Modernising the system

Back to work

Renfrewshire is to benefit from a multi-million pound investment from the Scottish Executive to help buddies back to work. The extra cash, £11m over the next two years in the pilot areas will support improvements for those facing barriers to employment, including people with disabilities and lone parents.

Planning etc (Scotland) Bill

A new Planning Bill is currently being debated in Parliament. The Bill proposes a range of measures to modernise the system.

The current system desperately needs modernising to ensure faster decisions and better engagement with local communities. In future local councils will have to update their local plans every five years. Local people will also have to be effectively consulted with and their views taken into consideration before planning applications are determined. For example, one important change is that in future planning authorities will be responsible for notifying neighbours of plans such as the erection of phone masts. Finally, it will become a legal requirement that those who have offered their views of a planning application are given detailed responses by a Council on and decisions taken.

Knife Amnesty success:

With one week still to go the public response to the knife amnesty in Renfrewshire has been encouraging. The amnesty has another week to run and I urge buddies to surrender weapons without fear of prosecution. Remember – there is no excuse for carrying a knife! I am also personally committed to trying to limit the sale of dangerous weapons over the internet.

Airport Rail Link:

I interrupted my maternity leave last week to participate in the important debate in Parliament on the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

Important victories for Paisley have already been won as a result of skilful lobbying by Renfrewshire Council and tough negotiating by many local interests. For example we have campaigned successfully for the preservation of 20 pitches on the existing site, all upgraded to league standard, with a new pavilion and the provision of at least two other new pitches at Ferguslie. Commitments have also been given to providing 22 pitches, 11 on the site and the others elsewhere in the town during the construction period.

However, there are other areas where further progress is still required. Hence I raised in Parliament the need for the Glasgow Cross-Rail initiative to get the go ahead. Once this happens it would allow the development of direct train routes from Paisley to the rest of Scotland.

I also argued for the upgrading of Gilmour Street station. Finally, Strathclyde Passenger Transport (who are promoting the rail link) must work with local businesses that may be affected. Likewise we need better consultation with local residents on landscaping and planting schemes.

I wanted to make sure that the Bill proposers knew how closely we will be watching developments. But I welcome the fact that the rail link is expected 700 extra jobs to the Town Centre within a few years of the rail link opening.