McMillan Welcomes Youth Jobs Funding

Stuart McMillan MSP SNP has today (Wednesday) welcomed the news from the Scottish Government that hundreds more young people will be supported into jobs following the investment of an additional £6.3 million into Community Jobs Scotland.

The third sector programme will receive £5.75 million for 2013/14 to support up to 1,000 young people into employment with 10 per cent of the budget ring fenced for those with disabilities and long term illnesses.

A further £550,000 will be invested this year for 100 job opportunities for young people with disabilities and long term illnesses. This is over and above the initial £8.5 million investment for 2012/13.

The eligibility age range of vulnerable young people will also be extended up to 24, having previously been 16 to 19.

Mr McMillan said:

“This substantial additional funding will help to ensure that even more young people in Scotland are successfully supported into jobs.

“Coming so soon after the most recent figures which highlighted that unemployment in Inverclyde has dropped and employment is on the increase, this investment is a clear signal of intent from the Scottish Government.

“This funding is extremely welcome and will help to transform the lives of the hundreds of young people it supports out of unemployment. However, we must never be complacent as there can be no let up as long as even one young person needs help finding their way out of unemployment.”

McMillan Supports Scottish Tourism Week

Stuart McMillan MSP SNP has recently added his name in support of Scottish Tourism Week which takes places from the 4th to 13th March 2013.

Scottish Tourism Week is a focused week of activity aimed to increase awareness of the vital contribution Scottish tourism makes to the Scottish economy. While other parts of the economy have been struggling tourism demonstrated its endurance and the opportunities it brings for long term sustainable growth providing genuine non-transferable employment across all areas in Scotland. Scottish Tourism Week brings together the private, public and elected sector with a shared positive agenda, to remove barriers and create opportunities together to meet the economic battles that lie ahead.

Mr McMillan said:

“I am delighted to add my name in support of the upcoming Scottish Tourism Week as the industry is of vital importance to Scotland in terms of economic growth and employment opportunities.

“Scotland has a tremendous amount to offer, such as golf, tartan, whisky, food/drink, sailing, cultural and sporting events. This years tourism week has even more significance for myself as I will be hosting an official event of Scottish Tourism Week in my capacity as Convenor of the Cross Party Group on Recreational Boating and Marine Tourism. A number of Inverclyde based organisations will also be attending the day long Parliamentary event.

“I encourage people to learn more about Scottish Tourism Week and get involved in the many different events that are taking place throughout Scotland.”

Comments from Stuart McMillan MSP in response to Cllr Stephen McCabe article on 18/02/2013.

“I note the comments from Cllr McCabe on 18th February concerning a survey I carried out in Gourock regarding the proposed development.

“Cllr McCabe’s assertion that it has nothing to do with me as I am a regional MSP and have no say on the matter is rather unfortunate.

“I would have thought that any politician showing an interest in the views of their constituents would be a positive thing. I would also have thought that with turnouts at elections being as they are, it is incumbent upon politicians, at whichever level, to actively try and communicate with the electorate whenever possible. This Gourock survey was one of those occasions. Indeed, I know of MSPs of Cllr McCabe’s party who do the same thing as myself.

“In Parliament, I am a member of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee and we are undertaking inquiries into Public Sector Reform and Regeneration. In addition to this, it is anticipated that the Scottish Government Community Empowerment Bill will be coming to my committee for scrutiny.

“If any of the comments MSPs heard when we visited and spoke to a number of community organisations and representatives on Monday 18th February are to go by, it’s imperative that public bodies, including elected representatives, try and communicate more with, listen to and have meaningful dialogue with the people they work for and represent. Otherwise, the rule of democracy will suffer at the end of the day.”

Last Election Turnout in Date Order

2010 - UK Election - 63.48%

2011 - Scottish Parliament – 49.73%

2012 – Inverclyde Local Authority Elections

Ward 1 - 44.83%

Ward 2 - 40.13%

Ward 3 - 45.22%

Ward 4 - 40.94%

Ward 5 - 51.56%

Ward 6 - 39.82%

McMillan Welcomes Scotland-wide Council Tax Freeze

Stuart McMillan MSP SNP has today (Friday) welcomed the announcement from the Finance Secretary John Swinney MSP that households across all of Scotland’s 32 Local Authorities are to benefit from a freeze in their Council Tax payments for the sixth year in a row.

Local Authorities have confirmed that in setting their budgets for 2013-14 they have included full provision to deliver on the joint priority agreed with the Scottish Government to continue the council tax freeze to help families in these tough economic times.

