Public Body
By
Martin Taulbut
From: asweeney@phc.co.cal
23/7/26
To: [Redacted]
CC: [Redacted]
Subject: Risks of FAIR (Food,
Accommodation, Inspiration,
Rehabilitation) programme
Hi [Redacted]
Thanks for your proposal.
I’m not sure whether the strategy
and exec team would support publishing your critique of FAIR as a corporate
statement. It risks being seen as antagonistic and performative. We don’t want
to risk alienating the new Coalition, while we’re seeking to build a trusted
relationship with them.
A couple of
questions:
Is the use of
American evidence valid? The British/Scottish context is very different e.g. we
have free healthcare, free social housing etc. etc.
There’s also
precedent: we already provide loads of help e.g. pre-paid cards and vouchers
for poor parents to get milk and fruit for their families, as well as free
school meals. Isn’t rolling this out a good thing? Have you spoken to [Redacted]
at the healthy weight and nutrition team for their views?
You say it would
harm health. Wouldn’t it also improve health, by giving people the push
they need to get them into a job? We really need to avoid being seen as
trapping people (especially parents) in worklessness.
Have you spoken to
colleagues in the Department for Community Wellbeing? I visited a Resilience
Centre in June and they explained the great work their Life Coaches do. I can
arrange a tour if you’d like?
You’re
very
critical of the proposal to expand food aid through religious institutions, charities,
and private sector donations. I’d suggest deleting this paragraph as it paints
us as hostile to faith groups, business & the third sector.
Delete the section
where you give an account of 19th Century workhouses & the
Andover scandal (gnawing on bones etc.). This could be seen as offensive. Please
see our online module which explains the difference between campaigning,
lobbying and advocacy.
In your e-mail, you say
the questions in the Coalition’s consultation
are too narrowly framed to allow us to respond properly. Where that has been
the case in the past, we have sent a letter to the relevant civil service
department outlining our concerns e.g. on the Voluntary Foreign National Return
and Community Cohesion Bill.
Might that not be a more
effective way forward?
Have a super day.
Drew
From: asweeney@phc.co.cal
30/7/26
To: [Redacted]
CC: [Redacted]; [Redacted]
Subject: Risks of FAIR programme
Hi [Redacted],
Thank you for clarifying
that. I wasn’t aware of the
detail, including the provisions to suspend NHS access and housing support for those
who refuse the offer of help by a FAIR unit.
However, the consultation
also notes that “the most
vulnerable will be protected” (p. 28) and “measures would only be applied as a
last resort” (p.30). It’s a tricky balance: your economics training would tell
you about the need to balance the books in this tight financial climate. There
is no magic money tree! (I wish there was! ��)
I’m afraid I don’t
get your references to President Reagan.
Wasn’t he a right-winger? I thought you were arguing for more government help?
On a more constructive note,
should we mention our training
courses in Adverse Childhood Experiences and offer them a workshop to ensure
they have a Trauma-Informed Workforce?
Best wishes
Drew Sweeney
From: asweeney@phc.co.cal
12/8/26
To: [Redacted]
CC: [Redacted]; [Redacted];
[Redacted]
Subject: Risks of FAIR
[Redacted],
I note your response. I
wonder if we can have an off-line chat?
Yours
Drew Sweeney
Senior Relationship &
Engagement Manager
Office of the Chief Executive
Public Health Caledonia
From: asweeney@phc.co.cal
16/8/26
To: [Redacted]
CC: [Redacted]
Subject: FAIR follow-up
meeting
(cc’d [Redacted] for
information).
Thanks for a useful discussion.
It’s useful to clear the
air, I think. As a reminder:
Public Health Caledonia
is a public body. That means we are
accountable to elected politicians. We must go through the proper channels i.e.
through the OCE, then to the relevant civil servants.
We can’t be seen to
be anything political. We can’t spend
our political capital on criticising policy. If we’re to have influence, we must
be seen as fully independent, neutral, and credible. Otherwise, there’s a risk we
won’t be listened to on issues which pose a greater risk to people e.g. on
vaccine take-up. (And note the Coalition are pushing for a review of vaccine
safety, administered by PHC).
I don’t think your
examples of past policy were appropriate
or helpful. Talking about famine in the Ukraine might do more harm than good
and might also be seen as distasteful. (Yes, I did look Holodomor up, every day’s
a school-day).
I didn’t get your
point about communist officials sending
letters to I.V. Stalin during the Great Famine, asking him to change course. To
be honest, your own behaviour and language seems a bit “Stalinist.”
We must be respectful to
our colleagues in the DCW, who are
human beings with families. No-one wants to see people starving. Pointing to
individual tragedies and cases is not appropriate. We must be led by the
evidence. I’m sure that we could identify an equal number of people who are
thriving under this policy.
