Regularly in the Scottish Parliament Chamber I have the chance to ask Government Ministers questions.

This week I asked the Justice Minister Kenny McAskill about claims of new police recruits not getting adequate training before being sent out on the streets. It’s a tough job, particularly for a new recruit and they need the best training on offer.

Next week I will be asking Kenny McAskill question about helping law centres fight eviction cases. There are distressing stories, as highlighted recently by the Paisley Daily Express, where tenants face homelessness due to, unbeknown to them, their landlords not paying the mortgage payments.

In March the Justice Minister promised me he would be more than happy to have discussions with representatives of Scotland’s Law Centres, including the Paisley/Renfrewshire Law Centre. As yet I know of no meeting being arranged so I will be pushing for this again, given rising local responses.

Credit Unions

Credit Unions are vital in giving support to Scottish communities and protecting them becoming involved with loan sharks. In Renfrewshire we have some very valued Credit Unions.

Under the previous Labour Scottish Government the guaranteed funding for Credit Unions stood at £2.7m but under today’s Scottish Government funding has plummeted to under £250,000.

So I want the Scottish Government to explain how this shrinking ‘pot’ of money credit unions can bid for actually works.  Protecting people from unscrupulous lenders needs to be a priority in this period of economic downturn.

Photography Gems

An exhibition not to miss this month is Reid Kerr College’s award winning photography department’s exhibition. Set in the stunning location of Paisley Abbey, a selection of best work produced by HND Photography students is now on display. The standard of work is extremely high. Congratulations to the students of Reid Kerr College on their outstanding photography work over the past two years.
The exhibition is now open until the 26th June Mon - Sat 10am - 3.30pm

Wildlife Week

This is Scottish Wildlife Week. There are 230 events and activities taking place throughout Scotland including the celebration of peat lands, woodlands and marine environments throughout Scotland.

So if you have enjoyed Springwatch on telly get out and visit the real thing. The Scottish Wildlife Trust and its sister charities work tirelessly to conserve Scotland’s wildlife and ensure that future generations can also enjoy its diversity. I happily supported the motion in the Scottish Parliament commending their efforts and celebrating Wildlife Week. And the photo shows me at Murshiel looking for Harriers!

To find out full details of all Wildlife Week events log onto http://www.swt.org.uk/events/wildlife-week/

Summer Fun

It has been great to see the summer sun come out at last. June sees many local outdoor events. Renfrew has just held its very successful Gala Day and within the next few weeks there is the Barshaw Gala Day, Fountain Gardens Gala Day and the Accord Hospice Summer Fayre.

If you have not been out for a while think about going along to one of these events. I know my kids love ice cream and fun fair stalls and rides so fingers crossed for continued great weather. Whatever people say about the state of Paisley’s streets everyone recognises Paisley’s strong community spirit. So be part of it this summer. Rain or shine!

]]> http://www.wendyalexander.co.uk/2009/06/08/pde-column-8th-june-2009-chamber-questions-credit-unions-photography-gems-wildlife-week-summer-fun/feed/ http://www.wendyalexander.co.uk/2009/05/25/pde-column-25th-may-2008-knife-crime-sexual-offences-bill-hospital-cleaners-pay-accord-hospice-local-press/ http://www.wendyalexander.co.uk/2009/05/25/pde-column-25th-may-2008-knife-crime-sexual-offences-bill-hospital-cleaners-pay-accord-hospice-local-press/#comments Mon, 25 May 2009 13:03:24 +0000 constituency http://www.wendyalexander.co.uk/?p=1378 Knife Crime

Under Labour’s Safer Scotland Knife Amnesty between May and June 30 2006, 13,000 knives were taken off the streets. By comparison since May 2007, only 2,000 knives have been taken off the streets.Scottish Labour have called again on this Scottish Government to put an end to their complacency over knife crime and back a knife amnesty.

