Keeping up with you
Hello and welcome to all of you in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
Thank you for taking a moment to look at this email. I want to keep everyone in touch with what’s going on in the constituency and what it might mean for you.
My door is open to anyone who seeks advice and support, so you can phone or email me at any time.
You also have the option of visiting constituency surgeries on Mondays. You don't need to make an appointment.
If you haven’t yet subscribed to receive your personalised copy of this newsletter, which we are sending out every two weeks, then please do sign up here.
X1 Bus is back on track
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I am absolutely delighted that the future of the X1 service has been secured thanks in huge part to the huge groundswell of support from local communities across Hamilton and the surrounding towns. This is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when we work together.
Throughout this period, I have had so many messages from those who use the service for so many different things. Whether that is getting to university, to work in Glasgow or simply for a trip in to Hamilton town centre. I have no doubt they will be delighted to hear the news.
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And if you have never travelled by bus before and are tired of trying to find a parking space in Glasgow then why not give the X1 a try yourself?
Last year a decision to scrap the service outright was reversed after near unanimous public outcry from local communities and elected members. A public petition by Rebecca Creechan reached over 4,600 signatures.
Following this decision, the service was put under review until the end of February. During this period First Bus conducted a public awareness campaign to draw attention to the benefits of travelling on the X1 and highlighting the inclusion of their new £3.50 discounted off-peak FirstDay tickets, which also covers travel for two children on Saturdays. These initiatives have brought the route back in to a stable financial position, meaning the X1 is here to stay.
Local elected members stressed the crucial link that the X1 provides to so many communities and groups of people across Hamilton and in January they urged the public to use the X1 to help secure its future.
First Bus came to the decision to spare the service the axe following a meeting with local politicians on 11th February at their Caledonia Depot in Glasgow.
Carers Allowance Supplement
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Thousands of carers in the South Lanarkshire Council area have benefitted from Carer’s Allowance Supplement (CAS) payments of up to £452 a year, introduced by the Scottish Government.
New figures show that 7,000 carers in the South Lanarkshire Council area have received CAS payments since September 2018, when the payment was introduced.
The Carers Allowance Supplement is an extra payment made to carers in Scotland twice a year, in recognition of the important contribution they make to our society.
Carers now receive two supplementary payments totalling £452 per year, equivalent to an extra £8.50 per week, which is a 13% increase on the Carer’s Allowance from the UK government.
Since its introduction, the Carers Allowance Supplement has supported almost 100,000 carers across Scotland, including 7000 in South Lanarkshire, including Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
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Carers in our area make an absolutely vital contribution to our society, and it’s only appropriate that their hard work is valued and they are properly supported.
The SNP is determined to use the powers available to the Scottish Government to improve the lives of people across Scotland.
This supplementary payment allows the Scottish Government to get more money into the pockets of carers as quickly as possible.
I am delighted that carers in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse are being recognised for the important contribution carers make to our communities - in what can often be difficult circumstances.
Fuel Poverty Scheme
Many of you will already be aware of my ongoing campaign to end fuel poverty in Scotland.. The quick credit voucher piloted in Hamilton has literally kept the light on in many homes.
Now I want the energy watchdog, Ofgem, to consider using fines levied on the energy giants should be used to help vulnerable families with their bills.
The Quick Credit Voucher scheme, piloted by Scottish Power in 2018, gives vulnerable people access to non-repayable vouchers worth nearly £50 up to twice a year.
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The trial was rolled out nationally by the same firm and 1400 applications were lodged in 2019 for more than £60,000 of funding. Npower launched a similar scheme.
Energy firms were liable for fines and “redress” payments of over £50m in 2019. The sum for the last five years was over £200m.
I believe that around £3m a year could be given to Scotland from the Ofgem fines, helping 60,000 people a year.
Tory migration plans fail Scotland
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The SNP government set out detailed and realistic proposals on immigration to Westminster - As soon as you see that, you can guess what follows – Boris Johnson laughed, allegedly muttered something about the idea being absurd (I don’t have evidence for these comments, or merely the evidence of someone who said they heard them). He then threw the proposals to one side without actually reading them.
Scotland’s needs are different from the rest of the UK in this context as in so many others. We will give a real Scots welcome to people from other countries who would like to live and work here. Their contribution is already huge and we know that we need their skills across many sectors.
Devolved powers do not give the Scottish Government any role in immigration law. Without independence, we are unable to act in Scotland’s best interests. In an environment that seems to want to reduce our powers rather than enhance them, we feel increasingly frustrated by being ignored. It doesn’t matter one jot to senior figures in the UK government what the Scottish Parliament has decided.
