BID Battle in Grassmarket Edinburgh

This is an article from Edinburgh News/Scotsman sent to us by K Walker of the BID Concerns Group which shows the ongoing fight for justice going on in Grassmarket just like us in Largs.


http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/bailiffs-hit-grassmarket-traders-for-stealth-tax-1-3131047

Is BID levy legal???

This is a reply to an email received from an Edinburgh businessman who is also fighting/refusing to pay the BID levy.  He has now engaged legal advice.

Thank you for your e-mail. I have saved copies as this will also prove helpful for us. We have just sent appeal letters to North Ayrshire Council refusing to pay the levy as it is `improperly charged`. 

As the only BID area (no.17) to have managed to lodge an appeal within the 28 days following the BID ballot, we have completed a 10 month battle taking the denial of our calls for a re-ballot finally to the Ombudsman (twice). To no avail,  although I received a card with a new reference number yesterday from the S.P S.O., following my final letter to them ( see that letter on my blog www.largsbid.blogspot.co.uk )

Since we have exhausted the appeals process with Scottish Ministers aka Derek MacKay MSP, we decided to use social media to expose BID, and so we have set up BID BEGONE on Facebook. So glad to have linked up with you and with BID FAREWELL, and hope to involve other areas who have also suffered this abuse of democracy.  I am angry when media debate about the deterioration of High Street businesses etc never mentions " the elephant in the room" ie BID - what a misnomer this Business Improvement District. We are entitled to democratic debate and a fair, free vote for all. I will not accept that BID is allowed to operate under the radar, and rig ballots to get a "yes" result

Letter in reply to Katy Clark MP

There is no way we can afford legal costs to fight this inequity. This problem is the result of bad legislation, and we believe politicians have the responsibility to sort this out. The refusal of the Scottish Government to take control of an unjust process that operates throughout Scotland, gaining "yes" results by proven dubious means, has to be challenged. 
Since we have been refused a re-ballot by this government, we in Largs have linked up with Edinburgh Grassmarket Bid Concerns Group, who are engaged in a similar battle as Largs for the same reasons. I enclose press articles from them, and also BID Farewell, a group based in the Glencoe, Fort William area, who are battling to prevent the same abuses of democracy happening there in their BID ballot.
We are using social media to link up and get the truth about BID out in the public domain. BID thrives in secrecy, and we are committed to exposing this quango to the public and the media. Politicians will be held to account for foisting this abuse of democracy on already struggling businesses.

Reply to Ombudsman re final decision

I received your final response to our complaints re the conduct of the Scottish Government and North Ayrshire Council in regards to Largs BID ( co-incidently ? on 30th August, the same day that the invoices demanding payment of the BID levy arrived in businesses throughout Largs)
I have therefore been busy organising our appeals against the" improperly charged levy" with the N.A.C.

Decision on complaints against the Scottish Government

Firstly, we are not lawyers au fait with the handling of the legalities of appeals. You say I should have raised Derek Mackay`s failure to respond to my e-mail of 11th November 2012, but we only found out his involvement with BID after the initial appeal to  (the vaguely termed) Scottish Ministers after we submitted our initial appeal on 29th November. The fact is that Kenneth Gibson MSP, after consulting with Derek MacKay, informed me on 19th December that he "was adjudicating, and that the BID ballot was unlikely to be overturned"!  All subsequent appeal letters from Largs businesses carried a foot-note protesting the conflict of interest that the Minister in charge of promoting BID was adjudicating on our appeal.
Next, I consulted Kenneth Gibson MSP on 15th December 2012 because the next stage of the appeal requiring individuals to state which regulation had been contravened was confusing. A copy of Regulations 11 (1) and (2) had been included, but NOT Regulation11(3) which required complainants to "specify the reasons".
IT IS ABSURD for you to have expected us to read the full Regulations in order to be aware of the requirements.
It is obvious to us that it was deliberately misleading, and, yes, it did put us at a disadvantage.
Also, as Mr Gibson told me to get the next appeal letters in before close of Parliament for the Festive Season, a matter of days, I was unable to get follow up appeals from all the initial 35 complainants of 29th November. This allowed Derek MacKay to fudge the figures, discount all but 14 deprived of a ballot paper in the BID ballot, and finally on Good Friday we received a denial of our appeal on the grounds that this 14 would not have affected the "yes" ballot result !

