Scottish Labour candidate for the Central Scotland Region: This website was established while I was a Member of the Scottish Parliament. As the Parliament has been dissolved there are no Members of Parliament until after the election on 5 May 2016
I was pleased to join Councillors from North and South Lanarkshire outside the Scottish Parliament last week to protest against SNP cuts to our local councils.
The point of the rally was to make it clear that Labour Councillors and Labour MSPs do not believe we should simply be passive recipients of UK budget decisions.
If you agree, sign the Scottish Labour Party petition here:http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/page/s/no-more-local-cuts
Working families across Central Scotland will be protected by Tory cuts to Tax Credits by Scottish Labour.
The party announced that they would protect working families in Scotland from tax credit cuts using the new powers coming to the Scottish Parliament.
Party leader Kezia Dugdale announced the move in her keynote speech to Scottish Labour conference in Perth last week, outlining that the party would pay for the move by cancelling planned SNP tax cuts on air passenger duty and Tory cuts for higher rate tax payers.
Local Scottish Labour MSP Siobhan McMahon said the move could protect as many as 58,300 families in Central Scotland.
Ms McMahon said:
“Tax credits work. They make work pay for families in Central Scotland and across country. They lifted hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, and they allow families to aspire to more than just making it to the end of the month.
“That’s why the Labour Government introduced them in the first place and why Scottish Labour would use the powers coming to the Scottish Parliament to reverse the Tories plans to cut them.
“This is about different choices between Labour and the SNP when it comes to priorities. It’s about standing up for working families.
“The SNP want to make a plane ticket cheaper. I don’t think that’s the right priority when there are families in Central Scotland who can’t afford the weekly shop.
“This is about what we stand for and who we stand with. Labour will put the incomes of working class families before the price of a business class flights. “
A Local MSP is calling on people in across Central Scotland to help raise money for a cancer charity – by drinking coffee and eating cake.
Macmillan Cancer Support’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is celebrating its 25th birthday.
And the charity is hoping this year’s event will be the biggest ever with coffee mornings taking place across Scotland on September 25th.
Central Scotland MSP Siobhan McMahon said: “Macmillan want to make sure no one has to face cancer alone but they can’t do it without the amazing people who take part in coffee morning every September.
“Last year Macmillan raised a record-breaking amount of money from the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning and I really hope they can repeat that again this year.
“It’s a fun and easy way to raise money to help Macmillan be there for people with cancer and their families when they are needed most.”
The official World’s Biggest Coffee Morning day is on September 25th but events can be held any time.
To find out more and to register visit: www.coffee.macmillan.org.uk, call 0845 602 1246 or text COFFEE to 88080.
To access support from Macmillan visit www.macmillan.org.uk or call 0808 808 00 00.
Tweet @macmillanscot using hashtag #coffeemorning
Central Scotland Labour MSP Siobhan McMahon has thrown her support behind #GivingTuesday. After a very successful first year in the UK, the #GivingTuesday campaign is asking people to come together and give their time, money or voice to charity on one global day of giving.
This year, #GivingTuesday will take place on Tuesday 1st December.
Last year was the first year that #GivingTuesday took place in the UK, which is consistently ranked as one of the most generous nations in the world. Over 800 charities and businesses signed up as partners of the campaign, including household names such as BT, Facebook, Argos, NSPCC and Cancer Research UK.
#GivingTuesday trended on twitter for 11 hours, with over 2,500 tweets sent each hour about the campaign. More than £2,500 was donated each minute, and JustGiving reported that donations were up by 46% compared to the previous year. The campaign also secured the backing of celebrities including Helen Mirren, David Tennant, Tom Daley and Lily Cole.
Partner organisations are encouraged to take the campaign and do something of their own with it. As a result of the great work of #GivingTuesday partners last year, Marie Curie had a successful day on social media with a reach of nearly 400,000 on Facebook and their thank you video was viewed nearly 20,000 times. Global Giving took nearly £26,000 this year compared to £3,819 last year, an increase of 580% as a result of #GivingTuesday.
Siobhan McMahon MSP said: “#GivingTuesday is an extremely exciting opportunity for charities and businesses in Central Scotland.
“It has immense potential to motivate and mobilise charities, businesses and the public in our local area and create a movement that will get more people engaged in charity giving.
“I am proud to support #GivingTuesday and look forward to celebrating the generosity of my constituents and the great work our local charities do.”
Ben Russell, Director of Communications at the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “After a very successful first year of #GivingTuesday, it’s fantastic to see so much enthusiasm for the #GivingTuesday movement from so many amazing organisations – including some of the top businesses and charities in the country.