As agreed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) the package of measures, which includes maintaining teacher numbers in line with pupil numbers and securing places for all probationers under the teacher induction scheme, sees local authorities receive a flat cash settlement for next year when compared on a like-with-like basis with current local authority funding. Local authorities will also receive an additional £23m from the Scottish Government to help fill the gap left by UK cuts to council tax benefit which is being transferred to local authorities at a reduced level.

Mr McMillan said:

“I fully welcome the announcement that council tax payments have been frozen across Scotland for yet another year.

“This is excellent news for the West Dunbartonshire community who, in what remains a challenging economic climate, will see the benefits of a sixth successive council tax freeze fully-funded by this SNP Government.

“It’s vital we continue to support hard pressed families and individuals throughout the country and make sure money remains in their pockets and the council tax freeze continues to assist this objective.”

McMillan Welcomes Parliament Endorsement of Free Education

Stuart McMillan MSP SNP has welcomed the Scottish Parliament’s support for free Higher Education in Scotland – despite a U-turn from the Labour Party.

The SNP is the only major political party in Scotland never to have voted for tuition fees, and have maintained this today. In addition, the Scottish Government is writing into law Widening Access Agreements with universities.

Labour made an explicit commitment in their 2011 manifesto to no upfront or backdoor tuition fees – almost the exact wording in today’s Scottish Government motion, yet the Labour Party tonight did not support the motion, despite their support for "no price tag on education" still being on the Scottish Labour Party's website.

Mr McMillan said:

“I was proud to support the motion in the Scottish Parliament and reaffirm the SNP's position that no person should be priced out of their education.

“This contrasts dramatically with the Labour Party who failed to back the motion and have broken their promise to students - despite still having the 'no price tag on education' pledge on their website.

“The SNP have maintained free higher education and the number of Scottish students studying in Scotland is on the increase. Meanwhile students south of the border are being driven away by the sky high fees – this is what Labour wants to inflict on Scotland with their Cuts Commission.

“It is clear that only this SNP Government is committed to keeping the principle and policy that education should be based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay.”

McMillan Releases Kempock Street Consultation Results

Stuart McMillan MSP (SNP, West Scotland) has today released the results of a consultation exercise he carried out in Gourock regarding the proposals for the re-development of the road network at Kempock Street, Gourock.

Mr McMillan decided to undertake a consultation that saw over 1500 households in Gourock receive a letter and survey form, as a result of representations raised regarding the proposals.

The proposals from Inverclyde Council and Riverside Inverclyde would see Kempock Street becoming a one way system with a second road built to the rear of the shops on the north side of Kempock Street for cars travelling in the opposite direction. Whilst there is £4.7million allocated to this project, Inverclyde Council have made it clear that if the project is rejected they will not be undertaking any other regeneration work in Gourock and will re-allocate this funding elsewhere.

 

The consultation has thus far received 202 responses, the questions and results can be found below:

Q1: Prior to this letter were you aware of proposals to introduce a one way system on Kempock Street?

Yes – 95% No – 5%

Q2: Do you feel Inverclyde Council and Riverside Inverclyde have kept you adequately informed of proposed developments on Kempock Street?

Yes – 35% No – 65%

Q3: What effect will the introduction of a one way system have upon Gourock town centre?

Positive – 48% Negative – 39% Unsure – 13%

Q4: Are you in favour of:

a) the introduction of a one way system on Kempock Street – 51%

b) the redevelopment of Gourock town centre by other means excluding a one-way system – 45%

c) no redevelopment – 4%

Commenting on the outcome of the consultation, Mr McMillan said:

“First and foremost I would like to thank all the residents of Gourock who took part in this consultation exercise, based on correspondence I’ve received this is clearly an important local issue.

“The results show that respondents are very marginally in favour of the proposed development and that they believe it would have a positive effect on Gourock town centre, although this is not a majority of respondents.

“However, the results are by no means overwhelming. What they do show is that the community is deeply split on this issue and that a consensus has not yet been reached. It also demonstrates clearly that local residents do not feel they have been kept adequately informed of the proposals by Inverclyde Council and Riverside Inverclyde, this is a very worrying revelation.

“A vital component in projects of this nature is that the community is consulted appropriately and that every opportunity is taken to ensure that the community has an input into the decision making process.

“I will be creating a report based upon my findings and will be sending this to all 20 Inverclyde Councillors, the Chief Executive of Inverclyde Council and the Chief Executive of Riverside Inverclyde, as well as to those who have responded to me directly.

“I would encourage any residents who have yet to return their survey form, and intend to do so, to respond in the near future so that their responses can be included in the final report.”

