Christina spoke in the debate on 20 May.

“In 2003, a number of us in the trade union movement—Unison, the Educational Institute of Scotland, the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association and the Transport and General Workers Union, which is now Unite—called for legislation not just for emergency workers but for all workers who undertake duties that could put them in danger of assault. That call was not answered. I felt that child protection staff, mental health officers and care staff in particular deserved their call to be answered, and I used the very example that Hugh Henry used in his speech, of a child protection worker going into a home.

“During the passage of the bill, we lobbied the Labour Party hard to include public sector and shop workers. However, it refused to do so. On 15 January 2004, Andy Kerr said:

“The common law is flexible: it can deal with attacks on public service workers whatever the circumstances. However, if we introduce a specific offence of statutory aggravation for attacks on all public service workers, that flexibility will be removed.”—[Official Report, 15 January 2004; c 4907.]

…I did not agree with that view at the time.

“Extending the act now would take away its specific focus on protecting our police officers, firefighters and ambulance staff, and all the other staff that it deals with. It would be unfortunate if one of the shining lights of good legislation from the previous Administration were to lose its focus.

“There are issues of protection and safety for shop workers; by and large, those are issues that their employers should be addressing. Proper safety at work is the responsibility of every employer, and retail employers are no different.”

Read the full debate here. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-10/sor0520-01.htm

Christina McKelvie MSP has today welcomed Scottish Government approval for byelaws passed by South Lanarkshire Council, which will prohibit the possession of alcohol for consumption outdoors in public places.

The byelaws, put forward by the council on 17 March, have been backed by the SNP government and will come into force on 10 June this year. They will cover 33 towns throughout South Lanarkshire, including Hamilton, and will strengthen existing laws against public drinking.

SNP MSP Ms McKelvie said:

“I fully expect that the introduction of these byelaws will make a big difference to the quality of life in communities across South Lanarkshire which are badly affected by the nuisance and disorder caused by public drinking.

“They will give local police more power to crack down not just on outdoors drinking itself, but also on the noise, vandalism and violence that goes with it and which makes too many people’s lives a misery.

“I believe that any minor inconvenience to the public will be more than offset by much greater gains in community safety and quality of life.

“Glasgow stepped up its existing byelaws against public drinking in 2008, and I doubt very much that many people in that city would argue for a return to the way things used to be.

“It is a priority for the SNP Government to focus action on the most problematic drinking, with bans such as these targeted at areas where there has already been trouble with drinking-related disorder. That is exactly what South Lanarkshire’s new byelaws will do and I believe they will make a positive difference to communities across the county.”

Christina McKelvie MSP today welcomed the news that 450 jobs are to be created by John Lewis in Hamilton, following investment by the Scottish Government.

Announced by the First Minister during First Minister’s Questions, the new customer contact centre at Hamilton Technology Park is due to open in June.

SNP MSP Christina, whose Central Scotland parliamentary region includes Hamilton, said:

“This is excellent news for the area and I welcome John Lewis to Hamilton.

“450 high-quality new jobs will provide a great boost to the Hamilton economy and bring new employment opportunities to the area.

“The Scottish Government is backing Lanarkshire by putting £700,000 of its money into bringing one of the UK’s biggest and best-loved businesses to the area and creating new jobs for people in Hamilton during the recession.

“This is a very welcome announcement from the First Minister and John Lewis and I hope to see John Lewis established in the town for a long time to come.”

The First Minister’s announcement can be read at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2010/05/20134003

Christina McKelvie MSP has called for an explanation from the Home Office of events over the last week and an end to all child detention as soon as possible following a statement that children of asylum seekers will no longer be detained in Scotland at the Dungavel detention centre, but instead moved immediately to the Yarls Wood detention centre in England.

SNP MSP Christina McKelvie, who highlighted the failure of the Lib Dems to bring an end to the detention of children earlier this week said:

“If this is a genuine end to the detention of children at Dungavel then it may be a positive step forward, but it does not explain the actions of the Home Office this week or bring an end to the detention of under-16s in the asylum system.

