My postbag has been very busy lately. This week has had a typical spread of issues arising including an elderly constituent needing a quicker Occupational Therapy Assessment, action on dog fouling, the overcrowding faced by a expanding family, a pregnant woman looking for a H1N1 vaccination, a request for speed cameras on a rat run road, an appeal for bus passes by workers at Haven Products a local social enterprise, and concerns about the timing of lights in centre of Paisley. 
Sometimes the public pronouncements of politicians that get reported can give the impression that all our energies go into disputing the big issues of the day. But behind the scenes most elected politicians and their staff try and deliver a really high quality service to constituents. Typically most MPs/MSPs have just one dedicated caseworker and those workers are real “local heroes” plugging away on constituents behalf with the local health boards, the police, Scottish Government, the local council and a raft of Government agencies like SEPA, Transport Scotland and the Care Commission to get action on behalf of their constituents. 
A recent case in my Paisley surgery involved a woman with cerebral palsy having to live in a one bedroom flat even though she now needs a carer staying over 3 nights a week. And young mums worried about the neds in their close making it harder for their children to come and go in peace. Close cleaning – or the lack of it – by neighbours is a huge ongoing issue! And the condition of Renfrewshire roads is fast rising up the agenda after the big freeze of the winter.
In addition to these local issues there has been lots of lobbying by Buddies about measures in the Scottish Parliament. Appeals from parents of disabled children about the failure to ring fence monies for respite care, support for a private members bill to create a national strategy to help families cope with Autism, representations for and against Margo McDonald’s End of Life bill, appeals for a stronger Marine Energy legislation and against seal culling, support for my efforts to persuade the Transport Minister to help save the Renfrew Ferry and support for a rethink of the cancellation of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

Dad’s leave

This week I have been planing my childrens’ birthday party. I have been resisting party bags which I think are a bad invention! But we are inviting lots of toddlers to enjoy traditional party games, cake etc. So with parenthood on my mind I was delighted to see the annoucement of new rules by the UK Government on leave for parents that will come in next year.
In future others will be able to choose to transfer the last six months of their maternity leave to the father, with three months paid. This will give families more choice and flexibility in how they balance work and care of children, and enables fathers to play a bigger part in bringing up their children. The flexibility will help many Scots families who are juggling busy lives. 
 
Hill Tracks

Finally since spring is around the corner let me end on a couple of bits of Parliamentary business about Scotland’s magnificent countryside. Labour is highlighting a worrying boom in the number of hill tracks on the Scottish uplands. There is no scrutiny over the tracks and we want greater controls to stop them almost appearing overnight on the hillsides.
Snaring Ban
I am also backing calls for an outright ban on snaring. The League Against Cruel Sports and Advocates For Animals recently lodged a 11,000-strong petition. It is disappointing that the Scottish Government continues to support those groups which back the continued use of these devices. Most people think snares, in any form, are simply not an acceptable means of animal control in today’s world. 
So if you are out enjoying the Scottish spring – get in touch if you think we need to do more to protect our wildlife and scenery for future generations.

Wendy Alexander said:

“It is essential that the NHS learns lessons from what happened at the Vale of Leven. The recent outbreaks in other Scottish hospitals, including Ninewells in Dundee, shows that there is much more to be done in the fight against superbugs. 

“It has taken months of pressure from the families of those who lost loved ones to get us to this point. I have been proud to support them and will continue to press so that they get the answers they deserve.

“I am particularly pleased that so many of the families were able to attend today’s hearing. It is important that all those who wish to take part in the proceedings are able to do so and participate fully.”

Following her formal correspondence to Tesco this month, Wendy met with Tesco executives in charge of the Linwood development in the Scottish Parliament last Wednesday. They promised to proceed as soon as possible with the court process to disinter and resettle the human remains lying within the site. In an agreed follow up to that meeting Tesco have today reaffirmed in a letter to Wendy Alexander their commitment to the Linwood project as soon as the burial vault is correctly removed from site. See a copy of that letter here.

Jim Sheridan MP also addressed the meeting to assure his continuing support for the Linwood campaign and to lobby at a U.K. level for Tesco to follow through with their hailed social responsibility projects to help regenerate communities such as Linwood.

The Seniors Forum stated their full support for Wendy and Jim to keep pursuing the matter. In particular the pensioners are very keen to see the first step of the demolition of this old derelict shopping centre eyesore, where many said they will not walk through its menacing shadows alone or after dark.

Wendy Alexander MSP said
“I was pleased to address the Linwood Seniors Forum today. Quite rightly, this large group of Linwood pensioners have been frustrated at the length of time that has passed since those much welcomed and exciting Linwood Regeneration promises by Tesco three years ago. Jim and I too have been frustrated at the slow progress so it was good to be able to share some assurances given from Tesco executives within the last week. Linwood is united in wanting Tesco to start on site as soon as practically possible”

Jim Sheridan MP said
“Tesco have made a commitment to the people of Linwood and I would expect them to stick to that commitment. I will be working with my colleague Wendy Alexander to ensure that the Linwood Town Centre is actually delivered for the people of Linwood”

“I am disappointed that the Parliament has this week supported the Scottish Government’s decision to cancel the Glasgow Airport Rail Link. I urge members over the next two weeks to press the Government to reinstate GARL.

