PDE Column, 2nd March 2009 – End to Free Central Heating, Budget Cuts, Seabirds, Parentline

Apply before it’s to late!

Many Buddies do not know that the current free central heating system programme will end in March. From April pensioners aged 60-74 who are not in receipt of pension credit will no longer be eligible for a replacement system if their current one is broken beyond repair.
Almost 10 years ago I planned the free central heating scheme with Donald Dewar. Last year alone over 800 pensioners in Renfrewshire & Argyll benefited.

I believe it is wrong for the SNP government to end the current programme in March. With fuel bills rising many pensioners will now struggle to replace broken boilers.

Any pensioner living in a cold home with inadequate heating should act now by calling 0800316 1653. It’s a freephone number with someone on hand with advice on how to apply. The average household savings from a new central heating system is around £275.

So all Buddies who believe they may still qualify – apply now!

Budget Cuts

Renfrewshire’s SNP administration is demanding £2.5m more “savings” from the already hard-pressed education budget. Crucially they have not denied 81 more education posts will go. Alongside last year’s cut of 119 teachers, and with 28 further teacher post now earmarked to go, Renfrewshire will now have 147 fewer teachers. The SNP try and hide behind falling school rolls. But school rolls have fallen every year for the last dozen years.
The real difference between this SNP administration and the last Labour one is that Labour increased teacher numbers in Renfrewshire by 103 between 2003 and 2007 and the SNP have cut them by 147 in just 2 years.
Renfrewshire secondary schools have already suffered the sharpest cuts in teacher numbers proportionately across Scotland. Even the SNP Government in Edinburgh are urging Councils to maintain teacher numbers at 2007 levels.
And the Council’s plans to cut instrument tuition to once a fortnight are also wrong.
Are the Council willing to listen to the views of parents and pupils? If they stopped building up balances and restored these education cuts they would earn the respect of parents across Renfrewshire. Are they big enough to think again? We will soon find out.

For the birds…

As a child holidaying in Argyll the highlight of my break was often a boat trip to seabird cliffs.

Scotland hosts an amazing 45% of Europe’s breeding seabird populations. They are an iconic part of Scotland’s wildlife. But regrettably we have witnessed year on year declines due to fewer of the fish these birds depend on. Seabirds are like the canary in the coalmine; their decline should be a wake-up call to us all.

So I welcome the new Scottish Marine Bill to improve the management of Scotland’s seas.  It will not be a silver bullet.  But it should put the environment at the heart of future decision-making when it comes to our seas.

Parentline

Finally, bringing up kids is the most challenging task many of us ever take on!  So this week I was congratulating ParentLine Scotland, the national free and confidential helpline for parents and carers. You can call about any problem, however big or small. This year it celebrates its 10th anniversary and more than 85,000 calls. If you want help as a parent or wish to offer your services as a volunteer please give then a call on 0808 800 2222. Buddies can also take a look at through the website www.parentingacrossscotland.org