Christina McKelvie MSP visited St Peter’s Primary School in Hamilton this week to see the Christmas tree which she donated to the school.

The Scottish Forestry Commission provides MSPs with trees each year to pass on to a local organisation. St Peter’s Primary came out of the hat to receive Christina’s tree for 2009.

Christina said:
“It was really nice to see the tree up and so beautifully decorated by the pupils. The pupils have done a great job of making decorations and the whole school looks lovely.

“I was also very impressed by the members of the Pupil Council, who welcomed me to the school. They represent the views of their fellow pupils and make sure their voices are heard on school issues. It’s a great example of democracy in action and just goes to show that it’s never too early to start involving children in the decisions that affect them.”

BELLSHILL WHISKY WORKERS HAVE “NOTHING TO FEAR” FROM MINIMUM PRICING

Christina McKelvie MSP has accepted Michael McMahon MSP’s invitation to her to join him in a visit the Grant’s whisky plant in Bellshill, and has issued her own invitation to Mr McMahon to join her in a visit to a local Accident and Emergency department to see for himself the impact that pocket money-priced alcohol has on health and public order in Lanarkshire.

Ms McKelvie was responding to an attack on her by Mr McMahon, which wrongly claimed that the SNP government’s plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol would threaten the jobs of workers at the historic William Grant’s distillery.

Ms McKelvie said:
“I have written to Michael McMahon to take him up on his invitation to visit Grant’s with him. I welcome the opportunity to counter his inaccurate scaremongering and reassure the workers there that they have nothing to fear from minimum pricing.

“Their products, which include quality whisky brands such as Grant’s, Glenfiddich and Balvenie, are already sold well above the price level that would be affected by minimum pricing legislation, as are the vast majority of Scotch whisky brands.

“In return, perhaps Mr McMahon would like to come with me to any one of the three Accident and Emergency Departments in Lanarkshire on a Friday or Saturday night and talk to the staff there about the devastating impact that cheap drink can have, and which they see first hand night after night.”

Mr McMahon issued an attack on Ms McKelvie after she challenged him to vote in support of the Scottish government’s minimum pricing proposalsci Mr McMahon’s constituency of Hamilton North and Bellshill suffers the 13th highest number of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland, with death rates at twice the UK average.

In his attack on Ms McKelvie, Mr McMahon made a number of other inaccurate and easily rebutted claims:

Claim: The SNP have been more interested in attacking their opponents than working with us to deliver workable policies to tackle Scotland’s problem with alcohol.
Fact: The SNP government welcomed Labour’s initial commitment to keep an open mind on the issue of minimum pricing. It was Labour who, on the day the Alcohol Bill was published, announced a U-turn and said that they would oppose the policy without even listening to the evidence put to Parliament.

Claim: The SNP have refused to provide any evidence that their plan is legal under EU rules.
Fact: The Scottish Government’s clear advice is that, because the minimum price is for a unit of alcohol, it will affect all products equally, is no barrier to trade and is therefore entirely legal under EU rules. The Health Secretary has repeatedly offered to work with other parties to allay any legal concerns they may have.

Claim: They have refused to say what level of increase they intend to set either
Fact: The Bill is designed to get an agreement to the principle of minimum pricing. The specific price will be determined by secondary legislation – as is normal practice with any legislation. MSPs from all parties will have an opportunity to debate this during the Bill’s passage through Parliament.

Claim: No amount of increase in price will deter some people with severe alcohol addiction from buying alcoholic products yet the SNP have provided no information on a strategy to help people defeat their alcoholism
Fact: A recent study by Queen Margaret University into severe problem drinkers showed that  they were paying significantly less per unit than moderate drinkers (average 43p, as opposed to 72p). Another recent study from the University Sheffield found that a 40p minimum price would cause a total a fall in consumption of 5.4%, concentrated specifically among hazardous and harmful drinkers. It concludes: ”Those who buy the most alcohol are the most affected in both absolute and relative terms: changes in spending affect mostly harmful drinkers, with hazardous drinkers somewhat affected and spending for moderate drinkers affected very little. 

Ms McKelvie continued:
“Michael McMahon told me to “put up or shut up”. Well, today I’ve put up answers to every single one of the inaccurate and confused points he made in his attack on me – and the SNP government has put up the radical, forward-thinking legislation that we so badly need to address the harm that cheap drink can do.

“I urge Mr McMahon once again to listen to the strong support for minimum pricing expressed by the chair of NHS Lanarkshire, all four UK Chief Medical Officers, the British Medical Association, the Royal Colleges of Nursing, Physicians, Surgeons and GPs, Faculty of Public Health, British Liver Trust, Scottish Licensed Trade Association, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and many others at the sharp end of dealing with alcohol misuse and to join with the SNP in doing something positive about Scotland’s relationship with alcohol. It’s the least that people in Hamilton and Bellshill deserve from him.”

