Cllr Jim Barrie
SNP Candidate for Dundee West
Nursing Union Support for Minimum Pricing Welcomed
The SNP Candidate for Dundee West in the forthcoming General Election, Councillor Jim Barrie, Social Work & Health Convenor at Dundee Council, has welcomed the support of The Royal College of Nursing for minimum pricing for alcohol as the consensus in favour of the measure in the Scottish Government’s Alcohol Bill grows day by day.
RCN Scotland, which has 38,000 members in Scotland is lobbying in support of the Scottish Government’s proposed radical legislation on alcohol which would change the way in which alcohol is sold and introduce minimum pricing controls.
Jim Barrie said: “The RCN in Scotland has over 38,000 members and are major influencers on the health debate in Scotland and I am delighted that they have joined the overwhelming consensus building in support of the Scottish Government’s policy.
“The entire medical profession, the police, the licensed trade – even the all-party Health Select Committee at Westminster are in favour of the measure, yet Labour, the Lib Dems and Tories in Scotland continue to block it.
“Recently, a Dundee-based Labour MSP while agreeing that the problems of alcohol abuse were extremely serious, in fact, ‘bigger than the original official figures indicate’ demanded action to tackle the problem, then suggested education was the solution.
“The problem is acute precisely because education alone has failed over several decades to change behaviour. Frankly, it is for Labour, Lib Dem and Tory politicians to explain why they are at odds with expert medical opinion and the overwhelming majority of those professional bodies who advocate minimum pricing as a bold measure that will help to tackle the massive impact of alcohol abuse.”
SNP Attack Brown on Prescriptions Broken Promise
The SNP have made a scathing attack on Labour over prescription charges after it emerged Gordon Brown is set to shelve a promise made in 2008 to give people with long-term health conditions in England free prescriptions.
Councillor Jim Barrie, Convenor of Health & Social Work at Dundee City Council said: “The SNP Government has reduced prescription charges in Scotland each year since it took office in 2007 and all patients will get their prescriptions entirely free by 2011.
“Yet Labour attacked the Scottish Government in the debate last week and wrongly claimed that patients with long-term conditions in England do not have to pay when their Scottish counterparts still do.
“However this claim by Jackie Baillie, Labour’s Health Spokesperson, was based on a pledge by Gordon Brown in 2008 which has not been delivered and which now looks set to be shelved altogether until after the General Eleciton at the very least.
“In fact, a strong coalition of 20 of the most prominent health charities in England is now calling on its members to take direct action to demand the Prime Minister fulfill his promise. And 172 MPs have now signed an early day motion on the subject.
The SNP Government will reduce prescription charges for ALL illnesses by the end of the Parliamentary session. In contrast Labour has only abolished charges for cancer sufferers in England, a move which has alienated sufferers of other long-term conditions such as asthma, diabetes and depression who have questioned why they are not given parity of treatment.
“The early evidence of the first reductions show that it is those with long term conditions who have to live with the cost of medicines who have benefited most from these cuts.
“Prescription charges are a tax on ill health and are unacceptable in a modern society. It is only the SNP Government which can be relied on to bring about their abolition and Labour’s attacks are pure hypocrisy.”
ENDS
Notes
1. Reports that Gordon Brown is to shelve his prescription promise can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jan/24/free-prescriptions-gordon-brown-protest
2. A website calling on Gordon Brown to keep the promise he made in his speech to Labour Party Conference 2008 to abolish prescription charges for people with all long-term conditions, can be read here: http://www.prescriptionpromise.org
Jim Takes Up Milnbank Road Bin Damage Complaint
Local SNP Councillor Jim Barrie is pleased to announce that the burnt out paper bin within the Neighbourhood Recycling Point at the junction of Bankmill Road and Milnbank Road will be replaced very shortly.Councillor Barrie said “The standard policy to replace the bin for a second time will continue, but if further incidents occur the result will be the removal of the paper bin from the unit. ”
“I would urge members of the public to report any incidents of vandalism, as this facility is well used and very popular with local residents” “It is a shame that a minority of the public feel it necessary to deprive their fellow residents of a handy place to dispose of their papers. It is also very costly to the Council and the ratepayers as well”
“Recycling is now becoming very popular with the public in Dundee, it helps the environment, saves money, and is a useful contribution for making the city meet challenges that have to be tackled for the future” ended Cllr. Barrie.
SNP Politicians Back The Courier’s Jobs Campaign
Commenting on the report published yesterday by the Centre for Cities which suggested that cities like Dundee might take longer to get out of recession, Dundee’s SNP politicians were concerned to highlight the positives and to assert that joint campaigns such as the Courier’s ‘Let’s Get Dundee Working’ can help to make things happen.
