TIME FOR POWER COMPANIES TO CUT PRICES

There’s no excuse now for the power companies not to pass on immediately the cut in wholesale energy prices to their customers and ease pressure on household bills.

Household energy bills have increased by more than 40 per cent this year whilst wholesale gas prices have continued to fall, coming down 33 per cent in the past two months and wholesale electricity prices are 39 per cent lower. Oil prices have hugely tumbled too. In July, the price of oil peaked at $147 a barrel - but by the beginning of November it had fallen back below $50. The soaring price of oil was a key factor in causing gas and electricity price hikes. The difference now between wholesale energy costs and household fuel bills has reached its widest point for 21 months.

Energy watchdogs have estimated that there is scope to cut fuel bills by up to 20 per cent, which would mean a saving of almost £200 for the average household.

With temperatures falling below freezing and more than half a million households are living in fuel poverty, the power companies should cut prices now so that nobody has to choose between food and warmth.

Funding for Money Advice Agencies after Pre Budget Report

Following the recent pre-budget report which awarded extra money particularly to pensioners and families, the UK government had announced that £10 million is to be given to Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales. In the Scottish Parliament we lobbied the Scottish Government to pass on that consequential in full (amounting to £1m) to money advice agencies in Scotland.

We have consistently called for action in supporting Scottish homeowners and the Scottish Government now had a perfect opportunity to assist people with debt problems by using this money from Westminster effectively.

By providing £10 million to Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales to increase advice services, the UK government showed their commitment to helping people cope with debt. Therefore it was high time for the Scottish Government to pass that funding directly on to money advice agencies to provide equivalent one-to-one support to people in Scotland.

I am pleased to learn therefore that in this challenging credit crunch period the lobbying has succeeded and Renfrewshire Council has now been able to announce an extra £200,000 towards extending existing out-of-hours debt advice and extra support for Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau.

Hard Earned Tips

As we all gear up for Christmas we must spare a thought for all those working in shops, bars, cafes, hotels who will be working harder than ever to allow the rest of us soak up all the social festivities of the Festive Season.

It so unfair that many employers still use tips to count towards payment of the national minimum wage. The UK Government has announced plans to ban this sorry practice and we must ensure all future steps will be applied in Scotland also.

I commend the Fair Tips campaign by the union Unite calling for fair-minded employers to treat their staff fairly and sign up in support of the campaign.

The Fair Tips charter calls on businesses to pay all employees at least the minimum wage with 100% of tips added on top as a bonus with no hidden charges. It calls for agreement to be reached on how tips are shared with those staff directly affected and to make no deductions from tips to cover breakages, till shortages or customer walk-outs.

Glasgow Airport

I welcomed the news from Glasgow Airport of their success in filling the gap left by the unfortunate demise during the summer of Zoom and XL Airways. Good news when the airline industry is in decline worldwide.

As ever the airport is always striving to improve what it can offer to passengers and introduce new route developments. Having used the airport several times over the last month and gaining a first hand experience of the buzzing atmosphere and new Skyhub layout, their efforts appear to be working well and I look forward to continued success for this large Renfrewshire employer.

Christmas pleasure

I look forward to taking the twins along to the busy farmer’s market in County Square this Saturday, taking the opportunity to buy from a wide variety of quality produce. There are extra Christmas markets also, all adding to the seasonal cheer in Paisley.

Also after taking to Linwood Elderly Forum the 750 postcards sent in to me by local residents regarding the Shopping centre – it was pointed out to me that it would be an awful waste not to pass on the stamps to the local church who are currently gathering as many as possible for charity …. so with scissors in hand there’s now an extra pre Christmas job to do in the office!