Decision on complaint against North Ayrshire Council

Next you state that" it was open for businesses to take up their right of appeal" and" raise a complaint if they felt that they should have had a right to vote but did not receive ballot papers" whether the Council`s list had been produced or not".
HOW PATENTLY ABSURD when I was the bearer of bad tidings to so many of the 82 I found before the deadline of 17th May for our submissions to your Office.
They did not know they had been left out of the BID ballot.
Also, your SPSO literature clearly states that you will only consider complaints after the full appeal process has been completed. So, as I repeatedly stated, THEY WERE NOT ONLY DEPRIVED OF BALLOT PAPERS, BUT ALSO THEIR RIGHT OF APPEAL.

Shame on you for upholding this abuse of democracy.

Publicity Needed

I have been speaking with business owners in the Living Lochaber area, which is HUGE taking in Fort William etc approx 2500 eligible businesses. Guess what ? They estimate that 1200 know nothing about
 BID !  Also they cannot get access to the list of eligible businesses, just like Largs.
At least they are finding out the truth BEFORE THE BALLOT.
I am very angry with the FSB, as I had the interest of a tv journalist, but when he contacted the press office of the FSB, he was told that most BID areas were successful, and undermined our legitimate demand for a re-ballot, giving the impression we were anti-BID protesters who had received the info and ballot papers but had not voted ! Anyway BID had been established in Largs, so, as a result he considers our case historic !
I have raised a complaint with the FSB, and I will apprise my daughter when she returns from her business trip tomorrow. Somehow, I doubt if she will be renewing her FSB subscription. Those of you deprived of a vote in Largs BID should take this up with the FSB if you are members.
The fight goes on.    

Battle against BID intensifies

Do you believe in coincidence ? On the same day, Friday 30th August, that the invoices for the BID levy drop through the doors of businesses in Largs (except ours, which went to my daughter`s home address), we also received a further dismissal of our appeal from the Ombudsman`s Office.
DISGRACEFUL !
However, this is not the end. We will not give up. Justice is worth the struggle. Since our elected representatives will do nothing to redress this injustice perpetrated on the business owners of Largs, we are pursuing a different method to get this ballot over-turned.
Meantime, those who did not receive a ballot paper MUST appeal - see the back of the invoice for details of appeal within 28 days. I shall be sending a letter of appeal to the Chief Finance Officer at North Ayrshire Council, and I will make copies available to those who require them.
Did anyone read the Oban Times 29th August ? Unlike our `wee` paper which none of us will buy or place adverts with due to Drew Cochrane`s decision not to print anything detrimental to BID. I am told e-mails to the Largs and Millport News were deleted and letters not printed if they opposed BID. When our protest started we were denigrated and ridiculed in `his` paper. Even our ten month battle for a re-ballot has been ignored.. How lucky are those who get the Oban Times which gives coverage to both sides.
Currently the battle is on for Living Lochaber !  The Oban Times has printed all the complaints which show that what happened here in Largs is a pattern, a BID process to gain a `yes ` result.
Of  course I will contact them, so that they can be warned in time to demand a ballot paper.
I went to see Katy Clark,MP on Friday to update her on the disgraceful inaction of MSP`s and the Ombudsman, and to inform her of the anger that BID bills had arrived that day. She now realises this is not just a local problem, and is happening in England too, which must be addressed by Westminster.
Keep checking the blog as more to come shortly.

Meeting with FSB

I refused to accept the decision from the allocated officer at the Office of the Ombudsman, as I believed that it did not address the relevant issues re Largs BID. I am still awaiting the outcome of the subsequent review by the Ombudsman. To date I have only received an apology, on 17th August, for the delay.
Meantime we are meeting next week with representatives of the Federation of Small Businesses, FSB, in response to our complaints of lack of action re the scourge of BID.
WE WILL NOT GIVE UP.
In a supposedly democratic country, we will not accept a `rigged` ballot with 82 known to have been deprived of a ballot paper in order to declare a "yes" result for BID.
I did not expect to be still calling for a re-ballot TEN MONTHS  after the event.
WE WILL NOT GIVE UP.