MSP Discusses Customhouse with Visit Scotland

Stuart McMillan MSP SNP has recently met with the Chief Executive of VisitScotland, Malcolm Roughhead, in the Scottish Parliament, to discuss the on-going proposals for the Customhouse building in Greenock.

Mr McMillan previously questioned the Chief Executive and Chair of VisitScotland, Malcolm Roughead and Dr. Mike Cantlay respectively in the Scottish Parliament Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee about what opportunities there are for the west of Scotland in the lead up to the next year of Homecoming in 2014. Mr. Roughead stated that he sees no reason why the Customhouse in Greenock couldn’t become the ‘Ellis Island of Scotland’ as it has a tremendous amount of history, in particular it is estimated that over 600,000 people left Greenock from the Customhouse to the new world in the past.

Mr McMillan said;

“I welcome the continued positive discussions with VisitScotland and their Homecoming team regarding the Customhouse building in Greenock.

“As I’ve previously stated I see no reason why a Homecoming event, centring around the Customhouse couldn’t be operational with a view to a longer term sustainable attraction in the building.

“This follow-up meeting was an opportunity for me to highlight some possible avenues for VisitScotland to explore in relation to the future of the Customhouse building.

“I look forward to continuing to work with VisitScotland and other agencies with the aim of securing a long term future for the Customhouse building and hopefully enhancing the tourism experience within Inverclyde.”

RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FOR SCHOOL LEAVERS GOING INTO POSITIVE DESTINATIONS

The SNP has welcomed new statistics that show a record 89.9 per cent of school leavers in Scotland are going into work, training or education upon leaving school.


The Skills Development Scotland figures show:


• 1.5 per cent increase in the rate of school leavers going to university

• 1.2 per cent decrease in the proportion of school leavers unemployed

and seeking work

• The percentage of school leavers going into employment has increased



SNP MSP Stuart McMillan welcomed Inverclyde's positive school leaver figure of 95.3% and said:


“We have had a record-breaking year for school leavers going into positive destinations – be it employment, training or education.



“With an historic high of almost 90% of Scotland’s young people securing opportunities after school, we must build on this progress to ensure all of our school leavers get the best opportunities possible.



“That is why the SNP Government is investing more than £80million to improve the life chances of our young people.



“The Opportunities for All initiative, guaranteeing all 16-19 year olds an employment or training opportunity, will continue to combat youth unemployment in Scotland, in spite of the damage caused to the economy by the Westminster system’s austerity agenda.



“With the full powers of an independent nation, we would not be subject to Westminster cuts and could ensure that economic policy better supported our action on youth employment.



"The most recent youth employment figures showed that Scotland has the highest employment, lowest unemployment and lowest economic inactivity for young people in the UK.



“The young people of today will be the engineers, academics, joiners, electricians, and indeed politicians of the future. We have a responsibility to ensure that they continue to get opportunities to succeed.”

McMillan Welcomes a Budget for Growth to Support Education

Stuart McMillan MSP SNP has today (Wednesday) welcomed the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, John Swinney MSP, of his budget to the Scottish Parliament introducing a raft of announcements to support growth in Scotland and provide additional funding for further education, housing and capital projects.

• Funding Scotland’s Further Education sector has received a £61m boost over two years as a result of today’s budget announcements from the Finance Secretary.

• This extra money will see £10m added to the college budget in 2013/14 and £51m added in 2014/15. Funding for FE will therefore be £522m in both 2013/14 and 2014/15.

• £10m of the additional funding will be invested in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme

• £10m for transport - this money will be allocated to trunk road maintenance

Commenting Mr McMillan said:

“The Budget announcement from the SNP Government today will help provide growth to support investment in our colleges and housing infrastructure. This budget is an excellent platform for supporting college regionalisation and I believe will support James Watt College and its students.

“This budget is achieved despite prolonged cuts being enforced on the Scottish economy by the Tory/Lib Dem coalition Government at Westminster. These cuts are harming Scotland’s potential and ultimately affecting the people of this country.

“Nevertheless, this SNP Government continue to deliver for the people of Scotland with what limited economic and fiscal powers we have and I welcome the day when Scotland takes control of all its own affairs and is able to fully tackle the issues which affect its people.”

McMillan Speaks in High Hedges Debate

Stuart McMillan MSP (SNP, West Scotland) and Member of the Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee has today (Tuesday) spoke in a Scottish Parliament debate on the High Hedges (Scotland) Bill.

During the debate Mr McMillan highlighted the correspondence he has received on this issue from a number of constituents in the West of Scotland region.

Speaking during the debate Mr McMillan said:

“The bill we have before us now has not came about overnight and I welcome its introduction in to the Scottish Parliament.

