MP & MSPs Stride Out Against Cancer
Picture shows Dundee politicians Shona Robison MSP, Joe FitzPatrick MSP and Stewart Hosie MP with some of the members of their team at the start of the 24 hour charity event ‘Relay for Life’ organised by Cancer Support UK. Their team hopes to raise more than £500 for the charity.MP Welcomes Broughty Development Funding
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie has welcomed a Big Lottery Fund award of just under £10,000 to Broughty Ferry Development Trust to enable the group to go ahead with a feasibility study of the central esplanade area.
Broughty Ferry Development Trust’s project, which secured £9,800 funding from the Lottery’s Investing in Ideas programme, aims to commission a feasibility study into the buildings located around Broughty Ferry beach and esplanade, located in Dundee.
Community consultations carried out by other groups have already identified services that are not currently available, such as a cafe/shop, changing facilities and extended leisure facilities.
The study would audit the existing buildings in the area and determine what could be provided from these buildings and will also look at whether a new build community building would be a better alternative for the community.
Stewart Hosie said today: “I am delighted that Broughty Development Trust has secured this money for their consultation and study.
“The group has rapidly built a significant membership from the local community and regularly consults with statutory and voluntary bodies and local people for their views as to how Broughty can be improved.
“The award will let them get ahead with the work and the local community are bound to benefit from it.
“My congratulations go to Anya Lawrence and the Committee of the Trust for their hard work on this project.”
MP Congratulates Dundee’s Green Flag-winning Parks
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie today congratulated Council staff and volunteers who look after two green spaces in Dundee East which have won Green Flag awards.
Barnhill Rock Garden and Baxter Park – along with Trottick in Dundee West – have won the highly-regarded award for raising and maintaining the standards of UK green spaces.
The annual scheme, run by a partnership which includes the Department for Communities and Local Government, Keep Britain Tidy, GreenSpace and BTCV, has proved an effective means of promoting well-cared for and maintained public parks and green open spaces.
Commenting on the awards, Stewart Hosie said: “I am delighted that two awards have come to Dundee East and three to Dundee overall, out of 26 across Scotland.
“Barnhill Rock Garden and Baxter Park are wonderful green spaces which enhance the quality of life of an increasing number of people.
“Every community needs access to good quality green spaces and Dundee is very lucky to have some wonderful parks and gardens.
“It is a particularly timely award for Baxter Park as this weekend the local community will gather for the annual Celebration in the Park [Saturday 7th August, 1pm-4pm]
“Barnhill Rock Garden is the jewel in the crown of local green spaces and its success is largely due to large numbers of local volunteers who have worked hard to keep it looking at its best.
“Dundee City Council staff and numerous public-spirited volunteers who maintain and cherish these places deserve our congratulations for winning the Green Flag Awards and deserve our thanks and congratulations for the work which they continue to do.”
Banks ‘Have Duty’ To support Scottish Recovery
SNP MP and Member of the Treasury Select Committee Stewart Hosie has said that, as they return to profit, the banks which benefitted from public subsidy have a duty to lend to Scottish business and ensure Scotland’s recovery continues.
Mr Hosie’s call comes as the ‘State of the Economy – August 2010’ analysis produced by the Scottish Government found that the recession in Scotland was shorter and sharper that it was in the rest of the UK but weak bank lending was still hitting SMEs hard.
It is expected that several of the banks which benefited from public subsidies will announce return to profit this week.
Commenting, Mr Hosie said:
“Scotland went into recession a quarter later than the United Kingdom economy, and the rate of decline over the whole period was less north of the Border than it was across the UK. The Scottish economy is turning a corner but weak bank lending is a real cause for concern.
“While banks are understandably cautious about lending money, this concern must be balanced with the need to support growth in the economy.
“As the banks which have benefited from taxpayers’ money announce their return to profit this week, more than ever they have a duty to make finance available to Scottish businesses.”
