Central Scotland MSP Christina McKelvie has welcomed an announcement from the Scottish Government that the concessionary fares scheme, which already covers older and disabled passengers, has been extended to include Scotland-wide access for injured forces veterans.

Commenting on the announcement Ms McKelvie said:

“This is really good news. It is only right that the concessionary scheme be extended to injured veterans who have bravely served our country.

“The SNP Government has guaranteed all the existing rights to free or concessionary travel – and extended the service further.

“Working together, with support for veterans, pensioners and the disabled, we are able to get more people onto public transport. More people are travelling longer distances on Scotland’s buses at a lower cost, with the average Scot taking 100 bus journeys a year – more than their counterparts in other parts of the UK – and travelling further with every journey.

“The increase in funding for bus services and for concessionary fares ensures Scotland’s bus services have a strong future, as well as making an important contribution to our efforts to hit climate change targets.”

The Scottish Government announced on 26.5.09 that injured forces veterans will be included in the concessionary fares scheme from April 2011 and that older people and currently eligible disabled people will continue to be entitled to free bus travel throughout Scotland. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2009/05/26122021

Christina spoke in the debate on 21 May 2009.

Her speech can be read at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0521-02.htm#Col17679

SNP MSP Christina McKelvie has written to the Secretary of State for Scotland, Jim Murphy, asking him what he is doing to reverse the recent detention of a young boy at Dungavel. Fatou Felicite Gaye and her four-year-old son Arouna were held after a dawn raid in Sighthill, Glasgow this week and are now in Dungavel.

This most recent detention flies in the face of assurances given by Mr Murphy committed in October 2008 to ensure the ending the detention of children at Dungavel.

Central Scotland MSP Ms McKelvie whose constituency includes Dungavel said;

“It has never been right to detain a child in Dungavel and there is no excuse for the UK Government’s actions this week concerning Fatou Felicite Gaye and her son Arouna. Arouna has already suffered and been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder caused by previous interaction with the Border Agency

“This is a clear and disgraceful breach of Jim Murphy’s assuances last October to end the detention of children and breaks the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“Only days after the Scottish Government announced a joint pilot with the UK Borders Agency to provide alternatives to locking innocent children up in Dungavel the UK Immigration Agency has done just that.

“The UK Government are detaining a child born in Scotland in an immigration centre that is not fit for children. This is an absolute disgrace.

“Jim Murphy has repeatedly failed to answer questions on the number of children held in Dungavel or to guarantee that no child would be held there in future. Now we know at least one child is in Dungavel and that is one too many.”

1. The detention of a woman and her four year old son at Dungavel is reported here;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8050550.stm

2. The Scotland Office commitment to end detention of children at Dungavel is here;

http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/9722.html

3. Ms McKelvie’s letter to Jim Murphy follows:

Jim Murphy MP

Secretary of State for Scotland

Dover House
Whitehall
LONDON
SW1A 2AU

Dawn raid and Dungavel

Dear Mr Murphy,

I am sure that you are aware of the case of Fatou Felicite Gaye and her four-year-old son Arouna. They were held after a dawn raid in Sighthill, Glasgow yesterday and are now in Dungavel.

You are, I am sure aware that the young boy, who was born in Scotland, has suffered and been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder caused by previous interaction with the Border Agency and is still being treated – or was before he was taken from his bed in the early hours of yesterday morning.

You will also be aware of the concerns expressed over a considerable period of time about the detention of children in Dungavel that led to your discussions and subsequent agreements with the Scottish Government on the issue and which you press released on only three days ago. The pilot project may have a start date in June but the spirit of it was shattered yesterday morning and that should be a matter of great concern for all of us.

Can I ask you to do what you can to resolve the current situation first and ensure that this young child gets the medical treatment he will need to help him recover from the ordeal, then to visit this mother and child to hear their story yourself, and finally to ensure that the spirit of the project you lauded on Tuesday is adhered to from now on.

I look forward to your early reply.

Yours sincerely,

Christina McKelvie MSP

Central Scotland SNP MSP, Christina McKelvie, has welcomed the SNP Government’s announcement this week that NHS Lanarkshire will receive £3.44m as its share of a £36m investment to tackle alcohol misuse in Scotland. The funding for 2009/10 represents a 45 per cent jump from the previous year.

The Liber8 alcohol action project in Blantyre, which was visited by Public Health Minister, Shona Robison MSP, this week, has already benefited from the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling alcohol misuse. The only community-based alcohol service in South Lanarkshire, the new resources have enabled Liber8 move into purpose-built premises and to employ counsellors to add to its existing volunteer-provided service.

Ms McKelvie said:
“Alcohol misuse is major problem in Scotland which affects the lives of thousands of Scots and Scottish families every single year and costs the taxpayer billions. The Liber8 project is a great example of a community-based service able to provide real, practical help and support for people affected by alcohol misuse when and where they need it.

“I’m very pleased that the Scottish Government’s targeted funding has enabled Liber8 not only to expand its staff and volunteers numbers, but also to move into bigger, purpose-designed premises in Blantyre, which will enable the service to reach even more people affected by their own or someone else’s drinking.

“Services such as Liber8 are a vital tool in reducing the effects of alcohol misuse and promoting responsible attitudes to drinking in Scotland. The Scottish Government’s latest cash injection is a welcome boost to those efforts and underlines the SNP’s commitment to tackling this problem.”

Christina McKelvie MSP tabled the following motion in the Scottish Parliament:
Liber8 Lanarkshire
That the Parliament commends the work of Liber8 Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire’s only community-based alcohol service; notes that Liber8 has provided counselling and support to over 1,000 adults in the past two years, has already experienced a 30 per cent increase in user numbers during 2009, and is expanding its youth service with a new pilot in North Lanarkshire; further notes that, thanks to Scottish Government funding, Liber8 has recently moved to bigger purpose-designed premises in Blantyre; applauds Liber8 on its proactive approach to staff training which has so far resulted in eight volunteers make the transition to becoming paid staff; believes that such community-based alcohol services are vital tools in reducing the effects of alcohol misuse and promoting responsible attitudes to drinking in Scotland; and welcomes the Scottish Government’s reaffirmed commitment to tackling alcohol abuse with funding of £36 million for 2009/10, which will enable services such as Liber8 to reach and help even more individuals, families and communities affected by alcohol misuse.

Christina spoke in the debate on 30 April 2009.

“I note with interest that Italy is devolving taxation and borrowing powers to its regional Governments in a move that has been described as fiscal federalism. Italy started its devolution process after we did, with its 20 regions gaining power over health, education and welfare provision in 2001, but it is moving ahead of us in financial devolution. How embarrassing it is that we started first but have turned out to be the tortoise rather than the hare. Adding taxation powers to the already strong toolbox that the Italian regions have gives them the opportunity to become economic powerhouses, altering income and expenditure to suit local economic conditions and increasing their opportunities to exploit their resources and deliver for their peoples.

The contrast with our position could not be more stark. We have no power to borrow money and no means of altering the tax system to give our businesses an advantage or give our people a break to make their lives better. We have no way to raise additional moneys to pay for improved services and no way to lever in extra financing for better services. Worst of all, though, is that we must cope with the intolerable burden of UK incompetence, with a Labour Prime Minister who cannot even remember when he is supposed to make a statement and a chancellor who claimed recently that he could see the green shoots of recovery and then proceeded to pour economic weedkiller on those green shoots before they had a chance to break the surface.”

Read the full text of Christina’s speech at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0430-02.htm#Col17022