would like to banish nuclear weapons which are sited in this country. Unfortunately for those MPs who might have once believed they would yield significant influence on this matter, the numbers don’t add up. The Conservatives’ overall majority all but guarantees the outcome already.

There remains a nervousness within the government around the issue, however, as evidenced by moves to retain a UK veto over the use of Crown Estate land when this responsibility is devolved to Scotland.

The veto is designed to avoid any prospect of the Scottish Government taking control of Crown Estate land – such as coastlines – and then denying use of this land as a Military of Defence base. In effect, the land would be a ransom strip.

It is a provocative move by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, because the possibility of taking such a course of action has not been raised by the Nationalists. This is not tempered by his language, which talks of denying the SNP the opportunity to “play political games”.

It is not the kind of talk that will do anything but raise hackles and further deepen divides, as shown by the robust response of SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson – attacking the Tories and describing Trident as an “obscenity”.

It is not known if the SNP would have tried to block nuclear weapons through control of Crown Estate territory, and to speculate too heavily on that front would be to risk repeating Mr Fallon’s approach. But it would be fair to make the point that the devolving of Crown Estate territory to the Scottish Government is to increase Holyrood’s responsibilities and in turn put those assets to the best use that will benefit Scottish communities. The purpose is not to give the Scottish Government a bargaining tool with which to influence reserved defence policy, and to use the power in such a way would be an abuse of responsibility.

Despite the SNP’s landslide victory north of the Border in the general election, it would be wrong to interpret this vote as a rejection of Trident, because it was not a single-issue election. If the SNP wishes to remove Trident, it must be done through the front door of democratic process rather than the backdoor of political opportunism.

If a measure is required to close a loophole, go ahead, but the process must be handled sensitively.

There are enough areas where the SNP can be taken to task over its intentions without resorting to the dangerous game of countering threats that have not been made.

A powerful argument for a glass roof

IT IS now decades rather than years since the first sight of glinting panels on a house roof sparked curiosity about why anyone would a glass roof. Wasn’t a glass ceiling bad enough?

Solar panels didn’t take off in a big way despite the prospect of “free” electricity, and their spread has been slow. That pace seems to be picking up now, however, with industry estimates yesterday indicating that solar power was supplying 16 per cent of the UK’s electricity.

That figure may look modest but every step is in the right direction. The solar industry believes the UK can double the amount of solar power generated in the next few years, and that ambitious target would be a welcome boost to green targets.

But the industry does need help. It is claimed that solar energy is the UK’s most popular form of energy, with more than 80 per cent public support. That support, impressive though it may be, is a long way from translating into take-up.

And it should be acknowledged that solar farms have played a big part in pushing up the numbers in recent years, as have subsidies.

The benefits for the individual consumer who wants to fit solar panels to their house are obvious, in the form of lower bills and a contribution to the greater good of climate change through the use of low-carbon energy. What’s not to like?

There are problems too, such as intermittent power supply and how to store the energy most efficiently, but with the right technology, strategy and drive, the solar power campaign could be pushing at an open door.

Over the past week, my Facebook page has become awash with rainbows. An app for people to show their support for the US Supreme Court’s decision to declare marriage equality in all 50 states allowed users of the social network to apply a rainbow wash over their existing profile picture.

The initiative, “Support Pride”, has become a Facebook must-do for those who, like me, are in support of gay marriage. Many, many people have done it. Over a million, worldwide.

Of course, as with any of these things, the conspiracy theorists out there have claimed that it is part of a scam – a massive Facebook experiment masterminded by Mark Zuckerberg himself, who is sitting in his lair, rubbing his hands with glee that he can use this apparently socially-forward initiative to acquire even more data on his helpless users. I really don’t care about any of that, true or not.

But I still haven’t changed my profile picture to a rainbow.

I have, of course, felt the pressure – I have worried that by not doing it, friends, both gay and straight, would assume that I am anti-equal marriage, which I am most certainly not. But the idea of jumping on the rainbow bandwagon left a bit of a funny taste in my mouth.

