SCIAF event at the Scottish Parliament

I was delighted to host an event at the Scottish Parliament last week in conjunction with the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) and my Scottish Labour colleague Sarah Boyack MSP.

The event, held on Tuesday 25th March, was a chance for MSPs and guests to meet with and hear from SCIAF and their partners from Columbia who were in attendance about the impact big business is having on the country’s Afro-Caribbean and indigenous communities. The event included presentations from representatives of the indigenous Embera Community, Caritas Columbia.

SCIAF does some really important work highlighting key issues not just for the Catholic Church to look at but for wider society.

I was deeply concerned to hear how the interests of big business are having a negative impact on the lives of people living in poverty in Columbia. Sadly this is a trend that exists across the world, including in Scotland. Businesses, as part of society, must be open about their impacts on society, the environment and human rights; and should be held to account for their activities.

I am in agreement with SCIAF – the economy must serve the people, not the other way around. It was a pleasure to work alongside them and I look forward to doing so again in the future.

Visit the SCIAF website here http://www.sciaf.org.uk/

Scottish Government must do more to end child poverty

During a debate on child poverty in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 27th March, I called on the Scottish Government to develop a coherent and joined-up approach in order the eradicate child poverty in Scotland.

The debate came on the backdrop of a worrying rise in the number of people living in poverty in Scotland. The ‘Scotland’s Outlook’ campaign which was launched recently stated that hundreds of thousands of people were being hit by the UK Governments welfare reforms, stagnant wages, rising utility bills, higher living costs and job insecurity. This, it has claimed, has played a key role in the fact that 870,000 people in Scotland are now living in poverty, with a fifth of children in Scotland living below the breadline, and 23,000 people having turned to food banks in the past six months.

It is clear that the Scottish Government can help mitigate the effects of the UK Governments welfare reforms. Whilst the availability of employment opportunities remains at the root of tackling child poverty in Scotland, the inherent disadvantages that are contained in the Scottish Governments Modern Apprenticeship Programme towards both disabled people and women remains a real problem that must be addressed.

Disabled people take up less than 0.5 per cent of apprenticeship places, yet the Scottish Government has no policy to address this fundamental flaw in the scheme. We have the powers today to change the employment opportunities for disabled people in order to give them and their children the future that they deserve.

It is not only disabled people who do not receive the full benefits of the modern apprenticeship scheme. The recent Audit Scotland report on the Scottish Government’s modern apprenticeship scheme showed that females account for 43 per cent of apprenticeship starts but only a third of the overall apprenticeship spending—£25.6 million. We cannot address the inequalities in our society if Government policy reinforces those same inequalities.

The Government’s child poverty strategy should be welcomed. However, we need more than warm words to achieve the outcomes and I urge the Government to develop a coherent and cross-portfolio approach as quickly as possible in order that the strategy aims can be achieved—and achieved quickly.

You can read my speech in full here http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=9073&mode=html#iob_81983.

Backing Usdaw’s ‘Parents and Carers Spotlight Day’

It was a pleasure to be able to join Usdaw activists campaigning at Holyrood last week. Their current campaign is designed to promote mental health awareness and reassure members that they can turn to their union for help and advice when they’re struggling to balance the competing demands of work and family life. This year’s Parents and Carers Spotlight Day theme is “Too much on your plate – Talk to Usdaw”

These are difficult times for working people. Worries about money and making ends meet, changes to working hours, balancing paid work with caring for children and older relatives together with rising food and fuel prices are all putting workers under pressure like never before. I know that from regular conversations I have constituents across Central Scotland.

Sometimes workers leave it until the last minute to find help, by which time they could be facing disciplinary action, unmanageable debt or experiencing stress, anxiety or depression. I want people in Central Scotland to know that I am here to help and your union can provide assistance in the workplace.

Lawrence Wason – Usdaw’s Scottish Divisional Officer said “We are delighted to have the support of Siobhan McMahon MSP who we know does a lot work to help constituents who are struggling with too much on their plate.

“Our Spotlight Day aims to show members that the union can help. Times are tough and growing numbers of families are finding juggling work and home life difficult. We want to encourage members to remember to talk to Usdaw sooner rather than later because reps can and do make a difference. We understand the pressures workers are under right now and the union is there to help members when they feel they have too much on their plate.”

Read more information about Usdaw’s Parents and Carers Spotlight Day here – http://www.usdaw.org.uk/ourcampaigns/supportingparentscarers.aspx

Scottish Government must end ‘Low Pay Loophole’

I recently urged the Scottish Government to conduct an urgent review of sub-contracted jobs in the public sector in order to combat the “Low Pay Loophole”.

Currently, people directly employed by Scottish Government departments are paid the living wage, however jobs indirectly employed by the Scottish Government on sub-contracts, such as cleaning, catering and retail, are offered no such protection due to the SNP refusing to back Labour calls for a living wage in public contracts.

The Living Wage would boost the earnings of a minimum wage worker by over £2,000 a year. It will make positive, practical difference to hard working people in Central Scotland and up and down the country.

But it is also about building a moral economy. Supporting the living wage in the public sector, whilst jobs in its departments are being sub-contracted out simply isn’t good enough. Especially as these jobs are the very ones that would most benefit from the living wage.

I know from my regular advice surgeries, correspondence, and conversations on the doorstep and across Central Scotland that people want better, fairer wages.

I have written to the Scottish Government demanding an urgent review of sub-contracted jobs in the public sector. We have to know how widespread and open to abuse this problem is, we need to stand up for people in Central Scotland and across the country who deserve a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work, and we need to close this low pay loophole.

Signing the Epilepsy Consortium Scotland’s pledge

I was pleased to be able to sign the Epilepsy Consortium Scotland’s (ECS) pledge for equal access to care recently. There are over 54,000 people living with epilepsy across Scotland, including over five and a half thousand in my own constituency. I think it is important to ensure that when people need to access epilepsy care there is parity in what’s available to them no matter where they live.

The ECS is a collaboration of organisations and individuals in Scotland coming together to highlight epilepsy issues. It has been developed to inform the Scottish Government and other policy makers about areas of concern around health, social care and related public policy matters. They act as a collective voice for the wider epilepsy community in Scotland.

Epilepsy Consortium Scotland (ECS) Chair Allana Parker said “Each day eight people are newly diagnosed with epilepsy. Yet access to specialist clinicians and nurses can be a geographical lottery. This is why our members are now mapping epilepsy services run by health, education, social care providers, and the third sector. The postcode gaps will be shared with the Scottish Government and joint working agencies so we can assist them to redress this situation.”