I have launched a petition to allow the public to show their support for knife crime proposals. Scotland wants action on knives. Labour took action on knives while in power. We doubled the maximum sentence, we took 13,000 knives off the street in a month’s amnesty but it is now clear that more needs to be done. Our proposal for a minimum sentence for knife criminals is the right way to send a clear message. That message is – ‘Carry a knife?… Go to Jail’. The Scottish government should see sense and back our proposals on knife crime. Doing nothing cannot be an option for Alex Salmond and Kenny MacAskill. If you wish to add your support log on to my website www.wendyalexander.co.uk

Amendment to the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill

Too few rape offences in Scotland either go to trial or result in a conviction. This shames us all. So I fully support my colleague Margaret Curran’s proposed amendment to the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill. This will stop defendants arguing, where a victim was drunk, that consent to sex had been given in advance. Currently an attacker could get away with taking advantage of a person who is drunk by claiming falsely that consent was given verbally in advance - then it would be one person’s word against another. When a person is too drunk to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ then there can be no excuse for anyone taking advantage of them sexually. This amendment should also help tackle the low conviction rate.

Pay Hospital Cleaners A Living Wage

In answer to a Parliamentary written question, Cabinet Secretary Nicola Sturgeon refused to commit to paying cleaners who will be taken on to help fight hospital infections a living wage. Instead, she said they would have to wait until 2011 and even then there was no guarantee.

The NHS is Scotland’s biggest employer with over 165,000 people on its payroll. According to Scottish Government officials, 7,867 of those workers earn less than £7 an hour.

I am disappointed that the Scottish Government has chosen to snub hospital cleaners by rejecting our proposal to pay every worker in the NHS at least £7 per hour. This policy could be delivered tomorrow if they wanted to.

The financial commitment involved is less than a tenth of one per cent of the overall health budget and a living wage for every health worker would be another reason for Scots to take pride in the NHS.

ACCORD Hospice

I was pleased to visit ACCORD Hospice last week where once again I was impressed. One-on-one care but also their expertise and commitment in both living and dying with the utmost comfort and dignity. Increasingly ACCORD treats people with all sorts of difficult diseases not just cancer care. A few years ago I had gone into battle with the old health board to ensure ACCORD got its fair share of support from the health service. But on this occasion I was looking for their help. I had asked for a briefing on both the recent Palliative Care Private Member’s Bill and also on Margo McDonald’s proposed Assisted Suicide Bill. I appreciated ACCORD’s long considered frontline views and was not disappointed in their straightforward common sense thinking on this very difficult matter. ACCORD is a real feather in Renfrewshire’s cap.

Importance of our Local Press

And in a week when politicians have typically been attacking the press. Can I speak up for local newspapers.

As a Paisley Daily Express reader you value local news from a trusted source. But all over the country local papers are coming under more and more pressure.

The Scottish Government intends to put an end to the advertising of public notices in newspapers and move to centralised online portals. Crucially, this will mean a major loss of revenue for local newspapers and public notices, including job adverts, will be less accessible to those without access to the internet.

It is estimated that £10 million will be lost in advertising revenue. For our local papers the advertising revenue generated from these public information notices is significant and without it they are severely under threat.

For these reasons I have signed the Parliamentary Motion calling on the Scottish Government to review its decision.

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I welcome the recently released fire statistics for Scotland which illustrated a decline in the number of serious fires and fire casualties in Scotland in recent years. However it is disappointing that the number of fire-related deaths remain greater in Scotland than in comparable countries. This highlights a need to do more in terms of fire safety. It is also essential that the Scottish Government make clear what steps they will take, particularly in relation to new planning proposals currently being scrutinised in Parliament, to ensure that landlords continue to co-operate with the Houses in Multiple Occupation licensing scheme and that safety standards are continually improved. [Houses of Multiple Occupation are usually occupied by unrelated companions whether students, young professionals or immigrant workers]

In light of these recent fire statistics I’d like to take the opportunity to remind everyone that Strathclyde Fire & Rescue do offer a FREE home fire safety visit. Just call 0800-0731-999, text “Check” to 61611 on your mobile phone or simply fill in the form on the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue community safety webpage at www.strathclydefire.org. Your local fire station will then call you back to arrange a time and date that suits you. Alternatively you can phone your local fire station direct to arrange a home safety visit. During the visit fire fighters will check each room of your house with you, helping you to make sure your house is safe. If you don’t have a smoke alarm they can fit one free of charge.

Climate Change - SCIAF’s Global Warning

SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund) recently organised a postcard campaign to warn of Global Warning campaign. A fair number of my constituents contacted me through this.

SCIAF’s campaign sends the important message that climate change is everyone’s responsibility and it rightly highlights the fact that global warming is already having a direct impact on some of the poorest people on our planet.
We know that the effects of global warming are already being disproportionately felt by people in developing countries which often have very poor infrastructure and are also the most vulnerable to severe weather, flooding and other impacts of climate change.

