Cllr Jim Barrie
SNP Candidate for Dundee West
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Archive for September, 2008
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Jim Barrie Critical of Transport Police Decision
Dundee SNP Councillor Jim Barrie today criticised British Transport Police for their decision to withdraw their presence from Dundee Rail Station in four weeks.
“This sudden decision may have serious consequences for Dundee. By relocating the four BT Police staff to Perth, Dundee Rail Station could become more vulnerable to anti-social behaviour, especially at weekends with football fans travelling to and from games.
“Tayside Police will now have to cover the Rail Station at all times and this will undoubtedly lead to slower response times overall. As a member of Tayside Police Joint Board, I would have serious concerns about this impact on public safety. We will be contacting BT Police to find out why this decision has been taken in such a sudden and apparently abitrary manner.”
Commenting on the announcement, Joe FitzPatrick MSP for Dundee West said: “We believe that the Scottish Police force should ultimately have reponsibility for all policing matters in Scotland but service provision for rail stations needs to be arranged and funded in discussion with the UK Government who control the BT Police.
“It perhaps shows how little consideration the UK Government give to policing overall in Scotland that they can withdraw their Transport Police entirely from a major rail station like Dundee without apparently giving prior notice.”
SNP Adopt Dundee West Parliamentary Candidate
Dundee Councillor Jim Barrie was formally adopted as SNP Westminster Parliamentary Candidate for Dundee West at an adoption event in the Millenium Hall in Birkhill on Saturday 6 September. Tayside MSP and Cabinet Secretary for Finance John Swinney was guest speaker and local parliamentarians who attended included Stewart Hosie MP and MSPs Shona Robison, Joe FitzPatrick and Nigel Don plus SNP President Ian Hudghton MEP.
Speaking at the event, Jim Barrie said: “I have represented part of the constituency on Dundee City Council for eight years and I intend to be a strong voice for Dundee West in Westminster. Dundee West is in the top five of SNP target seats. Recent opinion polls suggest that Labour supporters in Scotland are demoralised by recent by-election defeats and the plummeting ratings of the Brown goverment while the SNP government led by Alex Salmond at Holyrood continues to grow in popularity.”
Picture above from the event shows (L-R) John Swinney, Stewart Hosie, Jim Barrie, Joe FitzPatrick, Ian Hudghton, Shona Robison and Nigel Don.
Dundee Economic Upturn Welcomed
An upturn in economic activity in Dundee has been welcomed today by Councillor Jim Barrie, SNP Westminster candidate for Dundee West.
The figures, in the Annual Population Survey, published in June 2008, show a 1% increase over the rate for 2006 whereas the figures were static for both 2005 and 2006. The 2007 rate of 77.6% is also above the Scottish average of 76.0%.
There has also been an increase in working age employment rates* over the past year of 1% in Dundee.
Jim Barrie said: “I welcome these figures which show an increase in economic activity in Dundee, which reveals the strength in depth which the city now has despite recent industrial bad news stories.
“Dundee West unemployment is still too high with an overall unemployment figure in July of 5.7% but this announcement is a sign that things are starting to move in the right direction. The Scottish Government is starting to have an impact on long-term economic inactivity.”
Notes:
*The rate applies to working age population (ie men aged 16 to 64 and women 16 – 59)
Information on Working Age employment rates and levels 2006-2007 can be viewed at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/25095306/3
Labour ‘Hypocrisy’ on Ninewells Car Parking Exposed
The announcement by Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon abolishing car parking charges at all of Scotland’s hospitals, except the three tied in to long-term PFI contracts negotiated by the previous Labour-Lib Dem Executive, has been broadly welcomed.
The SNP Government has said it will urge the Health Boards with PFI car parking arrangements to take action to reduce or limit their charges.
Joe FitzPatrick Dundee West MSP will this week table a question to the Health Secretary to ask the Scottish Government what action can be taken to reduce the burden on patients, their families and staff caused by the car parking charges at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, as well as the other hospitals with PFI contracts in place.
Joe FitzPatrick said: “These long-term PFI contracts – 30 years in the case of Vinci Park who run Ninewells – were signed in 2001 and supported by previous Labour Health Ministers. Andy Kerr, the Minister for Health and Community Care re-iterated the principle in several debates in 2004 and 2006 and in answers to many MSPs and the BMA, among other organisations, who called for car parking fees to be scrapped.
The Scottish Executive’s guidance on the subject to local health boards on 2004 was that they could enter into any arrangements to provide car parking as long as the charges were not excessive. The guidance revolved around the issue of ‘determining the need for charges and identifying the issues to be considered in setting car park charges.’”
Commenting on the situation, Dundee West SNP Candidate Councillor Jim Barrie said: “The undoubtedly lucrative nature of the PFI contracts, which may involve income of up to £2.3m per year from Ninewells as opposed to the revenue which the NHS Tayside Board receives, at 6% or £50,000 whichever is greater, has been often commented upon. Yet Labour politicians at no time, until now, have called for the contracts to be ended, or ‘re-negotiated’ at public expense of £50 million.
Now Labour politicians are jumping on the bandwagon calling for the SNP Government to attempt to buy out the contracts of the three PFI contracts including Ninewells which the previous Labour administration created. This is complete ‘hypocrisy and opportunism’ and comes as a complete surprise as the MP for Dundee West has not previously condemned the arrangements of the previous seven years under Labour/Lib Dem administrations when visitors and staff at the car park had to pay.”
SNP Candidate Supports 8-Point Plan to Tackle Energy Price Crisis
The decision by Scottish Power and Npower to increase gas prices by 34% and 26% and electricity by 9% and 14% will hit the poorest very hard this winter, according to SNP parliamentary candidate for Dundee West, Councillor Jim Barrie.
The councillor was commenting on figures, published this month by Ofgem, which reveal that the number of electricity and gas disconnections for debt in 2007 soared to 8,324, up by 3,270 on the previous year’s total.
Councillor Barrie said: “With millions already struggling to make ends meet, this latest round of hikes will push more vulnerable households into fuel poverty. The most up-to-date figures show that fuel poverty is increasing, and debt and disconnections are mushrooming.
“People are not only struggling to pay their bills, but also to understand why, at a time when the Treasury is receiving record windfalls from North Sea Oil and energy companies are recording record profits, vulnerable customers are being left behind. The UK Government must get a grip of what is fast becoming a crisis.
“The SNP has issued an eight point plan that would help alleviate fuel poverty across the UK, and urgent action is needed now.”
“A mandatory social tariff, available to all those who are fuel poor or are vulnerable to becoming fuel poor, would protect the hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland who suffer or are at risk from fuel poverty. There should be data sharing programmes between the DWP and Enegry companies to enable all fuel poor households to be put on a social tariff.
“There should be a legal limit on how much a company can charge any fuel poor customers who use prepayment meters – around a third of those who use meters are fuel poor. This is effectively punishing people for managing their finances by paying cash for a service in advance.
“The UK Government should commit to a further increase in this year’s Winter Fuel Payment to reflect further fuel cost rises.
“The establishment of a Scottish Oil Fund, guaranteeing direct and long-term benefits for the people of Scotland from our own natural resources should be an essential part of government strategy.
“The UK government needs to look at the introduction of social tariffs in these markets across UK Government and give financial support to priority groups to help them to replace outmoded appliances with modern, energy efficient appliances.”