S3M-05396 Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (Scottish National Party): Rethink Afghanistan— That the Parliament notes the recent screening at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse of campaigning filmmaker Robert Greenwald’s acclaimed real-time documentary, Rethink Afghanistan, which is also available to watch for free online at www.rethinkafghanistan.com; further notes that the film’s makers have interviewed Afghan MPs, women’s groups, peace campaigners, members of the armed forces and others on the ground in Afghanistan with the aim of informing and redirecting political thinking about the purpose and objectives of the intervention in Afghanistan; further notes that the war in Afghanistan has now lasted for over eight years and has claimed the lives of over 230 UK troops and an estimated 7,000 Afghan civilians, and calls on the UK Government to rethink the United Kingdom’s role in Afghanistan, the objectives of the intervention and the timescale within which the government believes that these goals will be achieved.

Christina McKelvie MSP has welcomed an announcement by Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead of a £200,000 funding award to help grow and develop Scotland’s farmers’ markets. The money will go to support the growth of individual markets and to fund a national Development Officer for farmers’ markets.

Central Scotland MSP Ms McKelvie said:

“This announcement is good news for Lanarkshire farmers’ markets, which allow consumers to access the highest quality fresh food as well as providing a showcase for the excellent produce that comes from farms in the area.

“The monthly Hamilton Farmers’ Market is a great example of a popular and successful market, offering products unavailable elsewhere – from locally grown fruit and veg to home-made chutney to ostrich steaks – and creating a positive knock-on effect for other businesses by bringing more people into the town centre on a Saturday.

“Farmers’ markets are not immune to the recession, of course, which is why it is very important to help them grow and develop in order to see out these tough times. This support from the Scottish Government will help to do exactly that and it will be welcomed by farmers and consumers alike.”

Christina spoke in the debate on 3 December:

“No child is an island, but all children are individuals, which I believe is reflected in the GIRFEC ethos. The early intervention that GIRFEC has facilitated and enabled comes from the enhanced capacity of professionals to gather a holistic assessment of the child using the better information that is available as a result of cross-agency working. That early intervention delivers results. There is evidence across all the wellbeing indicators that progress is being made and that children are reaping greater benefits. Some of that might come from one important innovation, which is that the professionals have turned round service delivery, so that they ask the children who are involved for their views and seek to ensure that the children understand the decisions and the options that are given to them.

“No longer will parents and children have to try to find a way of negotiating their way around a confusing system; streamlined services will be delivered. We are talking about wraparound care that embraces the child and the family, ensuring that their needs are met. The involvement of all agencies working together will make it less likely that any child will fall through the gaps.”

Read the full text of Christina’s speech at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1203-02.htm#Col21912.

Christina spoke in the debate on 3 December:

“The Labour and Lib Dem years were years marked by failure. They were lost years for a generation of Scottish pupils, but the SNP years—though only a quarter of the time the last lot spent in office—have been years of success and achievement. We have delivered the smallest ever class sizes and the free school meals pledge—we should nourish children’s bodies and minds. We have delivered on matching Labour’s school building programme brick for brick…We have delivered a massive increase in nursery provision, restored free education, improved funding for teachers’ professional development and taken action on apprenticeships…

“The SNP Government has pumped capital resources into our universities to start addressing the massive backlog of repairs and development that built up under the last lot, introduced the ScotAction package to help apprentices through the tough times as Labour’s recession started to bite and sorted out the mess in additional support needs that the last bunch left behind. Fiona Hyslop steered the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Bill through the Parliament and brought in protection for rural schools.

“The SNP Scottish Government has delivered real improvements, real change and real benefits to school education. It has shown that Scottish education can be a world leader again and can give Scottish pupils the advantages that we believe they deserve. All that has held Scotland back is the lack of political will that previous Administrations demonstrated and, now that things are moving in the right direction, we should keep adding momentum.”

Read the full text of Christina’s speech at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1203-02.htm#Col21829.

Christina spoke in the debate on 2 December:

“Since I became an MSP, I have been pleased to be able to add my voice to the voices of other members in deploring the on-going detention of children in Dungavel and other UK immigration detention centres. It is, of course, not only members of this Parliament who stand opposed to child detention: many groups and individuals throughout civic Scotland have spoken out against a practice that they regard as an affront to every basic notion about the welfare not only of vulnerable children, but of any child.

“One such group is the justice and peace group in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, which gathers regularly at Dungavel to demonstrate its solidarity with and support for those who are detained inside. Linda Fabiani and I joined the group in its annual mother’s day vigil earlier this year, and on Sunday I was privileged to address its St Andrew’s day gathering. The group’s members live by the simple maxim that we should treat others as we would wish to be treated ourselves, and treat the children of others as we would wish our children to be treated…

“I do not believe that the UK’s immigration ministers are deliberately cruel or callous people, but, perhaps because they have become so wedded to a political rhetoric that emphasises toughness on asylum seekers and migrants, they persist in pursuing a cruel policy. It is true that it is discriminatory, unethical and violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but what most appals me and others is the inherent cruelty in the act of depriving children who have committed no offence of not only their liberty but almost every aspect of a decent childhood. Detention wrecks children’s lives, pure and simple. No immigration or asylum policy justifies it, and it must end now.”

To read the full text of Christina’s speech go to http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1202-02.htm#Col21784.

Christina McKelvie MSP will be holding an open surgery in Asda in Hamilton on Friday 11 December from 11am. All constituents are welcome to come along to talk to Christina and her staff.