The UK government has been leading from the front on this issue, meeting our commitments to reducing emissions under the Kyoto targets and leading the international fight against climate change.  In Scotland, the government’s consultation on the climate change bill has recently concluded.  However, I was disappointed that the Scottish government did not include its promised target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 3% a year.

I welcome SCIAF’s campaign and am glad to see that they are lobbying government over important issues such as the need for adaptations to help deal with the impact of climate change. It is important to keep this issue on the political agenda - climate change is everyone’s responsibility.

Rest assured that, together with my colleagues in the Scottish Labour Group at Holyrood, I will continue to press the Scottish Government to ensure that Scotland plays its role in mitigating the effects of climate change.

Linwood

I join Linwood residents in being heartily pleased at the news of the formal planning application for the Linwood Town Centre Regeneration being submitted to Renfrewshire Council in the last couple of weeks. Many felt time had slipped by since my campaign in October 2006 and the subsequent announcement by Tesco in the spring of 2007. Community consultations were completed by the autumn of 2007 but further negotiations with various parties took that little extra bit of time. The recent public event at the end of April was very well received by the community and we all look eagerly forward to the next progress step.

Lagoon Ice Rink

I am disappointed to learn that the Lagoon Ice Rink is still facing an uncertain future nearly two years after closure. Braehead fortunately did step into the breach to save the Paisley Pirates Ice Hockey Team and provide some leisure skating facilities but many young figure skaters and various clubs are still affected. Families are having to travel far to keep up ice practice and fear for the rink’s future. There is no doubt having an Ice Rink has always been a valuable appreciated facility in Paisley – I urge Renfrewshire Leisure and the Council to pull out all stops to find the solution and return this prize to the town.

Royal National Mod

I am pleased to offer my full support to Renfrewshire’s Council bid to bring the Royal National Mod to Paisley. Attracting such a prestigious event of the premier festival of Gaelic language, arts and culture would be a great event for Paisley, attracting visitors from not only Scotland but also from countries such as Australia, Canada and the U.S. It would be a marvellous platform for Paisley and would additionally inject a welcome boost to the local economy.

It has been a week of good and bad news when it comes to the struggle for safer streets. First the good news.

I had a very encouraging meeting with the Police Divisional Commander Paul Main in Mill St to talk about local policing in Renfrewshire. I was encouraged by his plans to roll out more community police officers.

My top priorities are to see speedy progress on the building of the planned new police offices for both Renfrew and Linwood.

More police on the beat make a difference. Labour increased police numbers by 1500 from 2000-7.  It is encouraging to see local police chiefs increasingly ensuring these extra officers are actually out on the streets.

Over recent years I have been consistently impressed by the quality of our local community police officers. It is often a demanding job that falls on young shoulders. So it is vital young Police Officers get the high-quality training they deserve. It is therefore very disappointing that refresher courses for Police recruits that have been qualified for a year have been scrapped and no extra funding has been provided for the Police Training College at Tulliallan.

And we cannot let up on tackling anti social behaviour.  So I am concerned that the  SNP’s Crime Bill published this week plans to scrap all prison sentences of less than six months and replace them with community sentences, without properly funding those community sentences. The SNP’s plans will only pay for community sentences for one in five offenders. What happens to all the rest? Our streets will be less safe if the SNP go ahead with scrapping all six-month sentences – and yet fail to provide the money necessary to pay for all the community sentences.

CERVICAL CANCER progress

Most people, whether fans of Big Brother or not,  were touched by the sad story of Jade Goody, a young mum in the spotlight, suddenly discovering and later succumbing to terminal cervical cancer.

One subsequent comfort from the her  very public story is the hugely encouraging rise in the number of young women, now making an appointment for a smear test, now getting themselves checked out.

And new figures show that nine out of ten schoolgirls have received their first dose of cervical cancer vaccine. Over 90% of eligible girls have received their first dose of the HPV vaccine.  The immunisation programme protects against the virus that causes 70 per cent of cervical cancers, so many young lives can be saved

More good news in Linwood

Sanctuary Housing have agreed to help deal with the noise and mess caused by the new house building they are undertaking between Brediland and Erskinefaulds Roads.

And after intensively lobbying by local residents the Planning Dept last week cleared up a site at Moss Av where a neglectful owner had refused to clear up his derelict land.