“#GivingTuesday is an opportunity to give something back, we hope that with the support of politicians, businesses and charities, we can get the whole nation thinking about charity at the start of the festive season.
“We want to encourage businesses, charities and individuals to take up #GivingTuesday really run with it – and make the second year of the campaign even more successful than the first.”
Visit the #GivingTuesday website to see the complete list of partners.
To follow the campaign and find out more information please email givingtuesday@cafonline.org or follow on Twitter @givingtuesdayuk
Central Scotland MSP, Siobhan McMahon, is supporting Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s new ‘Moving On’ service supporting young deaf people into work, after sponsoring the charity’s reception in the Scottish Parliament last week.
MSPs and guests heard from Abigail Matheson, 25, that employers’ lack of understanding of communication support, poor deaf awareness, and not knowing about the Access to Work scheme are creating barriers preventing deaf people from having the chance to get into their preferred careers.
Abigail also raised the problems deaf people often face at Job Centre Plus where staff won’t always book British Sign Language interpreters, or use the correct terminology when talking about deaf people and their individual communication needs.
Abigail found employment as a support worker for a deaf charity following specialist support from Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s ‘Moving On’ service which advised Abigail on her CV, gave her mock interview training and ensured that potential employers booked interpreters for her job interviews. Moving On is funded by The Big Lottery Fund Scotland and supports young deaf or hard of hearing people aged 16-25 into employment, training and education opportunities.
Siobhan McMahon MSP said: “Abigail’s story is a real inspiration for young deaf people who use British Sign Language but it really drives home the challenges that deaf people face when seeking employment – unnecessary barriers that simply should not be in their way. I urge employers across Central Scotland to contact Action on Hearing Loss Scotland to find out how they can make their recruitment processes accessible and ensure talented employees who are deaf or have hearing loss are supported to progress in the workplace.”
Abigail Matheson said: “Employers need to understand that all deaf people are different and we may have different communication needs. I have had a lot of support from my mum and from the team at Action on Hearing Loss Scotland. Having people who are prepared to support me has meant that I’m now doing a job I want to do as I work towards my long-term goal of becoming a Social Worker. If employers continue to turn their backs on deaf people, it reduces our work options and means we face having to claim benefits.”
Action on Hearing Loss Scotland is a charity which helps people to confront deafness, tinnitus and hearing loss to live the life they choose. Action on Hearing Loss Scotland enables people who are deaf or hearing loss to take control of their lives and remove the barriers in their way. Action on Hearing Loss gives people support and care, develop technology and treatments, and campaign for equality.
For further information about Action on Hearing Loss Scotland or to become a member, visit www.hearingloss.org.uk/Scotland, contact Action on Hearing Loss’s Information Line on 0808 808 0123 (freephone) or 0808 808 9000 (textphone) or email: informationline@hearingloss.org.uk.
Central Scotland Labour MSP Siobhan McMahon has expressed her disappointment at the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) decision not to accept the match funding proposals put forward by the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) which would have seen the regeneration of the Hamilton Campus.
The £53m redevelopment plans were reliant upon a £27m contribution from the SFC who indicated that while it was fully supportive of UWS’s vision, capital funding was not available at this moment in time. However, they have stated that the plan would be one of its highest priorities for capital investment in the Scottish Higher Education infrastructure investment plan that is being prepared for the next spending review.
Ms McMahon has previously offered her support for the proposals following a meeting with fellow Labour Party politicians and UWS students at South Lanarkshire Council’s Headquarters.
Ms McMahon said “I share the disappointment felt by the staff and students at UWS over this decision. This would have been a fantastic development not only for Hamilton, but for all of Central Scotland, bringing economic benefits from the construction phase onwards. I remain fully supportive of the universities plans and I’m pleased that they are looking at alternative approaches to improve the facility.
“While the decision is disappointing, I’m pleased that the SFC have indicated that the Hamilton Campus will be high priority in their next spending review which is expected in 2016. I will continue to do everything I can to make sure that these proposals become reality.”
I was shocked to learn that 133 jobs are to be lost at the Philips Lighting plant in Hamilton following the company’s recent announcement that it will phase out the production of luminaries at the plant. It was extremely disappointing to learn that these jobs will be outsourced to other countries, including France and Poland, on the grounds of cost. The announcement came as a massive blow to the loyal and long-standing workforce in Hamilton who I believe have been totally disregarded in this decision taken by Philips. Philips has been a major employer in Hamilton for more than 65 years, and these further redundancies are yet another devastating blow to the local economy.