A massive proportion of my friends have gone rainbow. Some of them even live in America, that country which is actually ruled by the Supreme Court. And therein lies the rub for me – I am not American. While I am over the moon that Americans in every state will now – as my Maryland-dwelling cousin and his now-husband did last year – be able to marry whoever they like, I find leaping around excitedly about something which has happened, not here, but in a foreign court – which has no jurisdiction over us and our actions whatsoever – a little strange.

What is more, here, in Scotland, the country that I live in, equal marriage has, thankfully, already been in force for some time. The latest figures show that a total of 462 Scottish couples tied the knot in the first three months since the legislation was changed at the turn of the year.

Marriage equality here was brought in last December, while in England and Wales, same sex weddings have been legal since March 2014. When British legislation changed, did millions of people the world over run out on to the streets to celebrate? Did they change their Facebook profile pictures to a rainbow version of a Saltire or a Union Jack? No, they did not.

Why? Because while we apparently care enormously about America and what they get up to, they really, really don’t give a ha’penny about us.

It’s not meant to be a criticism and it’s not really their fault: they’re part of a very big country with a lot to concern themselves with and we are very small.

But when, in reply to a post of mine about September’s referendum, a very well-educated American friend admitted innocently that she had assumed that Scotland was already a separate country with full independence from the UK, it made me realise what little interest America generally has about what goes on outside of its borders. Little interest, that is, until we are expected to celebrate something which should, really, mainly be a nationwide victory for them.

It’s partly the fault of the popular media: in Britain, we almost feel like we ARE American. Homegrown films account for just 20 per cent of the market in the UK, according to the 2014 British Film Industry Statistical Yearbook. The vast majority of the rest are American, while we spend our evenings binge-watching TV series made by HBO. Even my three-year-old sings the songs from Frozen with a pseudo-American twang.

Any British film-viewer could easily translate a sentence along the lines of “The kid in that stroller on the sidewalk is wearing pants”, while their American counterpart would seriously struggle with “The wean in that buggy on the pavement is wearing trousers”.

Of course, the Supreme Court judgment was significant because America is so big and so important and its decision could have a knock-on effect to other nations which have not yet taken the leap themselves. But that in itself is a vicious circle. America is partly so powerful because other countries allow it to be – looking to the White House for confirmation that what they are doing is right – which just can’t be right.

Some women embrace their distinguished ‘silver fox’ look but I’m definitely not one of them, writes Lori Anderson

It is the first bony tap of the crone’s crooked alabaster finger on a woman’s shoulder. What me? Is it that time already? The questions spin through the air as we tumble down into an oubliette landing hard and where upon we spy the shadowy outlines of the goddesses Lachesis and Atropos who huddle in cahoots measuring and shortening the fragile threads of life.

There are those who may think that the timely arrival of the first grey hair is nothing, a mere trifle or a rite of passage to be stoically endured. They may think that it is just vanity and a fruitless refusal by women to accept Mother Nature: wake up folks it’s the first chilling whisper from Old Father Time that the same fate awaits us all.

For three months this past winter I decided to take the wizened, scrimshaw hand of my inner crone in a brief dance of entropy. In short I cancelled my hair colour appointments and decided to try this grey malarky. Oh dear. All that “kool aid propaganda” about silver strands being Mother Nature’s nurturing little gift against a fading skin tone is balderdash: I looked like an anaemic tapeworm. Facing the day required The Only Way is Essex amounts of spackle to stop people from asking: “You look awfully washed out, are you feeling OK?”

Society has currently taken a Janus-like attitude to grey hair with both young and old attempting to embrace the experience. It was reported last week that a growing number of young women were deliberately going “grey” with Amazon reporting that sales of Renbow hair colour cream in silver had risen by 200 per cent and Stargazer Silver was up by 60 per cent. Celebrities such as Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding and Cara Delevigne have all chosen to dye their hair grey, even if only for a short period of time and “Grannyhair” has now been used 30,000 times as a hashtag to describe Instagram pictures. If this is supposed to be a comfort to us, an attempt to walk in supportive lockstep with their elder sisters, it is surprisingly ineffective.