Finally, Tesco have assured me they are on track to get on site by the autumn to begin demolition and rebuilding. They tell me the new shopping centre is to have three pieces of public art. As Buddies and the PDE know – public art is often controversial! So I am supporting plans to hold design workshops involving local people.  Already I have been approached by local residents wanting a new memorial for soldiers lost in conflict and a local artist offering her services.

Paisley Law Centre is on the frontline of helping Buddies facing repossessions hold onto their homes. Jon Kiddie and his colleagues are inundated with tough repossession cases. I want more help for those facing repossession. Many legal firms refuse to take on repossession cases and Paisley Law Centre steps in to ensure Buddies are represented in court to help them hold on to their homes.

I questioned the Justice Minister Kenny McAskill in Parliament on the case for more help for Law centres such as Paisley who protect people from the worst consequences of the credit crunch. In his response the Minister indicated in the Chamber he would in principle be willing to meet with Scotland’s Law Centres to discuss the issue of mortgage repossession cases.

Along with colleague Hugh Henry MSP for Paisley South I went to visit Paisley Law Centre recently to hear more about their valuable work.

In 2008 there were 1200 eviction cases raised at Paisley Sheriff Court – this year they expect a significant rise in repossession cases.

Increasingly Paisley Law Centre is dealing with tenants facing eviction because their private landlord has defaulted on their mortgage. These vulnerable tenants need better legal protection – and Paisley Law centre does all it can assist.

I will be pursuing with Ministers, who are the lenders who are putting borrowers under most pressure when they get into difficulties.
Local football in the community
I am disappointed to report that so far the council appears to be unsympathetic to the plight of local football men’s team Linwood Amateurs who risk being expelled from their Scottish Central League due to difficulties trying to secure a regular decent home pitch meeting the mandatory requirements of the SFA.
Linwood Amateurs secured entry to the higher Scottish Central League after repeated successes in the Paisley and District Leagues. The PDE also covered the story recently when I met up with the coach and some players. A recent example of difficulties meant that the condition of the only available pitch booked led to the referee refusing on the day to let the game go ahead, and the opposing team, coming all the way from Edinburgh, were sent home with 3 points in their pockets. Linwood on the other hand received a £150 SFA fine and a warning.

The council admit that in Renfrewshire demand exceeds supply for football pitches. Apparently there are unused pitches at Linwood Sports Centre – but the council say ‘that’s no us it’s Renfrewshire Leisure’. So I’m not finished yet. I will pursue the matter further with Renfrewshire Leisure, and pursue the fact that if, according to 2008-09 council literaure they are to take possession of 11 high quality playing fields, constructed by Transport Scotland as part of the Glasgow Airport rail Link project, then will pitch booking problem for all teams in Renfrewshire be eased?  I hope too to approach local large companies such as Chivas & BAA to see if they can help Linwood Amateurs in some way.
In the meantime another local well known youth football club, Glennifer Thistle, now face an invasion of inconsiderate, damaging seasonal travellers breaking into the field they had been recently loaned by BAA to turn in to a home pitch for the start of the new season! Training has now been postponed.  I am urging the police to take whatever action they can as soon as possible before the hard work Glennifer has already put in is ruined.

Arkelston Road Roundabouts
Local residents have continued to lobby for improvements at the double roundabouts at the top of Arkleston Rd. They gathered compelling evidence of many drivers simply disregarding the existence of the roundabouts in some cases. The council had indicated their intention to take action last Autumn but apparently had difficulty in securing a window of opportunity without causing major disruption. They now assure me work will commence this Spring.

Visitors to the Parliament
I and fellow Renfrewshire MSPs, Trish Godman and Hugh Henry welcomed a bus trip of local residents to the Scottish Parliament. They enjoyed a tour of the building, the repartee of First Ministers Questions, rounded off by a nice lunch. Reports back tell me they had a wonderful day – maybe Buddies who have not visited yet might consider it over the summer?

Despite mounting criticism, Renfrewshire’s SNP led Council stand by plans to reduce music tuition to once fortnightly and axe 7 full-time-equivalent staff. As support against the cuts gathers pace, I’ve set up an online petition against this http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/rcmusic09/.

By forcing kids to look elsewhere and for those who can afford it to go private, we are undermining the chances of this and future generations. When we hand over the pleas from concerned parents and pupils, I hope councillors who could find more than 8 times the cost of the music instructors to build up balances - will now have the good grace to think again.