UK Budget ‘hits the most vulnerable’ says SNP
Dundee’s SNP politicians today reacted to an economic analysis produced for the Scottish Government which revealed that the UK Government Emergency Budget introduced by the Con / Lib Dem Coalition at Westminster is already impacting most on the vulnerable and least well off.
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie, a member of the Treasury Select Committee, said: “This Emergency Budget from the Con-Lib Dem Coalition will be very damaging to those least well off in Scotland.
“The rise in the standard rate of VAT from 17.5% to 20% which will come into effect from January 2011 will cost the average Scottish household £380 a year. And it will have a disproportionate impact on poor households.
“About 1.6 million in people in Scotland are likely to have income rises suppressed as a result of the adoption of the consumer price index (CPI) instead of the retail price index (RPI) as the basis for calculating increases in welfare payments.”
The analysis shows that the Emergency Budget will have an impact on those receiving benefits, a fact which deeply concerned Dundee East MSP Shona Robison.
Commenting on the impact on benefit payments, Shona Robison said: “Around 621,000 families in Scotland will have their income cut as a result of the three-year freeze in child benefit, and again the biggest impact will be on the least well off.
“Households with total income above £25,000 will see their benefit entitlement cut from April 2012 as a result of the combined effect of freezing child benefit and restricting child tax credits.
“In Dundee, across both Holyrood constituencies, there are 11,220 people in receipt of DLA at either the higher, middle or lower rates.
“Since an objective medical assessment will be introduced for Disability Living Allowance from 2013-14, it is estimated that up to 10,700 people in Scotland may lose their entitlement to DLA in 2013-14, rising to 31,700 in the following year. This is bound to have a big impact in Dundee.
“It is vulnerable households and families across Scotland which are being asked to bear the brunt of these Tory/Lib Dem cuts – and there are more cuts to come. This is only the start of the Westminster cuts. This analysis produced for the Scottish Government shows the extent to which the least well off people in Scotland are already being hit by these cuts from the UK Government.”
Commenting on the damaging effects of the Budget overall, Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said:
“This report on the impact of the cuts coming from the initial Emergency Budget are, unfortunately, just the start. They underline the case for Scotland being given responsibility for its own finances.
“The case for economic and financial responsibility is gaining more support all the time, with some of Scotland’s leading business people and trade union figures in favour.
“Giving Scotland’s Parliament and Government the economic and financial tools would enable us to make the right choices to grow our economy and protect the poorest in Scotland.”
“Scotland needs the powers of financial responsibility so that we can boost growth in the Scottish economy – generating higher tax receipts to invest in the public services we all value – as the only alternative to the entirely dismal prospects from Westminster.
“That is the debate in Scotland – and that is why the centre of gravity in Scottish politics continues to shift towards independence.”
UK Budget ‘hits the most vulnerable’ says SNP
Dundee’s SNP politicians today reacted to an economic analysis produced for the Scottish Government which revealed that the UK Government Emergency Budget introduced by the Con / Lib Dem Coalition at Westminster is already impacting most on the vulnerable and least well off.
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie, a member of the Treasury Select Committee, said: “This Emergency Budget from the Con-Lib Dem Coalition will be very damaging to those least well off in Scotland.
“The rise in the standard rate of VAT from 17.5% to 20% which will come into effect from January 2011 will cost the average Scottish household £380 a year. And it will have a disproportionate impact on poor households.
“About 1.6 million in people in Scotland are likely to have income rises suppressed as a result of the adoption of the consumer price index (CPI) instead of the retail price index (RPI) as the basis for calculating increases in welfare payments.”
The analysis shows that the Emergency Budget will have an impact on those receiving benefits, a fact which deeply concerned Dundee East MSP Shona Robison.
Commenting on the impact on benefit payments, Shona Robison said: “Around 621,000 families in Scotland will have their income cut as a result of the three-year freeze in child benefit, and again the biggest impact will be on the least well off.