When a young woman experiments with grey or silver hair it is an entirely different proposition than for an older woman. For one she has a degree of choice in deciding whether to turn her dark, brown or blonde hair grey, for those of us of a certain age nature has made that choice for us. Our choice is whether or not to accept the changing of our follicular season to snowy winter or to try to maintain our summery hue with the aid of chemical hair dyes.

Yet in both cases money is a factor. Last week the UK colour director at Vidal Sassoon Edward Darley was quoted as saying that young women were going grey partly for the striking effect of grey hair on a young woman but also partly as a conspicuous display of wealth, explaining that it was “aspirational” as “you do need to have some disposable income to achieve it”. For the young woman who dabbles in grey the cost may be expensive but its finite and limited to a season or two but for the rest of us with grey hair, we’re in for a long and expensive haul.

There are some women who have had enough and sing that they are glad to be grey. The American journalist Anne Kreamer went grey at the age of 25 and said that she spent over £30,000 on salon colour treatments over the next 20 years before deciding, at the age of 49 to stop and write a book on the experience called; take a deep breath, Going Grey: What I Learned about Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity and Everything Else That Matters.

She was quoted recently as saying: “Look at an Anderson Cooper or a Steve Martin or men who have historically gone grey early. I think they look terrific and it becomes almost an iconic differentiation for them.”

She argues that women can also look good grey and that we have been socialised into the view that grey is undesirable.

The author Diana Jewell, who wrote Going Grey, Looking Great said: “The myth that grey hair makes you old is just that – a myth. If you were young, vibrant, active, healthy pre-grey, you’re still going to be that way. It’s all in the attitude you bring to it. If you think of it as merely another colour choice, you won’t be afraid of grey.”

I’m just not sure that we can think of grey hair as “merely another colour choice” for it comes so weighted with images of age and withered decay. I’d love it if it was otherwise as then I wouldn’t view the monthly trip to the hair salon as an expensive necessity but this is not to say that I don’t have huge admiration for those women who are at the vanguard of attempts to change our attitude, women such as Sarah Harris, the fashion feature director of Vogue magazine who said she started going grey at 16 and now, aged 34, can easily be described as a “silver fox”.

Christophe Robin, the famous French, “hair master” recently shared his thoughts on grey hair and explained: “It takes guts to make that decision [to go grey]. It requires attitude. It’s part of an emotional dress code. Going grey or white is another affirmation of femininity and, of course, deciding not to be a slave to your hair.”

I support those strong, determined women who are intent on reframing our attitude towards grey and maybe in a generation or two we’ll see grey in a new, brighter light, but for now I still see it as a sullen squatter who evicted the natural hue I so loved. There may indeed be 50 shades of grey but on me personally none of them look good.

ROYAL Bank of Scotland may have to pay as much as $13 billion (£8.3bn) to settle US legal claims that the bank misled investors in mortgage-backed securities, according to documents filed in an American court.

The size of the potential settlement could make it more difficult for Chancellor George Osborne to proceed with his recently announced plan to start selling down the taxpayer’s 78 per cent stake in RBS in the coming months, City sources said yesterday.

The estimate was made in a filing by Philippe Selendy, a lawyer with corporate litigation specialists Quinn Emanuel, which has brought the case for the US Federal Housing Finance Agency and is based upon a previous judgment in a separate case involving the Scottish bank.

Japanese bank Nomura and RBS were ordered last month to pay a total $806 million for making false statements in selling mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the States.

The estimate of the potential financial damage to RBS from the latest legal action is significantly above previous City consensus estimates of about $5bn, although some brokers had pencilled in a potential hit of up to $9bn.

RBS has so far earmarked $3bn to deal with the claims, which relate to the sale of about $32bn of mortgage-backed debt in the US.

One banking analyst said yesterday: “The $13bn figure, if proved true, would be a major hit for RBS. And it might prove problematic for the Treasury in trying to sell down the taxpayer’s investment in the bank.