“I know that the bill, as currently drafted, with the narrow definition of a high hedge, will not solve every issue that confronts MSPs. However, it’s important Scotland legislates on this issue and we begin to address the problem high hedges cause for many constituents throughout the country.

“I was the sole Member who dissented on the definition to be used in the bill. The definition is narrow and focuses on a ‘High Hedge’. Therefore, I want to thank Mark McDonald for agreeing to accept an amendment from myself regarding a review of the legislation within 5 years of commencement of the system.

“In conclusion, once again, I welcome the bill, I welcome Mark McDonald agreeing to the review and I look forward to further scrutiny of the bill at Stage 2.”

MSP Urges People to Call Home Heat Helpline

New research reveals that around 16% of households in West Dunbartonshire are entitled to help with their energy costs and Stuart McMillan MSP is encouraging people to call a free helpline to find out about the assistance available. Across Scotland, more than one in ten households are eligible for help.

The Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99) is a free, impartial and confidential service that connects people and families on low incomes and those in poor health with support which is worth an average of £160. The help available includes grants for insulation, new boilers, discount and rebate schemes.

Mr McMillan said:

"Many people don’t realise what support is available. Anyone in West Dunbartonshire who is concerned about staying warm should call the Home Heat Helpline and seek advice. I would also ask people to look out for neighbours, friends or relatives who may be in difficulty and make sure that they are aware of the Home Heat Helpline."

People can call the Home Heat Helpline and speak to one of the friendly advisers who will provide advice on reducing energy bills. You can also access the service online by visiting www.homeheathelpline.org.uk where a new Energy Checker will help to show if you are entitled to help.

Christine McGourty from the Home Heat Helpline also advises people to think about what they can do around the home to reduce their energy consumption:

"As the weather gets colder and households turn on their heating, now is the ideal time to remind people that lots of help is available to keep warm, and that the Home Heat Helpline is there to assist them. We're urging anyone on a low income, older people, families with young children and those with long-term health conditions to call the Home Heat Helpline to claim the free help they are entitled to in reducing their bills."

 

There are also some other simple steps people can take in reducing their energy. For example:

• turning your thermostat down by 1C could cut your heating bills by up to 10 per cent and save you around £100 a year.

• turn radiators down in rooms which you only use occasionally

• switch your lights off when you're not using them

• turn appliances like TVs and phone chargers off at the wall rather than leaving them on standby when they're not being used

• replace normal light bulbs with energy efficient ones

• regularly defrost your freezer to make sure it's operating at full efficiency

• draw curtains over windows at night to provide insulation for the room

• move furniture away from radiators and heaters to allow heat to circulate around the room

MSP Welcomes Continued Scottish Government Funding

Stuart McMillan MSP SNP has today (Friday) welcomed the continued investment by the Scottish Government in housing and regeneration.

Mr McMillan was responding to a letter he received from the Minister for Housing, Margaret Burgess MSP which indicated the Scottish Government has allocated a further £50m to the housing budget in December 2012. The letter also highlighted funding received to regeneration projects in the West of Scotland, such as Riverside Inverclyde who were offered accelerated funding of £3.4m in September 2012.

However, the letter also highlighted that Riverside Inverclyde were unable to take up any additional monies in December.

Mr McMillan said;

“I welcome the continued investment, being introduced by this SNP Government, in housing and regeneration as it’s clear to get the economy moving we need a stimulus package and this investment will continue to create growth and job opportunities.

“As indicated in the response letter to myself, the SNP Government place housing investment as one of its highest priorities and the allocation of a further £50m to the housing budget in December 2012 demonstrates this commitment.

“There has been a lot of talk, from elected representatives in Inverclyde, that regeneration funding has not been forthcoming for the area, however, this letter highlights that additional monies were offered to the URC but were not taken.

“I will continue to fight Inverclyde’s corner and make sure it receives investment and opportunities.”

McMillan Raises Off-peak Rail Travel in Parliament

Stuart McMillan MSP (SNP, West Scotland) has raised the issue of off-peak train travel in the Scottish Parliament with the Minister for Transport.

Mr McMillan asked the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Transport Scotland regarding the price of off-peak train travel.

Mr McMillan said:

“Constituents, in Inverclyde, have contacted my office to highlight how rail travellers are missing out on off-peak train travel because they miss the threshold by one or two minutes. However, in other parts of the west of Scotland, the off-peak fare is offered before 9 o’clock in the morning.

“Therefore, I have asked the Scottish Government what action is being taken to address that differentiation and to prevent my constituents from having to pay higher costs.

“Plainly, this is a concern for a number of train travellers and I will be raising the matter further with ScotRail and Transport Scotland.”