“Households with total income above £25,000 will see their benefit entitlement cut from April 2012 as a result of the combined effect of freezing child benefit and restricting child tax credits.
“In Dundee, across both Holyrood constituencies, there are 11,220 people in receipt of DLA at either the higher, middle or lower rates.
“Since an objective medical assessment will be introduced for Disability Living Allowance from 2013-14, it is estimated that up to 10,700 people in Scotland may lose their entitlement to DLA in 2013-14, rising to 31,700 in the following year. This is bound to have a big impact in Dundee.
“It is vulnerable households and families across Scotland which are being asked to bear the brunt of these Tory/Lib Dem cuts – and there are more cuts to come. This is only the start of the Westminster cuts. This analysis produced for the Scottish Government shows the extent to which the least well off people in Scotland are already being hit by these cuts from the UK Government.”
Commenting on the damaging effects of the Budget overall, Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said:
“This report on the impact of the cuts coming from the initial Emergency Budget are, unfortunately, just the start. They underline the case for Scotland being given responsibility for its own finances.
“The case for economic and financial responsibility is gaining more support all the time, with some of Scotland’s leading business people and trade union figures in favour.
“Giving Scotland’s Parliament and Government the economic and financial tools would enable us to make the right choices to grow our economy and protect the poorest in Scotland.”
“Scotland needs the powers of financial responsibility so that we can boost growth in the Scottish economy – generating higher tax receipts to invest in the public services we all value – as the only alternative to the entirely dismal prospects from Westminster.
“That is the debate in Scotland – and that is why the centre of gravity in Scottish politics continues to shift towards independence.”
MP Concerned over Rise in Insurance Premium Tax
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie, SNP Treasury Spokesman at Westminster, has expressed concern that a proposed rise in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) in the forthcoming Finance Bill might lead to businesses and individuals reducing insurance cover and taking greater risks.
Speaking in a debate on the subject last week, the MP raised the concerns of the insurance industry that the tax rise might act as a deterrent to those who sensibly want to insure themselves against risks of injury or loss, and might put people off taking out cover for their homes, cars, holidays and trips abroad.
It might also lead to job losses in the insurance industry, much of which is located in Scotland.
Stewart Hosie said: “The announcement of the increase in IPT in the Budget did not immediately cause a huge stir but since then, research seems to indicate that as a result of the recession, people are reducing overall levels of insurance cover because of the cost of the premiums.
“We already know that around 1.2 million people, about one in twenty motorists, regularly drive uninsured.
“This can lead to situations where insured drivers lose out and are unable to make claims in the event of an accident and ultimately it means the public pays for those who evade insurance cover.
“The last thing people need in tight financial circumstances is higher insurance premiums but the temptation is there if money is tight, to take a chance.
“People might be tempted to cut corners and opt for the ‘free’ travel insurance offered by credit card companies, which would leave them without the necessary levels of cover in certain circumstances.
“The government need to take soundings from the insurance industry and other responsible bodies on the likely consequences of this tax rise on individuals, families, consumers and the sector.
“The Insurance industry is massively important to Scotland, where it is a major employer and I am concerned at the effect of this tax rise on its revenue and profitability.
“It is vitally important that incentives are given to the public and to business to continue to take full insurance cover and by increasing IPT from 5% to 6%, I fear that this may have the unintended consequence of underinsurance or even a lack of insurance protection and a rise in the number of uninsured motorists on our roads.”
MP Concerned over Rise in Insurance Premium Tax
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie, SNP Treasury Spokesman at Westminster, has expressed concern that a proposed rise in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) in the forthcoming Finance Bill might lead to businesses and individuals reducing insurance cover and taking greater risks.
Speaking in a debate on the subject last week, the MP raised the concerns of the insurance industry that the tax rise might act as a deterrent to those who sensibly want to insure themselves against risks of injury or loss, and might put people off taking out cover for their homes, cars, holidays and trips abroad.
