Dundee SNP

The temporary shelving of the UK Government’s plans for part-privatising the Royal Mail have been welcomed but the moves should be cancelled permanently according to Councillor Jim Barrie, Convenor of the SNP Group on Dundee City Council.
Jim Barrie said: “I welcome Mr Mandelson’s u-turn on moves to part-privatise the Royal Mail but I want this to be more than just a temporary reprieve. The government should announce that it is permanently abandoning these unpopular and potentially damaging privatisations.
“Privatisation of Royal Mail should not just be put off for another day, it should be ruled out once and for all.
“In Dundee we have recently lost a number of Post Offices, there have been complaints from constituents about postal delivery times and internal issues within the Royal Mail service itself locally about staffing levels and service agreements.
“I would like to see the government focussing on ensuring a long term successful future for a public Royal Mail service and for the universal service obligation.
“This humiliating climb-down, hard on the heels of a u-turn on ID cards, shows the UK government is in complete chaos.
“Lord Mandelson can’t even get his story straight on why privatisation was abandoned – first he said it was because the plans were jostling for space in the legislative agenda, and now he say it is because the economic conditions are not right.
“Royal Mail must remain in public hands. If elected as MP for Dundee West at the next General Election, I wil continue to fight for the retention of publicly-owned postal services.”

SNP Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie MP is calling for fairer taxation on the bingo industry and an end to the double standard currently inflicted on the sector.
Dundee East MP Mr Hosie today (Wednesday) joined a bingo rally in the House of Commons to show his support for the sector.
Bingo clubs are currently hit with a 22% levy while other gaming activities are taxed at 15%. The industry claim unfair taxation has put great strain on business and played a contributing role in the closure of 31 clubs in 2008/09.
Commenting, Mr Hosie said:
“To burden bingo with this over taxation is both unjust and unwelcome. These are difficult times for the bingo industry and the UK Government needs to support the sector rather than adding to the challenges it faces.
“Other gambling products are taxed at a 15 per cent but the UK Government insists on making licensed bingo an exception to the rule. The SNP has kept up the pressure to redress this imbalance by tabling an amendment to the Finance Bill next week.
“The sheer number of people gathering in the House of Commons to stand up for the industry shows the important role bingo halls play in our communities. They are a safe and friendly environment for the whole community, especially older people, to gather together.
“The SNP have long campaigned for a change in this unfair tax policy. To preserve this important industry and to bring bingo into line with other gaming activities, it is time for the UK Government to ditch the double standard.”

Dundee’s SNP MSPs today wished Tayside Chief Constable Kevin Mathieson well after hearing the unexpected news of his early retirement from the police force.

Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said: “Although we understand his reasons, we are disappointed to hear that he is leaving as he was an effective and able Chief Constable. He had made significant inroads into local crime statistics, which are now at a ten-year low, and in particular he was taking strong action in tackling drug and alcohol abuse in Dundee.”

Shona Robison, Dundee East MSP added: “The Chief Constable was leading the way into the civilianising of the police force which was allowing more officers to return to front line duties. Obviously his decision is a personal one and we wish him well for the future.

“Kevin Mathieson leaves Tayside Police in a strong position, with more officers deployed than ever before and the prospect of the new-build Police national Forensic Laboratory in Dundee to aid their efforts in fighting crime.”