Largs traders denied their democratic rights

After a 5 month battle to get the list of eligible businesses involved in Largs BID,  on receipt of the list I   managed to identify 82 of us  who did not receive a ballot paper . No doubt there are more but I had to meet the deadline from the Ombudsman of 17th May, so I supplied this data as an important part of our appeal for justice.  ALL TO NO AVAIL !  The Ombudsman will take no action.
Just what will it take to overturn this `rigged` "yes" ballot result ?
I have contacted the Federation of Small Business and demanded help. They must have numerous members throughout Scotland who have had BID foisted on them by the combined forces of a self-appointed BID committee, local council, and the Scottish Government.. This quango, the misnamed Business Improvement District, is draining money from small business and thereby damaging the profitability of small business.
I shall also be taking legal advice as to our next step in this battle.
Despite proving that, contrary to Derek MacKay`s assertion that there were too few to have affected the Largs BID result, had 82 of us not been prevented from voting, the result would have been "NO".
This government chooses to ignore this and refuse us our democratic right to a fair and free vote. We will not accept this travesty and the fight for justice continues.

Current figure to date

To date the current figure for those businesses deprived of a vote in Largs BID is 79 !!

Saw STV news last night. Item on Falkirk and the number of businesses struggling or " going to the wall". 

No surprise, since BID took over 3 years ago. The imposition of an enforceable levy for the next 5 years no doubt has contributed to the decline. The Town Centre Manager, Alastair Mitchell ( a BID "spin doctor") was claiming to have ideas to improve the situation. But, all we have seen in previous BID areas are empty promises and spin, followed by deterioration. The only people who benefit from BID appear to be those who are part of the BID quango, whilst small businesses are forced to pay the unwanted burden of the levy, enforced by councils.

Hardly conducive to creating a thriving business community !!

When are the media going to wake up and expose the reality of BID ? So far our elected representatives prefer to ignore the results of inflicting such an undemocratic process on the small business communities of Scotland.,.

Numbers excluded from Largs BID increasing daily

I am contacting businesses on the" list" each day, and now have over 60 of us excluded from the Largs BID ballot !  Still so many to confirm.
I spoke to the office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman yesterday, and the case is only being pursued in the name of my daughter`s business. To reflect the number involved, I have been advised that I require to get a signed mandate from the others involved in the appeal process, so that I can continue to speak on their behalf as well. Only those who completed the appeal process, so, yet again those I am now finding are denied the right of appeal. Never the less, I intend to show that this ballot was, as I suspected, `rigged` to provide a "yes" result by depriving a SIGNIFICANT number of the right to a ballot paper.
The reason given by Derek MacKay MSP for his denial of the appeal was that  even if those who appealed had got a vote it would not have changed the outcome of the ballot.
Well, we can now prove that numbers already show that if North Ayrshire Council had conducted a proper ballot, the result would have been different. Also, by refusing us "the list" in November, Elma Murray the Returning Officer prevented those excluded from joining in the appeal process.
What has happened to DEMOCRACY in Scotland ?
Will we allow this ?  No chance !!  Scottish Government, take heed  ! We will continue till we win this battle.  

Finally receive list of businesses !!

The Commissioner has obtained for us the list of Largs eligible businesses. We first requested this in November from Elma Murray, North Ayrshire Council. Now, after almost 5 months and our Freedom of Information requests we can finally ascertain how many of us were deprived of a vote.
If, as I suspect, there are many more, they have been also deprived of appeal,  as were others who did not find out in time to be part of our appeal deadline of 30th November. This is unjust and will form part of our complaint now being investigated by the Scottish Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Ombudsman will investigate Largs BID

Today we received confirmation that the S.P.S.O will investigate both complaints re Largs BID   ie .
 our complaint against North Ayrshire Council and also our complaint against Scottish Government.
Obviously our so-called local paper, the Largs and Millport News will not report this, and will continue its biased coverage in favour of BID. Our fight for justice continues.