Please sign the petition.

Disappointed At Scottish Government Response to NHS Living Wage

I am disappointment at The Scottish Government’s refusal to accept Labour’s proposal to introduce a living wage for all NHS workers of at least £7 per hour.

The NHS is Scotland’s biggest employer with over 165,000 people on its payroll. According to Scottish Government officials, 7,867 of those workers earn less than £7 an hour.

UNISON’s Scottish Regional Secretary Dave Watson also welcomed the idea to give a living wage to the final, small groups of low-paid health care staff who carry out vital services for us all.

A minimum of £7 per hour would tell employees at every level of the health service how much we value them and making work pay and I believe everyone would benefit from this policy.

The Scottish Government could implement this policy tomorrow if they wanted to as the financial commitment involved is less than a tenth of one per cent of the overall health budget and could be delivered without taking a single penny from frontline services.

Putting more money into the pockets of the lowest paid workers would be another reason for Scots to take pride in the NHS.

Clergy Hospital Visiting Lists

I am concerned to learn from the Paisley & Greenock Presbytery of the Church of Scotland of the withdrawal of clergy visiting lists from local hospitals including the RAH.

Currently local ministers of various faiths have been able to visit their parishioners whose religion has been identified on admission. The churches are dismayed at no prior consultation or warning and wish to ensure that the spiritual care of patients in hospital remains a high priority for those requiring that particular comfort. The reason given for the withdrawal apparently is Data Protection but I hope that some solutions can be found and have written to the Chief Executive of the Health Board on the matter.

British Airways Maintenance at Glasgow Airport

Next month British Airways Maintenance Glasgow proudly passes a major milestone in its history when they complete work on their 200th Airbus. I was pleased to attend their ‘200th Airbus Presentation’ recently at the British Airways Maintenance Base at Glasgow Airport. BA’s Chief Executive Willie Walsh along with senior Airbus personnel celebrated with the Airport based staff - but the undoubted show stealers were the children from Bushes Primary School in Paisley who were involved in a competition to design a poster and logo to commemorate the occasion. Well done to Emily Muir who won 2 free flights to London for her winning poster.

The Big Lottery Fund
Many congratulations to local Company Kidd’s Distribution Services Ltd (KDS) winning an excellent £285,000 Big Lottery Fund award. This will enable them to run a number of training academies where people will learn everything from Attitude and Motivation future planning through to customer service and interview techniques. Upon completing the course they will be matched with potential employers. This Lottery grant is one aimed at supporting the efforts in tackling unemployment. More than 200 long term unemployed adults across Scotland will be supported to find work.
So I urge local companies and organisations out there to consider whether they could apply this year coming? Application forms are now available from www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_peoples_millions and the deadline for submitting them is 15 May 2009.

No one listening to recent news reports of the tragic death of little Brandon Muir could fail to be to whole heartedly saddened.
We must consider how these tragedies can be avoided, including looking to our Scottish Government to take responsibility for the invisible children suffering from drug-abusing parents.
Currently we don’t seem to know how many children are living with a parent who has a serious addiction. Every child living with a parent with an addiction needs to be identified and have the right to a risk assessment, and ongoing support.
Every parent or parents with an addiction should be assessed as to their parental capability. If the child lacks basic necessities, is possibly at risk of being exposed to violence or shows signs of physical neglect then we must act.
As far as I aware no single Cabinet Secretary has responsibility for drugs and children. If one can step forward to accept that clear responsibility and accountability for this issue will we know that the way can be opened for serious consideration about the improved protection of children.

The fight against Hospital Acquired Infections

Buddies will know of my recent successful campaigning for hospital by hospital reporting of Hospital Acquired Infections including C-difficile.
I welcome the recent decision to appoint a Chief Inspector of Hospital Hygiene - but it needs to be part of a much more comprehensive approach to cut infections.
My party colleagues in the Parliament proposed an independent Commissioner as part of our 15-point action plan, drawn up with the assistance of Professor Hugh Pennington. The role must be fully independent and have enough clout to tell ministers when they are failing.
The Scottish Government must go further by giving the new inspector the independence and clout to drive progress across the whole of the NHS, co-ordinate policy and tell ministers of failures needing to be addressed.