THE SNP have recorded a huge victory in the Angus Council Monifieth and Sidlaw ward by-election where the party increased its first preference votes by 15% to 69% - the highest share of the vote for any party in any ward since the current proportional representation voting system was introduced.
The victory saw Jean Lee elected as councillor for the seat with swings from all parties. Labour failed to field a candidate, despite leafleting the ward, after it was discovered their candidate didn’t qualify for the by-election.
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie whose constituency includes a sizeable portion of the Angus Council ward of Monifieth & Sidlaw, today congratulated new SNP Councillor Jean Lee for her stunning by-election win.
Stewart Hosie said:
“Jean Lee will be a first-class councillor for Monifieth & Sidlaw and I congratulate her on her tremendous victory, taking 69% of the first preference votes. That is the highest vote share for any party in any local government election since PR was introduced.
“The SNP are the party of government in Scotland, and our victory is a positive endorsement of the SNP and a positive vote for our record of policy delivery. In by-elections, the European elections, and opinion polls for Holyrood and Westminster, the SNP have the support of the people of Scotland.
“The SNP Government are focussed on helping families and business during tough times – the Economic Recovery Programme is supporting 15,000 jobs, and we are freezing the Council Tax freeze, slashing business rates, introducing free prescriptions, and delivering 1,000 additional police officers in Scotland’s communities. These are the SNP policies that are winning elections across Scotland – and in spectacular style in Monifieth & Sidlaw.”
Angus MP Mike Weir added:
“To have secured an even greater share of the vote since 2007 – which was a high watermark year for the SNP – is a stunning achievement.
“In Jean Lee the people of Monifieth & Sidlaw have elected an excellent and dedicated local campaigner who will represent their interests in the council.
”I look forward to working with her and Councillor Rob Murray on behalf of constituents of Monifieth and the Sidlaw villages.”
Commenting on her victory Cllr Jean Lee said;
“It is an honour to have been elected to represent Monifieth & Sidlaw on Angus Council.
“I look forward to working with my SNP colleagues on the council, in Parliament and in the SNP Government to put forward a positive vision for Monifieth & Sidlaw, and to fight for the interests of the area.
“The sad death of well-known local councillor Frank Ellis was a loss to Monifieth & Sidlaw because he had contributed much to the area.
“I will work hard to ensure his legacy continues to show that it is the SNP which represents the best interests of all the people of Monifieth & Sidlaw.”

Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie has called on the public to honour Armed Forces Day next weekend when activities will take place right across the UK and in Dundee and Angus to honour the outstanding contribution made to society by serving personnel and veterans of all ages.

Large celebrations are planned for Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee, with each event bringing together thousands of Army, Navy and RAF personnel, veterans, and reservists, with support from cadets and Scottish military bands.

The main Dundee event will be a parade and drum head service in the city centre from 1pm - 5pm involving medal presentations, while a parade in Forfar will culminate in a medal presentation at the Forfar Town Community Gala.

The MP will be attending the Beating the Retreat event at the Victoria Dock on Friday 26th and the full day of commemorative activities in Dundee on the Saturday 27th.

Stewart Hosie said: “Our service personnel and their families, have made and continue to make huge personal sacrifices to ensure that our rights, freedoms and way of life are defended and maintained. Armed Forces Day is our chance to say ‘thank you’ for the sacrifices made on our behalf.

“Dundee has and will continue to have a strong connection to the armed forces, and I’m aware of many ex-services constituents who have already applied to get their UK Armed Forces Veterans’ lapel badges. I will take this opportunity to remind former service personnel of all the forces including volunteers and regular reserves that they can obtain commemorative lapel badges from the:

Service Personnel and Veterans Agency,
Norcross
Thornton-Cleveleys,
Lancashire,
FY5 3WP

“Armed Forces personnel serve our country in all parts of the world, often under very testing and dangerous circumstances and, regretfully, occasionally at terrible cost. The challenges they face and the roles they play are made a little bit easier when they know that their communities back home are proud of them and wish them well.

“It would be nice to have a grood showing from the public at these events.

The announcement today by the Scottish Government that they are to take forward the recommendations of an independent working group on how to further support homeowners faced with repossession has been welcomed by Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick.

The working group, set up in January 2009, has set out a range of recommendations which will now be taken forward and these include the need for new legislation to ensure that the protection available through the Mortgage Rights (Scotland) Act 2001 applies in all repossession cases, instead of just those where the home owner defends the action

Legislation will also be initiated to require lenders to show that they have considered every reasonable alternative to repossession, and to ensure that the courts consider the extent to which they have done so when deciding on repossessions cases

Commenting on the announcement, Joe FitzPatrick said:

“Constituents are concerned about the repossession of their homes and it is our duty as politicians and legislators to ease those fears.

“I am pleased that the Scottish Government has been able to act quickly by forming this panel of experts to look as the best way forward and I welcome the speed with which the Government is to act on their proposals.

“By taking prompt action, such as legislating to ensure protection available through the Mortgage Rights (Scotland) Act 2001, together we can work to avert repossessions in these difficult economic times.”

Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie has written to the Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs raising the plight of adherents of the Bahai faith in Iran who have been persecuted for their beliefs and asking what steps the Government can and will take on the situation.

The self-declared victory of President Ahmadinejad in Iran’s presidential elections over the weekend means another four years of religious intolerance, human rights abuses and oppression.