Letter sent to Derek MacKay in response to rejection of appeal;

I received your decision on 29^th March re our demand for a re-ballot of Largs BID. Now that you have finally rejected our appeal, I am taking the case to the Scottish Parliamentary Ombudsman, and hope he is impartial and will give us the justice we deserve.

I will, however, raise some points in answer to your letter of 28 March 2013.

Firstly, I note in the fourth paragraph a requirement not included in the letter of 12^th December from Christine Gresswell . Therefore the letter was confusing. The missing words were --   

The regulations “require complainants to specify reasons for a request that a ballot be declared void”

 My mother took the documentation to Kenneth Gibson MSP at his Largs surgery on 15^th December to ask him what exactly it meant. He advised her that each complainant had to choose which regulation applied to their complaint, and we should send it as soon as possible.

By the way, on hearing the testimony she had collated, he said he could see no reason why we would not get a re-ballot. However, in his letter to us of 19^th December, he stated “my ministerial colleague, Derek MacKay MSP will adjudicate on this matter. However, given the information supplied by North Ayrshire Council, it would seem to me that the BID ballot is unlikely to be overturned”. This is why we have protested about you adjudicating, totally inappropriate and a conflict of interest, as has been shown.

Despite this, we printed up letters naming the regulations contravened, and gave the choice to as many businesses as we could contact at our busiest time of the year, and posted 30 letters by recorded delivery by 18^th December before Parliament closed.

Your next letter of 10^th January was also vague, and as a result only six people submitted personal letters. There was anger and dismay that, without their permission, your office sent copies to all and sundry. They were entitled to an expectation of privacy.

Next I take issue with your claim that only “two complainants disputed the Returning Officer`s claim that ballot papers had been issued to all businesses”. When owners heard that my mother had written on 9^th November to Elma Murray, we were inundated with owners asking for copies to send also, and we gave out more than 30 copies.

Elma Murray`s assertions that we all received a business plan and ballot paper in the  post is contradicted by a letter from George Hunter, Town Centre Regeneration Manager, on 10^th December in a letter to Kenneth Gibson MSP in which he stated “ Largs Matters circulated a 20 page business plan which accompanied the ballot”.

Also, as your office chose to e-mail me at mid-day on 29^th November, not to my business address, but on my private e-mail address , which you held when I sent you an e-mail on 11^th November (which you ignored), it was purely by chance that I found it in time to comply with the deadline of 30^th November. You gave us less than 24 hours to submit sufficient numbers. This I was able to do only because I had already arranged a meeting for Largs business owners that evening.

We e-mailed 35 signatories that night. Yet, despite meeting the deadline, your office removed 14 complainants from this number, whom I had not managed to contact in time for our collective response to your confusing letter of 12^th December. So, you deprived them of their right to appeal.

One was in hospital having treatment for cancer. Another had voted `yes` in the ballot without knowing all the facts, and was entitled to demand a re-ballot. Another stated he  was duped by Mr Sunil Varu into voting `yes` in the ballot, and had sent a letter of protest to Elma Murray when he realised the financial implications, and asked to rescind his vote.

I could continue, but suffice it to say that you choose to base your decision on 14 complainants. I have a list of 54, some too late to appeal. Some, like Farmfoods who do not get involved in protests.  My mother spoke to Farmfoods Head Office and they confirmed that they had no knowledge of BID being in the west coast, and had not received documentation or a vote. Some like the undertakers who state they would not have ignored any letters from the Council, and did not get a vote. They did not get involved with our protest, but will pay the levy if forced, or not pay if they have an English Head Office and cannot be forced

Your next contention that we could have requested a replacement ballot paper is absurd, when so many of us knew nothing about BID or the ballot!

By the way, those, who did do that, received the ballot paper too late to vote.

But then, I believe you are aware of most of this, and have chosen to be selective and `fudge` the figures to justify rejecting our appeal. We expected nothing less from someone whose remit is to promote BID.