Policing
I am pleased to learn of new community police officers locally in Renfrew. Two have already started at the end of February and another two later this month. This will bring the total complement to 14 community officers covering the Renfrew and Gallowhill area, and is in addition to the core group of Police officers.
Yet there is still a real disappointment that the manifesto pledge made at the last election by today’s Scottish Government, to provide 1000 extra police officers by 2011, is set to fail. Recent figures published show that there are only 410 more officers in Scotland since May 2007 with 197 of those officers recruited in Strathclyde alone by money from local authorities rather than the Scottish government.
Also according to Scottish government statistics between 600 and almost 800 officers leave the police service every year either through retirement, resignation or resignation through ill-health.

It seems clear that there is now a postcode lottery on police recruitment. In Strathclyde, some councils are using their own funds to recruit the extra police they need. In Grampian the police have had to cut their recruitment targets by 60 because of a Scottish government failure to fund fully the pension shortfall. So there will be many communities in Scotland asking why their area is already falling short.

The last Scottish Government increased police officer numbers by 1500 when in power. We know what it takes to achieve that kind of change.  On leaving power at May 07 there were 16,265 officers in Scotland. The SNP pledge will not be complete until there are 17,265 officers.

Young Offenders

A recently published HMCIP report on young offenders in adult establishments shows the conditions that young offenders are kept in but it also shows the scale of youth offending. Many of these young people are serving sentences for violent crime. We need to ensure there are adequate facilities for young prisoners to be appropriately kept out of the community to ensure public protection. We have a situation where new prisons are waiting to be built but with no work going on. Community Service Orders taking months to even start and no adequate investment. Let’s get this sorted.

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

As many of you will know I have been running a local campaign against rogue retailers who sell drink illegally to under-agers.

In the last 5 years only one off-licence locally in Renfrewshire has had its license suspended. I think we need to change the approach and in every case where there has been a prosecution for selling to under-agers the local licensing board should consider removing the license.

Very soon we will know how the public have reacted to plans to ban under-21s buying alcohol. Labour believes it would be much better to concentrate on sorting out enforcement to stop under 18s getting illegal access to alcohol. That is why I am supporting plans to introduce a “Challenge 21″ Scheme and calling on the Scottish Government to make the “Challenge 21” scheme mandatory for all alcohol retailers to help curb the supply of booze to under 18s.

This is a workable plan that will help curb the supply of alcohol to under-18s and a practical solution to solve a real problem - rather than headline grabbing unworkable policies.

By making Challenge 21 compulsory for all retailers it will not only send a clear message to young people not to chance it, but also lead to a healthy culture where young people know and expect to be challenged when buying alcohol.

It is sensible at the same time to introduce measures that will make it easier for young people to prove their age and increase the protection of shop workers who are responsible for implementing the policy. I urge the Justice Secretary to look seriously at these proposals.

Call to reverse Nursery Cuts

I recently spoke up for Renfrewshire’s Nurseries in the Scottish Parliament.
The SNP in Renfrewshire were heavily criticised in a parliamentary debate on the early years for their plans to downgrade all nursery schools later this year. What the SNP promise and what the SNP deliver are two different things. Nursery teacher numbers are being slashed and by august there will be no Renfrewshire nursery schools left. Nursery school teachers are being forced to consider redundancy or early retirement. Children will be the losers. With £6m extra cash next year from the Scottish government - the SNP in Renfrewshire should be using it to make good last year’s education cuts and halting the closure of nurseries.

This week in England and Wales parents of all vulnerable 2 year olds were guaranteed a nursery place this autumn. Here in Scotland under the SNP that is not happening

Star Success

Finally some good news! For many years I have been supportive of the “Star Project” which began in Shortroods some ten years ago by local churches it aims to support local young people, parents and families.

Recently it received a massive vote of confidence from the Big Lottery – the grant will support its future work in the North End. The picture shows me with David Close, Project Director and Women’s Support worker Sharon McAuley.

This is a fantastic well deserved boost for the Star Project. Their work in the North End to support young people and their parents will be greatly expanded by this vote of confidence from the big lottery. From humble beginnings in a flat in Shortroods the Star project is helping people forge new beginnings and live life to the full.

David Close STAR project manager said, “We are thrilled at the opportunities which this grant from Big Lottery Fund opens up for STAR to better support adults and families in North Paisley.  We can now plan for the next four years and employ two full-time workers who will give individual help and support as well as developing a wide range of groups and services.  Together with local people we can continue to build a community where there’s a place for everyone.”