The Glasgow Airport Rail Link remains a critical part of a national and sustainable transport future. The investment will help safeguard jobs, grow the regional economy and boost the attractiveness of Glasgow Airport and Glasgows competitive positioning coming out of the recession.

The cancellation would be a body blow to the aspirations of both Glasgow and Scotland to become a destination for inward investment as well as damaging to our international reputation, as GARL was a promised part of 2014 Commonwealth Games preparations.

The case remains strong. It will create 1200 jobs and provide a state of the art direct 15 minute link from the airport to the city centre. The work is underway and the city is asking for an extra £60 million for the spur that will connect the existing line to the airport.

I believe that there has not been enough genuine effort to find alternative ways to fund and complete the project.  The business community in Glasgow urges members to reinstate GARL and to seek assurances from the Scottish Government that they will explore all funding methods to find the extra £60 million required to complete the project.”

Hansard Society speech

_________

This proposal from the Finance Secretary John Swinney is undemocratic because many people still do not have access to the internet and it could mean changes being introduced without proper scrutiny.

According to a report from the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, at Westminster, the change could also do irreversible damage to local newspapers by costing them up to £10 million in lost revenue.

Wendy Alexander MSP said:

“Labour is launching this campaign because local newspapers, like the Paisley Daily Express and the Gazette are vitally important to Scotland’s democratic and cultural life. I hope that MSPs from all parties will support us in this week’s debate.

“Local newspapers are particularly important because they are important employers in our communities and nobody else can tell you what is going on down your street.

“If the Scottish Government don’t drop their plan to allow councils to put public notices online they will take vital revenue away from an industry which is already facing significant challenges and could force some papers to close.

“Their proposals are also deeply undemocratic because many people don’t have access to the internet and there’s also a world of difference between reading a notice in a newspaper and having to hunt for an announcement or advert on the web.

“If the Scottish Government are as committed to supporting the newspaper industry, as they say they are, then they must abandon these damaging plans.”

Sign the school transport petition HERE

Many readers may have seen articles, including in the PDE, offering money off a replacement boiler. The problem is the scheme only applies in England and Wales because the SNP Government have so far refused to introduce it in Scotland despite our colder weather up here.
Ten years ago with Donald Dewar I helped create the free central heating systems scheme for pensioners which ran for a decade. I was proud of the fact there was no means-testing involved. I reasoned if an elderly person does not have a central heating system it is because they cannot afford it. This scheme was scrapped by the SNP Government last year.

So it is doubly disappointing that the SNP Government are now holding out against a boiler scrappage scheme. We all know it worked for the car industry last year. We should learn the lessons. A boiler scrappage scheme would improve energy efficiency and boost the country’s plumbing industry.

I am campaigning for the Scottish Government to think again. Householders would get £400 towards the cost of a new energy efficient boiler. A new boiler would reduce people’s bills by as much as £235 a year and help those eligible to cut their carbon footprint. 12,000 homes would benefit.
There is no reasonable justification for failing to press ahead with the scheme, especially when the money is there to pay for it. The Scottish Government should move quickly to introduce a similar cash-back scheme for efficient boilers.
This is one of those win-win ideas -  it saves money, protects our environment, and supports local business. There’s no downside for the Scottish Government so there is no reason for Scots to miss out.

Renfrewshire budget

Sometimes people think campaigning makes no difference – my message is that it does.
Over the last year I have been involved in two big education campaigns locally. One to keep musical instrument tuition in our schools and another to halt the £2.5m cuts in local school budgets. I am glad to see in the Council budget – there were no further cuts in music tuition (although education bosses had drawn up plans for this) and local school budgets faced no further cuts.
One lesson I can take is that campaigning matters. So this year I want to see an end to cuts in teacher numbers – Renfrewshire has axed more proportionately than any other authority in Scotland – and a rethink of plans to cut secondary school buses. The alleged savings from cutting buses could be covered five times over if the council could just collect all the council tax it is due.

Renfrew Ferry

And on the subject of campaigning – if you have not done so please sign my online petition to save the Renfrew Ferry. Find it in the ‘Have your say’ section.

Finding consensus

And if all of the above suggests politics is always about differences – it is sometimes about building consensus. Labour has been trying to build a parliamentary consensus to implement the findings of Labour’s Literacy Commission.
We all know of cases where kids leave primary school without enough of a grasp of the basics. So 18 months ago I helped establish the Literacy Commission and we recruited author Ian Rankin to the cause.
The Commission recently reported that almost 1 million Scots have difficulties with literacy and every year almost 1 in 5 children leave primary school unable to read and write.
The Commission said that the use of synthetic phonics has hugely improved literacy levels in West Dunbartonshire and Clackmannanshire. So I want to work with all parties to implement a Literacy Action Plan based on the Commission’s report immediately. What is required now is the political will to act and act quickly.