All of these facts we will now present to the ombudsman.  Our fight for justice continues.

Now fight taken to Ombudsman

Today we have sent an e-mail to the office of the Scottish Parliamentary Ombudsman in the next stage of our fight for justice.
One would have thought that with approximately 40 complainants disputing the flawed ballot in Largs that in a democratic society we would have been given a re-ballot. Derek MacKay MSP claims that there are not enough of us to significantly change the result of the BID ballot on 1st November last year. Well we all know otherwise, as does he, - the Minister responsible for BID is determined to prevent us having a fair and free vote here in Largs.
So our Freedom of Information request for the exact number and details of eligible businesses in the Largs BID is with the Commissioner for a ruling.
And now our appeal will go to the Ombudsman. Pity it is the Easter holiday, which will cause more delay. Perhaps that was deliberate. However we will fight on.

Derek MacKay rejects Largs BID appeal

As expected MSP Derek MacKay has rejected our appeal. No surprise there then ! So we now take our case to the Scottish Parliamentary Ombudsman. The given reason is that even if we had  received  ballot papers and voted, it would not have changed the result ! This we know, as he does, to be untrue. Why else refuse a re-ballot ?
The Scottish Government will find that we will fight on for our democratic right to a free and fair vote.

GOOD RESULT from Mull & Iona -  No to BID  !

Just heard result of ballot . 81% businesses voted, and the result was - 37% yes  and 63% NO.
They, of course, had the benefit of seeing the outcome of Oban becoming a BID area. I gather that 29 businesses are currently being taken to court for refusing to pay the first BID levy demand.
Our fight against the imposition of BID continues.

Still no decision re re-ballot for Largs

We discovered that BID did not set up, as planned, in Largs. Seemingly, they have to wait for a decision from Scottish Ministers. Well, that is a relief, and businesses in Largs can "breathe easy" pending, hopefully, a favourable decision. True to form, no one had the decency to inform us of this.
Annabel Goldie, MSP, has been contacting Derek  MacKay, MSP, on our behalf to push for a decision. It is now 4 months since a sufficient number of us met the deadline for the appeal against the validity of the Largs BID result. It has been 2 months since we completed the appeal process, and yet still no decision from   Derek MacKay.
I have received a letter dated 25th March from Kenneth Gibson, MSP, enclosing correspondence from Derek Mackay, stating " this is the first time the Regulations to declare a BID ballot void have been implemented in Scotland and there are no previous examples to draw on. All parties will be notified as soon as my decision is made".
Hardly surprising that we are the first to lodge an appeal within the time frame. BID was set up to allow a 25% vote to legitimise a BID ballot, and , of that only 13% of businesses voting "yes" can enforce the result.
As the local councils do not inform us of the BID process, but leave it up to the BID committee to disguise the process under a " catchy" name,( here it was Largs Matters ), so many of us were kept in the dark, and, judging by voting numbers, by the time we find out about the ballot, BID, etc it is too late to lodge an appeal. Only half of appeals here in Largs have been considered, as the others were time barred - so not only did they get deprived of a vote, but they were also deprived of the right to have their appeal heard. This appears to be the norm elsewhere.
I noted with dismay, that Dunoon (PA23 group) is now a BID district, despite all our efforts to warn them, and, as with Largs, only half of the businesses voted.
Small businesses have a hard enough time surviving in these tough economic times, without the extra tax imposed by BID, and inflicted on us by local councils and the Scottish Government.

Email sent 27/02/13 to scottish ministers

It is now 3 months since we, the disenfranchised, lodged our appeal for a re-ballot of Largs BID, and still we are waiting for justice. The appeal process was finalised a month ago, and we are still awaiting a decision.

You stated that the Scottish Government had no power to prevent Largs BID setting up, as planned, on 19th January, despite the fact that the ballot produced a "yes" result by depriving so many of us of a vote, and also the lack of information, which has been a constant feature of the BID process here in Largs.

Most traders have no knowledge of who are the new committee, and many did not receive a vote for that !  Nor do we know who they have appointed as the Town Centre Manager, but then this has been typical of the contempt shown to us, the business community of Largs, by the BID committee. 