If you could make those
changes, the S&E team is likely
to look more favourably on releasing a statement in support of FAIR.
Best wishes
Drew Sweeney
Senior Relationship &
Engagement Manager
Office of the Chief Executive
Public Health Caledonia
From: asweeney@phc.co.cal
15/9/26
To: [Redacted]
CC: [Redacted]
Subject: Suspected novel
viral infection
[Redacted],
Thanks for getting in touch.
I’m just back from Mexico &
plowing through my inbox!
I read your summary. I know
you’re passionate about these
issues, but maybe you need to take a step back. They aren’t workhouses. They’re
approved accommodation, with meals supplied. Food Standards Caledonia signed
off on the nutritional content.
The DCW website has explained
that it was some new kind of
rabies. One of them had tried to smuggle in a pet rabbit. I’m trying to speak
to our new Director of Clinical Health, Dr D[Redacted], but she’s been tied up
in meetings all morning. I’m sure she can clarify this for us.
We need to be clear we don’t
overstep our boundaries here. I’m
copying in L[Redacted] at the food safety commission and S[Redacted] at the DCW
so we can have all our ducks in a row.
Regards
Drew
From: asweeney@phc.co.cal
23/9/26
To: [Redacted]
CC: [Redacted]
Subject: Suspected novel
viral infection
[Redacted],
Dr D[Redacted]’s off
sick apparently, some kind of flu.
Their deputy, Dr S[Redacted] got back to me. We’re still dealing with very low numbers,
less than a dozen. Same site. A lot of their residents were NRPF – we’re
liaising with the Safety and Communities Ministry to check country of origin,
and we can go from there. Make sure they didn’t smuggle in some nasty bugs with
them!
I’d attached a reputational
risk assessment – we’re scoring
pretty high, so it might be best for anyone we put up to arrange refreshed
media training with our Comms team.
[Redacted]’s been
in touch. We think they’re trying to
contact Professor W[Redacted]. That wouldn’t be ideal at this PIT, the last
thing we need is hysteria. People not buying eggs, smashing up phone masts etc.
etc.
Can you have a word with
their line manager? Remind them of
the public engagement protocols?
Thanks.
D.
Drew Sweeney
Senior Relationship &
Engagement Manager
Office of the Chief Executive
From: asweeney@phc.co.cal
03/10/26
To: [Redacted]
CC: all@phc.co.cal
Subject: [Redacted]’s
leaving do
Hi All,
Just a reminder, today is
[Redacted]’s last day with PHC.
We’ll be doing a presentation over Zoom at 3pm. As his line manager [Redacted]
says:
“[Redacted] has worked
in public health for over 20 years.
I’m sure we’ll all miss their forthright, no-nonsense approach. Good luck [Redacted]
for a well-deserved retirement!”
Hope as many of you can
make it as possible.
Yours
Drew
From: asweeney@phc.co.cal
28/10/26
To: [Redacted]
CC: [Redacted]; [Redacted];
[Redacted]; [Redacted]; [Redacted];
[Redacted]; [Redacted]
Subject: Suspected novel
viral infection [Update]
Hi Guys,
Sorry for the short notice
– I’ve attached an agenda for
our meeting this afternoon. We’ve looped in the relevant Government
Departments.
AGENDA
Apologies: [Redacted]; [Redacted];
[Redacted]
Modelling work on spread (mitigated/unmitigated
numbers) [in confidence].
Epidemiology
of V-26.
Prisons, hospitals, care homes, student
accommodation.
Border Security Agency assessment.
Police Caledonia assessment.
Remote Rural Scotland & Islands.
Sincere apologies for calling
you in on a Sunday. I think
we should be done by 4 though!
Many thanks
Andrew
ANDrew Sweeney
Senior Relationship &
Engagement Manager
Office of the Chief Executive
From: [Redacted]
29/10/26
To: asweeney@phc.co.cal
CC: [Redacted]
Subject: Suspected novel
viral infection [Update]
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for getting in
touch. I’ve copied in [Redacted]
to cover off HR and legal issues. I’d urge you to be careful with the language
here, remember any correspondence will be FOIable.
To answer your questions,
in confidence:
Assumptions are 80-90% in the Central Belt,
40-50% in Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders, and 10-20% in the Highlands.
In broad numbers, we think 3.8 – 4.5 million in an unmitigated scenario.
We’re liaising with fisheries and the
coastguard. The Island communities are assumed quarantined, but this poses real
challenges in terms of medical supplies, food etc.