The Dundee MP is a member of the all-party Parliamentary Friends of the Bahai’s group and met with members of the Dundee Bahai community last month who raised their concerns over seven leaders of the faith imprisoned in the notorious Evin Prison for over a year. They have recently been charged with ‘spreading corruption on Earth’ and if found guilty will suffer the death penalty.

Stewart Hosie said: “Many people are rightly extremely concerned about the human rights abuses in Iran and their imprisonment and execution of members of non-Muslim religious faiths.

“The seven Bahai leaders have been denied legal representation and are being kept in intolerable conditions.

“It is no surprise that the ordinary citizens of Iran have taken to the streets in considerable numbers at the prospect of another four years of farcical ‘democracy’, a shocking lack of personal freedom, religious discrimination and the frequent violation of human rights. The Ahmadinejad regime executes more of its own population than any nation other than China.

“I look forward to hearing from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what the UK Government intends to do about the imprisonment of Bahai’s in Iran.”

Dundee’s SNP politicians today admitted that the rape conviction rate was too low and said that the Scottish Government’s new legislation should close loopholes in the law. Commenting on new statisitcs which reveal that out of 142 allegations of rape in Tayside and Fife, not one conviction had been obtained.

Commenting, Dundee East MSP Shona Robison said today: “The figures for Tayside and Fife remain highly unsatisfactory but the Scottish Parliament is taking direct action to improve rape conviction rates and there has been a slight increase in the number of convictions since last year.

“We are introducing new legislation - the Sexual Offences Bill -  which is near completion, which will tighten definitions of rape and sexual assault and reform the law in a number of key areas. It will close some of the loopholes where a convicted person could escape with only a fine. It will provide a maximum statutory sentence of life imprisonment for rape and sexual assault. It will also clarify precisely the legal meaning of lack of consent.

“The Scottish Government is taking sexual crime very seriously and aims to make a radical improvement to the conviction rate by a number of other measures. Better training for procurators fiscal has helped to improve the way in which serious sexual crime is tackled in court proceedings. A more supportive and rigorous police approach has led to more effective and sympathetic treatment of victims.

Commenting further, Joe FitzPatrick, Dundee West MSP said:  “The Scottish justice system is now more pro-active towards these serious sexual crimes and therefore more crimes are being reported to the police which has the effect of lowering the percentage of convictions. In the past many women were scared to report these crimes, now more victims come forward.

“The Scottish Government’s new legislation has been welcomed by campaigners and should help to persuade more juries to convict more people accused of these crimes.

“Juries must be persuaded and convinced beyond reasonable doubt and that is beyond the scope of the Government’s activity.We must all do everything in our power to ensure that every victim gets justice and every offender is punished with the full rigour of the law.”

Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick today welcomed official statistics published today which reveal the highest ever level ever of police officers in post in Scotland.

Scotland’s Chief Statistician’s quarterly figures show 17,048 police officers in the eight police forces in Scotland on 31 March 2009.  This represents an increase of 373 full-time equivalent (FTE) over the last quarter, a 2.2% increase and an even greater increase of 5% since March 2007.

Welcoming the figures today, Joe FitzPatrick said: “Tayside now has more police officers than ever before, with 1,197 officers, an extra 30 ‘Bobbies on the Beat’ since we took over in 2007.

“However, the situation in Scotland contrasts with south of the border where the Police Federation of England & Wales have called for 2,000 extra police officers due to cutbacks by local police authorities.

 “With this record number of police on our streets we have made real progress in boosting police numbers across Scotland.

“These record figures show the SNP is delivering on our promise to put more police on Scotland’s streets.”

Dundee’s SNP politicians warmly welcomed the return of the coveted Blue Flag to Broughty Ferry beach, which was announced today by Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Seaside Award programme. 

Shona Robison Dundee East MSP said: “I am delighted that Broughty beach has regained its Blue Flag. The water quality was pronounced ‘excellent’ after a series of tests conducted by SEPA.

“The return of the flag has been achieved by the strenuous efforts of Dundee City Council and other bodies like Scottish Water and their contractors who have improved the capacity of the wastewater network to cope with flooding as well as their successful work to improve treatment of wastewater in the Tay estuary.

“A lot of public investment has been spent in improving water quality and we are delighted to see positive results.”

Commenting on the announcement, Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie said: “This puts Broughty Ferry on the European tourist map. A listing among top quality European beaches will help to promote the area as a tourist destination.   

“With a good summer predicted, this will be a boost to local businesses and the hospitality industry.”