Already, it is clear that the proposed Australian-style points system contains too many conflicts and contradictions within its ideas to be workable.
As SNP Shadow Immigration Minister, Stuart McDonald MP said: “Boris Johnson’s crack down on so-called low skilled migration will devastate sectors such as hospitality, social care, agriculture and scientific research - many key industries across Scotland will no longer have access to vital workers we desperately need.
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“The total absence of any reference to Scotland, to remote areas, or the self-employed is extraordinary. And while the paper is almost silent on families, we know that many thousands more couples will be split apart and parents separated from their kids, by extending the scope of the harsh family visa rules.
“The climb down on the salary threshold is nothing more than a predictable gimmick and goes nowhere near far enough to address Scotland’s needs - it should be scrapped altogether.
“The UK government’s isolationist immigration system fails to address Scotland’s economic, demographic and social needs. Coupled with the immigration minister’s appallingly dismissive attitude to the introduction of additional visa options for Scotland, this is further evidence that this so-called union of equals is not working for Scotland."
Inclusiveness in Scotland
The Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Bill casts a much more positive mood and shows, once again, that this Scottish Government puts its priorities into practice.
We have always said that inclusivity is vital to a healthy, happy and prosperous society. We continue to work towards freedom and equality for all.
The Bill has now been passed with a huge majority and extends the right to vote in devolved elections (we don’t have the power to change anything at Westminster) to all foreign nationals who are resident in Scotland and have leave to remain.
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Michael Russell, Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs, when opening the Stage Three debate, said: “...our proposals on foreign nationals are driven by the reality and, I believe, the aspiration of modern Scottish society. European Union and Commonwealth citizens already have the franchise, but we must also recognise the enormous contribution that is made to our country by people from all over the world.”
The news has been warmly welcomed by dozens of organisations, such as the Scottish Refugee Council and of course a huge majority of MSPs and other individuals who support the right to fair representation.
The EU Withdrawal Agreement
The Withdrawal Bill has received Royal Assent and is now law. The fact that three out of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom voted against it is of no significance for the UK government.
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While the Tories cheered, our SNP Westminster leader, Ian Blackford MP, registered his anger at the “constitutional crisis” that passing a Brexit bill against the wishes of Scotland and other devolved nations had caused.
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“We are faced with a situation which is completely unprecedented when the government in Edinburgh, Belfast and in Cardiff has not given consent to this act of parliament. That completely contravenes the devolution settlement that made it clear that the consent of the devolved administrations had to be given in bills of parliament that become acts of parliament that involve the devolved administrations,” he told MPs.
“We find ourselves here today, that our Parliament has been ignored, our government has been ignored and, against the expressed wishes of the people of Scotland that voted in the referendum and reaffirmed the right of the people of Scotland to determine their own destiny, that that has been ignored.”
Sunday 8 March is International Women’s Day
The charity, Women for Women International, has been setting out its view of what this year may bring in the struggle for gender equality.
“This year is expected to be a ‘tipping point’ for gender equality, with the global resurgence of the women’s rights movement (think #MeToo, #TimesUp etc). There will be a series of major milestones, high-level UN meetings, and international gatherings about gender equality.
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“More countries are involved in conflict than at any time in the last 25 years, with roughly one-fifth of the global population affected by some form of violence or insecurity, and a record-breaking 70.8 million people displaced from their homes.
“This peak in global violence poses a grave threat to progress on women’s rights. For the estimated 264 million women currently living in fragile and conflict-affected countries, gender equality is slipping further out of reach.
“It is no coincidence that the lowest-scoring 10 countries in terms of gender equality, according to the 2019 SDG Gender Index, are all classed as fragile states. They include Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo – all of which are in the grip of protracted civil conflicts. Women for Women International, the charity supporting women survivors of war to rebuild their lives, supports women affected by all these conflicts.
“When there is an outbreak of war or violence, women suffer most – they experience trauma, sexual violence and the death of loved ones. After the conflict is over, the world’s attention moves on, but women are left to rebuild their families and communities.
“With over fifty brutal armed conflicts across the globe, there’s never been a greater need to support women survivors of war. With your help, women can graduate from the Women for Women International programme with the skills, knowledge and resources to become successful entrepreneurs. They will pass on their knowledge to their neighbours and children, creating a ripple effect.”
See: http://womenforwomen.org.uk/