Now, from 1st March, one day from now, we will receive demands for payment of a BID levy. This is disgraceful !  No doubt we will be told that this is legally enforceable. However, without a decision from the Scottish Government regarding our LEGITIMATE demand for a re-ballot, we will fight this infringement of our civil liberties.

We need a decision soon, as without a favourable reply, we intend to take this further

Letter sent today to the commissioner:

Dear Sir,

Largs Business Improvement District (BID) Area.

Request under the Freedom of Information

I represent a group of business owners in Largs who were excluded from the BID ballot which was the responsibility of North Ayrshire Council. Many of us did not receive BID information or a ballot paper, and only found out after the ballot result on 1st November 2012. 

We sent letters of protest to the Returning Officer, Elma Murray,N.A.C. in the following week, but received a dismissive response dated 19th November.

As we continued to find more businesses deprived of the vote, we requested details of the eligible businesses under the Freedom of Information Act. See enclosed copies of letters to the N.A.C. on 21st November, 23rd November, 25th November, 27th November, and finally a letter sent recorded delivery 11th December, which elicited a response.

This was an e-mail, dated 21st December, denying our request. Elma Murray stated that in her view that this information was " exempt information under Section 26 (a)  of the Freedom of Information Scotland) Act 2002. Specifically, Section 13 (4) of the Business Improvement Districts (Scotland) regulations 2007 which prohibits the release to any persons except for the purposes of canvassing persons entitled to vote during the BID ballot"

It is our contention that this was precisely what we wanted " to canvass persons entitled to vote during the BID ballot"

Our request for a review dated 30th December 2012  resulted in a second denial sent 31st January.

We, the businesses of Largs, were entitled to a free and fair vote in this BID ballot. As only 140 voted, we are entitled to know  :

1) how many eligible businesses. Is it 280 as declared in the ballot result ? or is it 313, as Elma Murray stated in her letter to Christine Gresswell , Local Government Division,  on 20th December 2012 ?

2)As more than 30 of us did not receive BID information or a ballot paper, we want to know the exact number of business owners in Largs deprived of their electoral rights.

We should be able to phone each business to determine who was included/excluded in this ballot. The self-appointed Bid steering group have this information, but we, the affected businesses, are denied it. Where is the justice ? Why should the Council responsible for organising a legal ballot prevent the true number of businesses involved being known? Justice has to be seen to be done.

Therefore , as with our appeal registered with Scottish Ministers, we now appeal to the Commissioner to  rule that North Ayrshire Council comply with our request under the Freedom of Information Act. The purpose of this legislation was meant to prevent this kind of behaviour by public bodies, and justice can only thrive if the process is open and above board ,which we deserve in our battle for our electoral rights.

Latest reply to Scottish Ministers

I am in receipt of the documentation dated 25th January, received today on 29th January. I note that Elma Murray`s reply was dated 17th January, in which she stated that my `letter presents no new information nor expands on the terms of the original letter of complaint`.

I take it, however, that she had not had sight of my e-mail sent to Scottish Ministers dated 17th January.  I consider that she has to answer the contradiction between her repeated statements that North Ayrshire Council posted every business a plan plus ballot paper ( which we know to be untrue), and that of Mr Hunter in his letter of 10th December to Kenneth Gibson in which he stated that Largs Matters `circulated a 20 page business plan which accompanied the ballot`.

Also, almost 3 months since the ballot, Ms Murray has ignored our requests for clarification of the exact number of eligible businesses. Is it 280 or 313 ? , even going so far as to refuse our Freedom of Information request, which would provide that answer, and, more importantly, the exact number of businesses deprived of a vote. 

I realise that at this stage you would not include them in the appeal, as you have already rejected those who missed the 28 day deadline on 30th November. But, the fact is that the traders in Largs know so many deprived of a vote, and feel it is patently unjust that those who knew nothing of BID till after that date were deprived not only of a vote but of the right of appeal.

These points should be taken into consideration in any just decision on our appeal.