“But it does look on the high side compared with what most brokers were expecting, and seems based on an extrapolation of the separate Nomura/RBS action.”

In a note to clients yesterday, analysts at Berenberg said: “This would be a significant impact on RBS but this is a cross reference from the current RBS/Nomura case and each case has to be judged on the underlying MBS [mortgage backed securities] in question.”

The Chancellor indicated recently that the government might consider selling down the state’s stake in RBS even if it meant taking a loss.

The government has already sold more than half of its original holding in fellow taxpayer rescued bank Lloyds, from more than 40 per cent down to less than 16 per cent.

RBS’s underlying profitability has been improving in the past few years but it is still making significant losses at the statutory pre-tax level.

Group chief executive Ross McEwan has also warned shareholders that despite progress in making the group “stronger and simpler” after its near-collapse under Fred Goodwin, there were still likely to be “bumps in the road” in terms of regulatory action and litigation related to cases of admitted and alleged misconduct.

RBS was fined £402m last November by UK and US regulators over attempted foreign exchange rate manipulation.

In 2013 the bank was fined £390m by UK and US regulators for its part in the rigging of Libor, the rate at which banks lend to each other and used to underpin trillions of dollars worth of daily banking transactions.

The European Commission levied a separate Libor fine of £325m on RBS, while last November the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority fined it over a major IT failure in 2012 when many customers could not access their accounts.

THANK heavens for the services sector. It has ridden to the rescue of Britain so many times now, in periods of economic strength and weakness, that its white hat and trusty steed appearing on the ridge may sometimes be taken for granted.

But, with manufacturing still facing the headwinds of strong sterling and a disturbed eurozone market, services has yet again taken up the slack.

The sector, accounting for about 75 per cent of Britain’s GDP, has posted a reading of 58.5 per cent on the Cips/Markit purchasing managers index (PMI) for June, in which 50 separates growth from contraction.

It is a particularly sharp rebound from 56.5 in May, when the services industry was not immune from the pre-election uncertainty at the beginning of that month, and comfortably ahead of a consensus City forecast for last month of 57.3.. That May figure had unnerved financial markets, which look on services as its worry blanket when equities are under pressure, as it was the worst slowdown in growth in nearly four years.

But now, as the dust settles on the end of the coalition government and its replacement by a Conservative administration with a small majority, it seems normal service has been resumed for Britain’s finance, retail, transport, leisure, food and drinks and professional services industries.

Apparently, firms in the sector benefited from new product launches to produce the latest positive data. But it is just as likely that the industry has just regained hold of the previous momentum it had before the maverick electoral month of May.

It is good news for the economic recovery, and no doubt George Osborne will mention the strength of GDP in his Budget on Wednesday.

But every silver lining is tinged with a cloud, and many will point out that the government’s aim to make Britain a more balanced economy is so far conspicuously unsuccessful.

Services and construction are doing fine, but manufacturing remains patchy. And such a strong performance by the services sector does shift the dial a bit at the Bank of England as it weighs up when to push the button on higher interest rates after six years of them marking time at 0.5 per cent.

Nothing will be imminent in terms of monetary tightening. The Greek eurozone crisis rules that out virtually by itself.

But the Bank will note we now have strong British wage growth, a strong services sector and every likelihood of rising inflation as 2015 progresses.

Such a backdrop, if it continues as is likely, would not make a rise in interest rates a major surprise.

Scylla and Charybdis

The Greeks vote tomorrow on whether to enter a period of prolonged economic hardship and have a chance of remaining in the euro, or to set sail on the good ship drachma with severely damaged rigging into stormy and uncharted waters after being ejected from the single currency.

Talk about being between the devil and the deep blue Aegean. The choice is amazingly tough, and it would not surprise me if it turned out a close vote.

It is a torturous choice for the Greeks between backing the orderly, predictable pain of years of austerity as the country takes the medicine prescribed by its EU creditors or to enter an unknown economic future that could turn out tantalisingly better or far worse than the pain of submission to a prolonged hairshirt lifestyle.

They are not to be envied, that’s for sure.