With the excitement of the election over, it’s been great getting back to business in the Scottish Parliament again.
Being re-elected as your MSP for Paisley North is a tremendous honour.
This week I met with the Lord Advocate, the Procurator Fiscal and local senior police officers in Paisley to discuss progress on combating crime. Renfrewshire residents are set to benefit from a major overhaul of criminal justice agencies.
For most of us the beginning of a New Year is a time of optimism, a chance to make a fresh start. But for older members of our community the turn of the year can be a daunting prospect. The cold snap puts Renfrewshire’s most vulnerable residents at the risk.
That’s why I’m delighted the Labour-led Scottish Executive has expanded its popular Central Heating Programme.
Buddies are on track for a massive jobs boost after MSPs gave plans for a direct rail service between Glasgow Airport and the City Centre the green light.
Crime is an issue that concerns many people of all ages in Renfrewshire. As such, I’m sure that many of you were delighted to hear that knife attacks are falling.
In 2004/05 blades were responsible for half of all homicides. In 2005/06 this figure dropped to a third. Falling knife crime has led to fewer murders. 134 people were murdered in 2004/05 compared to 93 last year.
Anti-social behaviour is an issue that concerns many people in Renfrewshire. I’ve recently attended a number of public meetings the police have held on the issue across the region.
The Labour-led Scottish Executive is taking serious steps to reduce anti-social behaviour in our communities.
Buddies could soon have the opportunity to see Olympic heroes training at close quarters.
Scottish sporting facilities are being asked to register their interest in hosting pre-Games training camps for teams preparing for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
With the longer summer nights anti-social behaviour by a few can spoil the evenings for everyone. I wanted to let Buddies know their rights if they experience antisocial behaviour.
As buddies start heading off on their summer holidays I wanted to write about the new plans for the future of council housing here in Renfrewshire.
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.