Dundee East MSP Shona Robison said today, “Of course, there are many problems in Dundee and these have been well-rehearsed many times, but there are numerous positives too. “The Scottish Government has been doing a lot to help Dundee recover, with £33m invested in the waterfront as a catalyst for further regeneration of the city. Scottish Government support can be the key for the V&A Dundee project which will provide hundreds of jobs and more importantly signal a new era for the city’s recovery and will only be possible through joint working of Dundee City Council, Dundee’s two Universities and other partners. “Despite the downturn and the tight financial settlement, the Scottish Government and its agencies has committed record spending on new social housing and on a new £22m swimming and leisure centre in Dundee with 5 new primary schools and a new building for Harris Academy forthcoming – all will help to keep Dundee’s recovery on track.
“Our freezing of the Council Tax across Scotland for a third successive year has helped ordinary families while the abolishing or slashing of Business Rates – welcomed by the Federation of Small Business as ‘making a real difference’ – has been a big help to thousands of small businesses across the country and in some cases has made the difference between businesses surviving or going under.
“As local politicians we are working hard with the Scottish Government and Dundee City Council to seize the opportunity to make Dundee the renewables capital of Scotland in the same way that Aberdeen benefited from North Sea oil and gas.
“By working with Forth Ports, Scottish Enterprise and Dundee Council, we can help the city take advantage of its port and ideal location for turbine manufacturing.”
Commenting on the report, Joe FitzPatrick,MSP for Dundee West said: “There is no point in glossing over the facts that Dundee has a long way to go to catch up with other more affluent areas.
“The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s refusal to allow the Scottish Government to bring forward accelerated capital spending has directly affected Dundee’s recovery. It could have allowed us to bring forward recovery projects to help bring us out of recession and protect jobs.
“Dundee’s situation has certainly not been helped either by Mr Darling’s refusal to agree to tax breaks for the computer games industry. This was the most important thing which could have been in the UK Government’s pre-budget report to safeguard Dundee’s digital media sector and allow expansion in the city.
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie said: “A new analysis of official statistics shows that Scotland has consistently outperformed the UK in recent decades when it comes to balancing the books on public finances. Even within the financial straightjacket of the UK, Scotland can prosper and the Scottish Government has done all within its powers to help the country through the recession.
“Alistair Darling’s decision to increase employers’ National Insurance contribution by 1% from 1st April 2011 is set to cost Scotland £104 million from 2011 to 2012. This is a tax on creating jobs and this was the wrong thing to do.
“The UK Government is making the wrong choice by cutting Scotland’s budget now before we are out of recession.”
Councillor Jim Barrie, SNP Candidate for Dundee West in the forthcoming General Election, said: “The Courier’s ‘Let’s Get Dundee Working’ campaign is helping to focus everyone’s minds on the main priority which is to ensure that when the economy recovers, Dundee is quickly able to revitalise itself. The expansion of existing business and regeneration in the public sector will create the opportunity to allow development of new jobs.
“I have seen at first-hand how the Scottish Government’s Small Business Bonus Scheme, which was extended this year has proved to be a huge help to small businesses, which are at the core of our economy.”
SNP Politicians Support Haiti Appeal
Dundee’s SNP politicians have urged the public to give generously to the Haiti Emergency appeals.
Shona Robison MSP said: “I’m pleased that Dundee has its own appeal and will be making my own donation to it. The disaster is of such magnitude that it is good that people in Scotland and the Scottish Government were quick off the mark in pledging money – more than £250,000 was pledged last week by Fiona Hyslop, the External Affairs Minister, to the NGO’s co-ordinating the aid effort from Scotland. “More importantly, the Scottish Government has also offered immediate help with the temporary secondment of its staff to allow charities and the disaster emergency committee staff to focus on the operation of getting the aid from Scotland to Haiti. This will be of immediate value as they attempt to respond to the huge logistical task of co-ordinating the public appeal and organising transport. Joe FitzPatrick MSP said: “Scots have responded with great generosity to the disaster appeal. More than £1m was raised from the Scottish public in the first three days, approximately one sixth of the UK total raised. I’ll be donating to the Disaster Relief Fund (Dundee) and urge everyone to give what they can afford – to the reception at City Chambers, 18 City Square. “The first wave of the aid effort will be for basic humanitarian aid – water, food and shelter but it is important that people continue to donate over the coming weeks. “There will be a requirement for more substantial aid once basic emergency supplies are delivered to all who need them. It’s our job, as politicians, to raise awareness of the Haiti Appeal and to urge people to donate by calling 0370 60 60 900 or by visiting the Disaster Emergency Committee website www.dec.org.uk “ Stewart Hosie MP said: “Although the situation is volatile with the transport network in Haiti in chaos and there have been reports of looting, these kinds of stories should not detract from the immensity of the human suffering which we have a duty to help alleviate. “There are many ways that the public can help by contacting the DEC the main appeal body or Save The Children, Oxfam Scotland, SCIAF (Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund) or the Mercy Corps, all of whom are involved in getting aid from Scotland to Haiti.” Councillor Jim Barrie said: “Our heart must go out to the thousands of ordinary folk who managed to survive the disaster but lost family members. “The sheer scale of the earthquake and the destruction it caused has taken us by surprise but we can play a part in helping to bring the suffering to an end more quickly. “There are many ways to get involved in helping to raise funds, through any networks you are involved in, social clubs, trade unions and church groups – and to make a personal donation of whatever you can afford to the Disaster Relief Fund (Dundee) at 18 City Square Dundee.”