In
order to minimise panic, current policy is
to refer to sufferers as ‘V26’ or ‘New Rabies’ infected. Staff or members of
the public should be directed to the guidance here www.PublicHealthCaledonia.What-is-New-Rabies?
Roughly
12 hours after infection, 30 minutes after first passing. We’re finalising a
new SMS on the ‘golden half hour,’ advising people to keep a suitable tool
(e.g. sharpened kitchen knife or hammer) ready to deal with infected loved
ones. These will be sent out once infection rates reach 50% of the adult
population.
Note this still has to be
approved by the Director. Happy
to discuss this IRL.
Yours sincerely,
[Redacted]
From: AndrewSweeney25@scotmail.com
04/11/26 01:13
To: [Redacted]
Subject: URGENT –
PLEASE RESPOND
THERES NO EVIDENCE FOR what
YOUR SYAING
The food being supplied
to the SheketrerS was fine
We couldn’t have known
about the bone marrow
IF you don’t stop
I will call the poice OK?
From: AndrewSweeney25@scotmail.com
To: [Redacted]
Subject: Suspected novel
viral infection
Please ignore my last e-mail.
I know we’ve had our
differences, but we share the same aims here.
Fancy a chat? My personal
number is: [Redacted]
Ta.
Drew.
From: AndrewSweeney25@scotmail.com
05/11/26
To: [Redacted]
CC: sweeneyg@springchick.com
Subject: Withdrawal of [Child
A] and [Child B] from St
Andrew’s Independent School
Dear Stevie,
Thanks for being so understanding.
I’ll transfer over the
balance as soon as I can this morning, to cover the remaining fees for this
month.
To clarify, this isn’t
about the quality of the teaching (that’s
been excellent) or the boys’ experience.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew & Gillian Sweeney.
07:58 [Starts transcription]
Hi. How’s it going?
Not super great, to be honest.
Thanks, yeah.
It’s worse than it
looks. The pharmacy staff were very
helpful. And I had to get a jag at the walk-in clinic. It’s hard to type with
my left-hand though.
What happened? Oh, right.
No, thank goodness! Dog
bite. See…
I nip out at lunchtime most
days to grab my lunch (and a
big pack of Haribo – sharing size: hah, not that Gills or the boys see any of
those sweeties), from the One Stop near where I stay.. The shopkeeper’s a
mercurial guy. Asian of course. Indian? Or he could be Pakistani. Don’t know
his name. Catch him in the morning, he’s dour and noncommittal. Catch him after
four pm, he serenades the customers with love songs in his father’s language.
I didn’t ask his name.
We’ve been here, what, six months,
and I don’t…
Anyway. Do you know Clydebank?
Well, we’re on the main
road. The One Stop is located on one corner of a four-way junction, opposite
the John Knox care home and next to a chemist. You can still see the raised
lettering on the whitewashed, upper floor of the building they share, proclaiming
the Clydebank Equitable Co-operative Society. As I waited for the lights to
change so I could cross, a small convey of vehicles passed in front of me and
turned right, heading for Dumbarton. One black hearse…two black hearses…and
then a black Mercedes. Two hearses! An old couple?
(He dies first, and she
discovers him, and… Better that
than the alternative, some tragic accident, a car accident, or house fire. Or
something darker, a murder-suicide.)
…what? Yes...
The green man appeared;
I crossed the road to the noise of
beeping. Across the street, the curtains were drawn across the care home
windows, blocking my view. That was unusual. Normally, you can peer into their
communal living-room on the first floor, through a massive picture glass.
I entered the shop, bought
what I had to (the shopkeeper stayed
glum and dumb, as he rang up my sandwich, Irn Bru and Starmix). The bell above
the door ‘glinked.’ It was a young blonde woman in pale blue Lycra and purple
trainers, a runner. Lowering my head I muttered my appreciation to the
shopkeeper and left.
By the bins, there was a
wee dog, a black Staffie cross.
The dog crouched on its bum, waiting patiently for its owner to return. You saw
them sometimes, running alongside their owners. I transferred my juice can to
the pocket of my hoodie. The wee fellow seemed quite placid, and I love dogs,
always have, only Gills has a real phobia about them, passed it on to the boys
unfortunately…So any chance I can get, I admire other people’s dugs.
Of course I’ve going
to pet it, right?
And it just seemed to turn,
well, not seemed to, it just
turned, snapping at me, getting a few good nips in before the owner rushed out
and she was able to pacify it.
…What?
…Oh, of course, you
just wanted it for the form. So, I
should just put ‘dog bite’ then?
…. And is there a
process, is do you need…
…. Daily check ins,
I understand.
No, no need to cover for
me. I had some this week, but
they’ve been cancelled all over the place. People are dropping like flies, ha
ha ha!