“The new UK government’s claims on asylum and detention have been badly exposed. It must be repeated that the issue in contention was not detention just at Dungavel, but detention of asylum seeker children full stop. Replacing detention at Dungavel with detention at Yarl’s Wood is not an acceptable substitute.

“Having failed at their first test we will be keeping a close eye on the commitments of this new Government to ensure that they live up to their word and do not slip back into the system of child detention so favoured by Labour ministers.”

Christina McKelvie MSP has welcomed the extension of the support scheme for part-time students on low income or benefits.

The Scottish Government is extending the scheme in order to assist people in the current economic climate and the higher than usual level of graduates affected by redundancy.

Central Scotland MSP Ms McKelvie said:

“I am delighted the scheme is being extended, giving many more people the opportunity to enhance their career prospects.

“During the past year the Individual Learning Accounts (ILA500) scheme provided fees support of £500 to more than 400 part-time students.

“This shows how successful the scheme has been and, given that more than 70% post-graduate students study part-time, it is absolutely right that the Scottish Government is continuing to help those who are facing redundancy or are unemployed.
“With the University of the West of Scotland campus in Hamilton, Motherwell College, Coatbridge College and South Lanarkshire College all expanding both their presence and their reputations as centres of educational excellence, Lanarkshire has a growing population of students who will welcome this further support from the SNP government.”

More information can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/skills-strategy/ScotAction

Christina McKelvie MSP was joined by Education Secretary Michael Russell, Cllr Clare Adamson and Cllr Graeme Horne, SNP candidate for Rutherglen and Hamilton West at the University of the West of Scotland campus in Hamilton on Tuesday 27 April to sign NUS Scotland’s Student Pledge against top-up tuition fees south of the border.

SNP MSP for Central Scotland Ms McKelvie said, “Any increase in tuition fees in England will have a serious knock-on effect on students in Scotland by reducing higher education funding here. The SNP is committed to free, high-quality university education in Scotland and we will stand firm against any cuts imposed to the Scottish education budget by whoever ends up in Downing Street after 6 May. I am proud to join the Scottish Government’s Education Secretary and the SNP’s local champions in this election to sign the NUS Student Pledge to resist top-up tuition fees.”

After they signed the pledge, Mr Russell and Ms McKelvie took a break to sample some specially-made Scottish Saltire ice-cream at the famous Equis ice-cream parlour in Hamilton.

THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT HAS LAUNCHED A HELPLINE FOR AIRLINE PASSENGERS STRANDED BECAUSE OF FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS DUE TO THE ASH FROM THE ICELANDIC VOLCANO.

FROM THE UK CALL 0800 027 0504

FROM OVERSEAS CALL +44 800 027 0504.

There is also a website with regular updates at www.scotland.gov.uk/volcanicash.

Christina McKelvie MSP has tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament to congratulate Hamilton Academical FC on retaining their Scottish Premier League status for another season.

Central Scotland MSP Christina said:

“Accies have had a great season, getting some fantastic victories under their belt. They thoroughly deserve to stay in the Premier League for another season.

“Bill Reid has shown excellent leadership of the team, and he and the players and staff all deserve to be given credit. Along with all Accies fans, I’ll be looking forward to seeing the team reach even greater heights next season.”

ENDS

The full text of Christina McKelvie’s motion reads:

S3M-06162 Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (Scottish National Party): Congratulations to Hamilton Accies— That the Parliament congratulates Hamilton Academical FC on retaining Scottish Premier League status for a further year; pays tribute to the players, fans, groundstaff and all other associated staff; gives praise to the manager, Billy Reid, for his excellent leadership of his team, and looks forward to another successful season for the Accies.