SNP Working to Bring Jobs to Dundee
The SNP is working hard to bring jobs to Dundee and has created numerous jobs since 2007 and will continue to press for more civil service opportunities, says Dundee’s elected representatives.
Shona Robison, Dundee East MSP said: “We will continue to press Dundee’s case for civil service job opportunities. It is a fact that the Scottish Government has helped to create a considerable number of new posts in the city over the last two years, some of which are still to come on-stream.
“However, despite the Scottish Government’s ongoing job creation and support for ongoing regeneration projects, we need to recognise that we are now living in a very different economic world. The public sector is not immune to that. There is more likely to be contraction rather than expansion of the public sector.
“Some of the jobs which have come to Dundee recently include 70 posts created by £5m funding in 2008 for the Translational Medicine Centre at Dundee University.
“New life sciences jobs will be created at the Scottish Institute for Cell Signalling led by Sir Philip Cohen, set up by £10m funding in 2008.
“There will be a number of new jobs at the £16m Scottish Police Services forensic laboratory at City Court at the waterfront when that opens and the SPSA have taken a 35 year lease on the building.
“It has been estimated that the Scottish Government’s £33m investment in the waterfront regeneration project could create 3500 new permanent jobs and generate £2.6 billion into the national economy.
“The V&A project which the Scottish Government is working jointly towards with the City Council and the city’s two Universities, will begin construction in 2012 and be completed in 2014 and will generate 900 jobs and bring an estimated 130,000 visitors to Dundee every year.”
Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said: “Dundee’s Life Sciences sector also received funding from the Scottish Government’s Modern Apprenticeship Framework for Life Sciences last year, which will enable the recruitment of two apprentices for the price of every one taken on.
“The Scottish Government funded 1,000 additional police officers last year and this has meant new police posts in Tayside.
“Funding from the Scottish Government will allow Dundee City Council to build five new primary schools and a new Harris Academy building in the next few years thus providing a boost for the local construction industry.
“It should be noted that other political parties in the Scottish Parliament, and the Liberal Democrats in particular, have been demanding a reduction in the size of the public sector especially the number of quangos in Scotland.
“This really is not consistent with their call locally for more civil service jobs. They can’t have it both ways.”
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie condemned the recent announcement by the UK Treasury confirming plans to close 130 HMRC offices with the loss of up to 1,700 jobs.
SNP Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie echoed concerns raised by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU) warned that the public and businesses would suffer, with tax advice and support “severely reduced”, and tax collection “undermined”. More than 20,000 civil service jobs have been axed since 2006.
Mr Hosie said: “This is more than just the wrong decision at the wrong time, it is just madness to slash HMRC jobs and services at a time when they are needed most.
“We are in the teeth of recession, and it is no time for the Labour Government to be adding to the dole queue.
“As well as being a bitter blow to the HMRC workforce, these cuts will hit businesses and the public just when they need accessible and well-resourced services most.”
Dundee West Westminster SNP candidate Jim Barrie said that Alistair Darling’s decision to increase employers National Insurance contribution by 1% from 1st April 2011 could cost Scotland £104 million from 2011 to 2012.
The decision by the UK Chancellor is set to cost Dundee City Council £1.7 million and NHS Tayside £2.9 million.
Councillor Barrie said: “Labour’s decision to increase national insurance is going to have a direct effect on frontline services.
“The UK Government will be penalising employers so that they will be unable to expand and take on new staff when the recession is over.”
Scottish Parliament Urged to Welcome V&A Dundee’s ‘Next Step’
JIm Barrie, Stewart Hosie, Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop, Shona Robison, Sir Mark Strong (V&A Director), Joe FitzPatrick
Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick, who was present with SNP Colleagues, Stewart Hosie MP, Shona Robison MSP and Councillors Ken Guild and Jim Barrie at the announcement of the next step in the development of the V&A Dundee project on Monday, has raised a motion urging the Scottish Parliament to show their support for the project.
The MSP is keen to raise awareness of the international competition to find a design team to create an iconic building on the newly-announced site south-east of Craig Pier, next to the RSS Discovery.
After lodging the motion at the Scottish Parliament, Joe said: “The event at Discovery Point was very well-attended by a wide range of agencies and the mood was very upbeat and positive.