…. Ok, thanks. And
how’re Annie and the kids?
Great. Great. Well. I’ll
see you…
Bye.
08:13 [Recording stops]
[Deleted voice note]
15:08
One of them bit me. I…I’d
just nipped to the shops. There
was a funeral cortege, a duo of hearses – I didn’t think anything of it.
When I came out of the shop,
the hearses were still parked
up at the lights. Quite a convoy of jammed vehicles behind them, horns blaring,
a driver losing patience and swerving round them, mounting the pavement. The
lead hearse’s passenger door was open: there were no pallbearers in sight. I
leaned in…and…
He…it…was so
fast. He leapt at me, slavering. A
friendly-looking bald man in his fifties, his black tie askew, his morning suit
torn and spattered with blood. His jaw closed on my arm.
I screamed, dropping my
bag of Haribo on the tarmac. Screamed,
like some big jessie! Pushed at him, but he was strong, so strong…
I swung the heavy glass
bottle of Irn Bru at his head,
once, twice, three times, caving in his skull. Only then did he stop twitching.
Even then, I had to prise his jaws apart.
He stank. That’s something
they don’t tell you, the vile
scent of sour, rottenness, like fermented cat shit. Hah, maybe that’s what the
virus is doing, marking its territory.
There was a nasty semicircle
of teeth marks, cutting deep
into my flesh, just below my left elbow. My white shirt was drenched, in sweat
and blood. Somehow, I managed to limp back onto the pavement, and stagger into
the chemist. The staff wouldn’t serve me at first: they cowered near the back.
I grabbed what bandages I could from the shelves and chucked what change and
notes I had onto the counter. Then the pharmacist, a guy in his thirties with a
reddish-brown beard, crept forward. He set a cardboard box on the counter,
telling me to take it, gratis. Painkillers. I thanked him, wincing as I clutched
at my arm, and headed home.
Only a few yards away, but
I was sweating hugely by the
time I got inside. Ripping my shirt off, I did what I could, dousing it under
the shower head stream, keeping the water running until it turned from crimson
to pink and then an ugly brown. Dried it off, wrapping a bath towel around my forearm.
Necked a couple of paracetamols, topped them up with ibuprofen.
Shit. What do I do now?
14:36 [Starts transcription]
…. Gills? It’s…
…Yep, will you just…
…Look, just shut up
and listen, will you!...
…I’m sorry,
I didn’t mean to…I know….yes, it’s about that….
Bad.
…What? It hurts a
bit. Well more than a bit. Nasty and
yellow and purple and green, I can sing a rainbow, I can sing a rainbow…ha,
haha!
Work don’t know, I
told them it was a dog. But listen…
No. Ssh…
Listen. Darling, it’ll
be all right, you need to focus. The
boys…
…No, we need to be
brave for them, yeah?
I’ve left the suitcases
outside the flat, with the boys’
backpacks on top. The card’s inside. You know the allotment? Yeah. Drive there
and load up as much food and bottled water as you can. Take the petrol. And head
for…you know where…
…. Aagh. Really stings.
…No. Don’t.
Don’t think about that. Focus on the kids.
…I need to go. Don’t
unlock the door.
[Redacted] warned us. Warned
me. Fuck.
Wha
15:23 [Recording stops]
From:
asweeney@phc.co.cal
To: [Redacted]
16:57
CC: [Redacted]
Subject: Partnership working
- FAIR programme
Dear [Redacted]
Congratulations on your
promotion at the Department for Community
Wellbeing. Securing this new role brings with it its own challenges, of course,
but we look forward to working with you.
I understand your previous
post was overseeing the roll-out
of the FAIR shelters. We at Public Health Caledonia welcome the opportunity to
recognise the synergies and benefits from that initiative and would like to see
if it’s scalable. It could be a useful tool in reducing the public’s dependence
on foodbanks, especially in the current fiscal climate and new challenges to
improving health.
Proactively looking forward,
we can sing from the same hymn
sheet. I’m working from home for the moment, FYI, but I’ll ping you my address.
Why don’t you pop over for a coffee and we can have an informal debriefing? My
address is:
[REDACTED],
[REDACTED],
[REDACTED].
[REDACTED]
Yours
DRew
PS I appreciate people are
pressed for time at the moment.
Don’t worry – we’ll keep laser focused on the task in hand.
I guarantee our meeting
will have a hard stop at 4.
Martin
Taulbut lives in Dumbarton, Scotland, with his wife, their little dog and two
cats. A member of the Shut Up and Write! Glasgow Group, his previous short
stories have appeared in Psychotrope, Scheherazade, Albedo One, Black Petals,
Mycelia, Tales of the Unreal and Archive of the Odd.