Despite repeated assurances from the Management of Philips that the factory retained sufficient production and demand to maintain its current workforce, it is now apparent that these latest job losses show that this is evidently not the case. I have also written to the company on several occasions in the last year seeking assurances on the viability of the luminaires plant and on each occasion I was told that there were “no substantial developments around our activities here in Hamilton”. I also wrote to Sheila Leenders, the General Manager of Philips Lighting in Holland on a number of occasions, without any response.
In August 2012 Fergus Ewing MSP, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism assured me that the Scottish Government would do all it could to help secure the continued presence of Philips in Hamilton. I have again written to Mr Ewing to urge him to ensure this pledge is now fulfilled. I also had the opportunity to ask John Swinney MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, a question in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday to ask what assistance the Scottish Government was providing to staff following the company’s announcement:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=8465&mode=html#iob_76710
I was delighted to be able to host a town regeneration event along with my Scottish Labour colleague Sarah Boyack, the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Local Government & Planning, at Hamilton Town House. The event brought together business owners, politicians and local people to discuss regeneration of the town centre.
As an MSP, it is important for me to meet with constituents to hear their views on how we can best help develop and regrow the town. There was a healthy turnout and a good debate about the main issues in Hamilton town centre. I’d like to thank all those who came along and contributed to the debate and I hope that positive moves will be made in the near future to ensure the long term prosperity of Hamilton Town Centre.
I have backed a petition calling on the Scottish Government to review its policies on the funding of the Bus Service Operators Grant and concessionary bus travel and to consider the re-regulation of the bus industry. I met local campaigner John Nelson who led the petition, which aims to ensure that people across Scotland are provided with affordable and reliable local bus services, and Sandy Livingston and Jim Lee who were also involved.
The petition was brought to the Scottish Parliament via the Public Petitions Committee who have referred the matter onto the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee for their consideration.
Scotland’s local bus and inter-city coach services are provided by private sector operators. Services are provided on a purely commercial basis, unless a local authority wishes to offer a subsidy for the operation of a socially necessary service which cannot be provided on a commercial basis. However, some areas are being let down by these providers as services are cut and fares are increased.
I am delighted so many people have signed the petition and that it is making progress through parliament, and would like to congratulate John Nelson and the other campaigners for their tireless work on this issue. The bus services in Central Scotland are inadequate and have been for a long time. We need better regulation of the service as some areas are being let down by the private market. Many residents in areas across my constituency, which has some of the lowest levels of car ownership in the country, are not able to afford expensive taxi journeys and therefore depend on adequate public transport services for a good quality of life.
I was glad to have the opportunity to speak in yesterday’s debate in the Scottish Parliament on youth unemployment. You can view my speech in full on the DemocracyLive section of the BBC website at 51.40 in the first half of the debate.
There were thoughtful and insightful contributions from across the Chamber, and I would like to extend special thanks and congratulation to my colleague Jayne Baxter for her excellent maiden speech.
Youth unemployment is too important and immediate an issue for us to allow it to become mired in petty political point scoring, and I was relieved that, for the most part – although with a few notable exceptions – there was a degree of consensus on the gravity of the problem, if not its solution.
The stark facts state that long term youth unemployment has escalated with frightening rapidity, especially in areas such as North Lanarkshire. As was pointed out in yesterday’s debate, Lanarkshire has already suffered the ravages of endemic unemployment, following the dismantling of its once vibrant coal industry and the closure of the Ravenscraig steelworks. We have a responsibility to do everything in our power to bring jobs and investment to the area, and to ensure that young people have access to the advice, education and training they need to enter the jobs market.
As I highlighted during the debate, although the Scottish Government has invested considerable funds in youth employment schemes, it has also reduced funding for further education by 24% between 2011 and 2015, This may well lead to the closure of some courses, and deny many young people the opportunity to gain the training and qualifications they need to enter employment or higher education.
In another negative move, the Government skills and training agency Skills Development Scotland has withdrawn front line careers advisory services, replacing them with the website “My World of Work”. Although Angela Constance, the Minister for Youth Employment, assured me that this website constitutes “a service enhancement and is certainly not a replacement for face-to-face contact”, the closure of local Skills Development Scotland offices and the reduction in staff numbers suggests otherwise.
Cutting back on further education funding and careers advisory services is, I believe, antithetical to the Scottish Government’s stated objective of tackling youth unemployment.
I hope that Angela Constance and her Scottish Government Colleagues – especially the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Mike Russell – listened carefully to the contributions to yesterday’s debate, and will take the advice offered in the collaborative spirit implied by its “all Government, all Scotland” approach.
Siobhan McMahon for Central Scotland 