“It is great that we now have a site pinpointed and a timescale for the architectural design competition, with construction to commence in 2012 and the building to be completed in 2014.
“The competition is sure to garner massive publicity and interest worldwide, it will be a major boost to the construction sector and when complete will give the city an iconic building of national and international importance.”
Stewart Hosie commented: “The scope of this project is imaginative and large enough to re-define Dundee as a city of aspiration and achievement.
“The return of RSS Discovery in 1986 heralded a new phase in the city’s fortunes and it is fitting that the new V&A building will overlook the famous ship.”Ninewells Inspection Report Given Cautious Welcome
Dundee Council’s Social Work and Health Convenor Jim Barrie has cautiously welcomed an Independent Inspectors’ report into Ninewells Hospital published today.
Jim Barrie said: “I’m pleased to note that there are good points in the report and that areas where improvement is needed are already being attended to in an Action Plan set up by NHS Tayside.
“In general, it was a thorough inspection and Ninewells has passed it with flying colours although no-one would wish to be complacent.
“The inspection was carried out at the start of the C-Diff outbreak and while the hospital has been commended for its practice of reviewing all cases of C-Diff to ensure the appropriate use of anti-biotics, the C-Diff outbreak was not the main focus of this inspection. The report concentrated instead on the overall performance of the hospital.”
The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate’s report has highlighted a range of good practice at Ninewells, including high numbers of staff undertaking the Cleanliness Champions Programme and the availability of specific funding for minor repairs.
However, the report also called for a number of improvements including using doors on patient bed bays, a review of risk assessment for additional cleaning during maintenance work and consideration of the need for a reduction in bed numbers. NHS Tayside has put in place an action plan to address the issues raised.
Eight elderly patients tested positive for C-Diff during the outbreak in Ninewells with five of them dying between September and October last year and these deaths at Ninewells are likely to be examined during the Public Inquiry into the Vale of Leven outbreak of 2008, which begins on 1st February.
Call for Winter Fuel Payments Increase
Although the snow and ice is now beginning to thaw, the cold weather seems set to continue for some time and Jim Barrie, Convenor of Dundee City Council’s Social Work & Health Committee is backing the SNP’s moves at Westminster to demand an increase in cold weather fuel payments to pensioners and vulnerable households.
Jim Barrie, who is SNP Westminster candidate for Dundee West in the General Election, is aware of warnings by leading charities such as Age Concern and Help the Aged that the existing level of payments is not sufficient to prevent a soaring death rate among older people.
Councillor Barrie said: “I am aware from speaking to numerous constituents who are facing difficulties due to the prolonged cold weather, that cold weather and winter fuel payments have not kept pace with soaring increases in domestic energy bills.
“Older people in particular are often reluctant to keep their heating on all day because of concerns about bills.
“I am pleased that the SNP MPs at Westminster will next week be leading demands for an increase in help for vulnerable households.
“Fuel poverty is still a serious issue in Dundee and it is right that in Scotland as an energy-rich nation, we support a range of social tariffs from the energy providers and increase government support through Cold weather winter fuel payments.”
SNP Candidate Lambasts Tory Plan To Cut Lottery Causes
Dundee Councillor Jim Barrie is concerned that many good causes in the city might lose out if the Conservatives win the General Election. .
The Tories frontbench spokesperson, Jeremy Hunt MP, has stated explicitly “one of the first things a Conservative Government will do will be to restore the Lottery to its original four good causes. The Big Lottery will ONLY fund projects in the voluntary and community sectors”.
This means that an incoming Conservative Government will get rid of all non-voluntary and community sector Big Lottery Fund awards if they win the general election. Many local awards have been received in Dundee by statutory bodies, particularly schools and public bodies.
Councillor Barrie, who will be contesting the Dundee West seat for the SNP said “My colleague, Pete Wishart MP, in answers to a Parliamentary Question, learned that Scotland has benefited with hundreds of non-voluntary and community organisations, many of them schools, being awarded over £4 million of lottery cash last year alone”.
“Across Scotland the money has been used to help initiatives from sensory gardens for severely disabled children to training for those suffering from autism to educational support for pre-school children. These types of projects would lose their funding”.
“David Cameron’s plans would strike at the heart of the important work these organisations are doing for the people of Dundee and across Scotland”, said Councillor Barrie.
“I am sure this will be a key election issue on the doorsteps. Over the last couple of years I have had many complaints about the present Labour Government supporting the diversion of lottery money from worthy local causes throughout Scotland, including Dundee, to fund massive spending in London for the Olympics. This is set to continue, not only under Labour but it would appear the Tories also have their eyes on money that should be going where it is most deserving.
“And the irony of this news is that this is the same Conservative party that claim they want an lottery independent of government but who are now it seems perfectly willing to dictate to the lottery what causes should be supported.”