HUNDREDS OF DISABLED PEOPLE IN SOUTH LANARKSHIRE TO LOSE OUT UNDER LABOUR CUTS

Christina McKelvie, SNP MSP for Central Scotland, has echoed Scottish Government Public Health Minister Shona Robison’s “grave concern” about the future of the Independent Living Fund (ILF), which assists people with severe disabilities to access essential support. 279 people in South Lanarkshire currently receive the benefit.

Changes to the ILF eligibility criteria proposed by Labour at Westminster will massively reduce the numbers of people able to apply for assistance from 1 May this year, with Scotland being disproportionately affected. The Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW) has calculated that, under the new criteria, only four new Scots applicants will be eligible for ILF this year.

Ms Robison has written to UK Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper to urgently raise her concerns.

Ms McKelvie endorsed Ms Robison’s action, saying:

“It is outrageous that in the dying days of their discredited government, Labour are sneaking through changes that will cut off essential financial support for potentially thousands of vulnerable people.

“Over three and a half thousand disabled people in Scotland rely on ILF to help them live as independently as they can. ILF currently affords 279 disabled people in South Lanarkshire a measure of dignity and self-sufficiency, but that source of lifeline support will be choked off in the future.

“Throughout their time in office, Labour have financially discriminated against disabled people, hacking away at disability benefits time and again and even threatening to abolish them altogether. They have been shameless in their repeated attacks on the welfare of vulnerable people.

“With their talk of ‘savage’ cuts, going even ‘deeper and tougher’ than those implemented by Margaret Thatcher, not one of the London parties can be trusted to protect those in our society who need it most. Their cuts consensus would hit our most vulnerable citizens hardest.

“I am appalled that Labour has effectively abolished ILF without a single word of discussion or consultation with the Scottish Government. It is a sign of the contempt in which they hold Scotland and Scottish interests.”

Notes:
1. The Independent Living Fund was set up as a UK-wide resource which offers additional financial assistance to disabled people already in receipt of support from social services to provide them with sufficient funds to access essential support.  In Scotland, due to proactive Scottish local authority activity, ILF income is £61 million, 17 per cent of the ILF UK budget.
2. From 1 May 2010 ILF has now tightened its financial eligibility and is only accepting applications from people in paid employment of 16 or more hours per week.  In effect this will mean that the ILF will be entirely closed to new applicants throughout the UK, apart from those very few in paid employment.
3. Based on UK statistics, ADSW (Association of Directors of Social Work) suggest that no more than four new Scottish applications will be processed in 2010/11.
4. Approximately 3,645 people in Scotland currently benefit from the ILF. There are 279 recipients in the South Lanarkshire local authority area.

Householders across South Lanarkshire have once again been spared a hike in their council tax, after MSPs endorsed the Scottish Government’s £70 million funding package to compensate local authorities for freezing the tax.

This is the third year in a row that Finance Secretary John Swinney has secured agreement from all 32 of Scotland’s local authorities to freeze council tax. This year’s freeze means that South Lanarkshire households have saved an average of £237 in council tax payments since the SNP came to power.

Christina McKelvie MSP has welcomed the latest freeze. The SNP MSP for Central Scotland said:

“I am delighted that South Lanarkshire householders will once again have the peace of mind of knowing that they will not be faced with a hike in their council tax bills. Freezing council tax for the third year in a row will ease the stress for household struggling with their finances just now.

“The partnership that the SNP government has forged with Scotland’s local authorities, including South Lanarkshire Council, to keep council tax rates down is helping people in a very real way. The £237 that the average South Lanarkshire household is saving as a result of the council tax freeze is money going back into pockets at a time when it has been badly needed.

“It has the additional benefit of boosting spending power within the South Lanarkshire economy, helping to support jobs and businesses.

“Labour in South Lanarkshire opposed this freeze – they would prefer to land South Lanarkshire households with a substantial hike in their council tax bills, wile they are still suffering from the effects of Gordon Brown’s recession. In contrast, the SNP is investing to help South Lanarkshire folk through this recession and strengthen the economic recovery of communities across Scotland.”