It might also lead to job losses in the insurance industry, much of which is located in Scotland.
Stewart Hosie said: “The announcement of the increase in IPT in the Budget did not immediately cause a huge stir but since then, research seems to indicate that as a result of the recession, people are reducing overall levels of insurance cover because of the cost of the premiums.
“We already know that around 1.2 million people, about one in twenty motorists, regularly drive uninsured.
“This can lead to situations where insured drivers lose out and are unable to make claims in the event of an accident and ultimately it means the public pays for those who evade insurance cover.
“The last thing people need in tight financial circumstances is higher insurance premiums but the temptation is there if money is tight, to take a chance.
“People might be tempted to cut corners and opt for the ‘free’ travel insurance offered by credit card companies, which would leave them without the necessary levels of cover in certain circumstances.
“The government need to take soundings from the insurance industry and other responsible bodies on the likely consequences of this tax rise on individuals, families, consumers and the sector.
“The Insurance industry is massively important to Scotland, where it is a major employer and I am concerned at the effect of this tax rise on its revenue and profitability.
“It is vitally important that incentives are given to the public and to business to continue to take full insurance cover and by increasing IPT from 5% to 6%, I fear that this may have the unintended consequence of underinsurance or even a lack of insurance protection and a rise in the number of uninsured motorists on our roads.”
Dundee Politicians Welcome Renewables ‘Cluster’ Plan to create 5,000 jobs
Dundee politicians say the city could be building offshore wind turbines as one of three regional offshore energy manufacturing ‘clusters’ built around key port locations.
The politicians were responding to Stage 2 of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan (N-RIP) published today by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise.
Dundee East MSP Shona Robison said: “This latest report recommends that the sites, including Dundee, are developed into three regional manufacturing clusters that would support the fabrication of offshore wind components and tap into the wealth of subsea expertise that already exists in Scotland.
“If we can get the city established in constructing renewables sector hardware, then that work, and its associated secondary industry of maintenance over the next decade, will be truly vast.
“We are absolutely committed to Dundee being at the heart of the Scottish renewables industry. Apart from the great benefits which Dundee will derive in terms of jobs, society will benefit from lower carbon emissions as we move to greener energy. ”
Joe FitzPatrick, MSP for Dundee West and Vice-Convenor of the Cross Party Group on Renewable Energy at the Scottish Parliament, said: “The report states that a total private and public investment of £223 million would assist the creation of 11 offshore wind manufacturing sites in three regional clusters.
“Dundee Renewables, the high-powered group formed between the key players in the public and private sectors locally, is working hard to ensure that Dundee grabs a significant share of the new industry.
“Being a deep-water port, Dundee has many physical and geographical advantages and is one of the longest established import and export hubs for bulk products in Scotland.”
“Taken together these 11 sites could support the creation of up to 5,180 jobs and an annual economic impact of up to £294.5 million each year.”
Commenting on today’s announcement, Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie said: “Unlocking the potential of these sites will require investment from both the private and public sector.
“It is important that the Treasury urgently releases Scotland’s £185 million Fossil Fuel Levy to allow that to be invested to further develop the Scottish renewables industry.”
MP Welcomes Equitable Life Progress
Dundee East MP and Member of the Treasury Select Committee Stewart Hosie has welcomed the announcement of a repayment scheme for money lost in the Equitable Life collapse but warned that, after a decade of dither and delay over compensation, this progress for policy holders must be maintained.
Commenting, Mr Hosie said: “Equitable Life policyholders have been badly let down – first by regulatory failure and then by a decade of dither and delay by the Labour Government over a compensation scheme.
“While the commencement of the scheme announced today is welcome, there is still a long way to go to compensate those who invested with Equitable Life.
“It’s essential the Conservative-Liberal coalition work for a speedy and fair resolution to this sorry saga which has dragged on for far too long.”
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