Shona Robison MSP

Dundee’s constituency MSPs and City Council Leader today [12th May] welcomed an announcement of an additional £9 million of funding for the city’s V&A museum and claimed it was a signiicant milestone in the fudnding of the iconic project.

Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee City East, said: “This funding announcement is a significant milestone in efforts to bring the projects to fruition and I beleive that it will help to attract the private investment we need to complete the capital funding package.

Dundee City West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said: “This £9.2 million lottery funding has been awarded because of the high-quality of the project and is a recognition of the value of the architectural significance of V&A Dundee.”

“The Scottish Government has already pledged £15 million, a third of the entire capital funding required and Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop announced an additional £1.75 million in revenue funding when she visited the city in January.”

SNP Council Leader Ken Guild also welcomed the announcement. Dundee City Council is one of the partners in Design Dundee Ltd., which is managing the project.

Ken Guild said: “The V&A at Dundee is an inspiring initiative which, combined withe the ongoing £1 billion transformation of the waterfront, is helping to move Dundee’s cultural renaissance onto the national stage.

“This investment by the Heritage Lottery Fund is very welcome. It is yet another vote of confidence in this transformational which we, along with our partners in Design Dundee are working very hard to see come to fruition.”

Dundee’s constituency MSPs have today [26th] welcomed the news that  Dundee University beat Loughborough, Sheffield, Oxford and Cambridge to the top spot in the Times Higher Education (THE) survey on the quality of the student experience after having come fifth in the UK overall last year.

Joe FitzPatrick, who has tabled a motion at the Scottish Parliament, said: “I welcome the success of Dundee University in the survey, which is really a huge vote of confidence in the institution, the campus and the city too as all these aspects come into the survey.

“Not only do both our universities have world-wide reputations for excellence, students are voting with their feet in coming here.

“They recognise that the Dundee campus offers them the best facilities and the best quality of student life in the UK.”

Dundee City East MSP Shona Robison said: “Both of our universities in Dundee continue to attract students from all over the world which reflects on the standing and the reputation they enjoy in the academic world.

“Both institutions have invested in improving the student facilities and the quality of life which Dundee offers is simply the best in the UK.

As a city we have a high proportion of students, with campus facilities at three leading institutions and therefore student life in Dundee is an exciting, stimulating and vibrant part of the educational experience.

“Our congratulations go to the Principal and staff of the university on winning top spot in this survey.”

Joe FitzPatrick has tabled a motion at the Scottish Parliament (text below).

MOTION

Date of Lodging: 26^th April 2012

Short Title: Top Award for University of Dundee

S4M-02711 Joe FitzPatrick (Scottish National Party):

That the parliament congratulates the University of Dundee on being rated as the best in the UK for student experience as surveyed by The Times Higher Education; is pleased that the University of Dundee has been recognised for its commitment to students both academically and in all other areas of student life; further believes that these results are a testament to the redevelopment of much of the University’s main campus over the past 5 years, a result of the Scottish Governments sustained level of funding for Scotland’s institutes of Higher Education; is optimistic that the result in this survey will benefit the University in attracting new students to the city; continues to support the institute in future endeavours to consolidate its reputation not just across the UK, but across the world as an excellent place in which to study; further considers that as Dundee seeks to promote itself as a modern forward looking city, this news is a welcome boost to the whole city.

Joe at today's announcement by Scotland Transport Minister Keith Brown at Dundee Station

Dundee’s constituency MSPs today welcomed an announcement by  Scotland’s Transport Minister Keith Brown today that there will be no cross-border train ‘hub’ and instead plans will be put forward for enhancements to the service.

Joe FitzPatrick welcomed today’s announcement and said: “Direct rail services between Scotland and England will continue without passengers having to change at Edinburgh for journeys to Dundee and other stations further north.

“It is also good news that Scotland will be having more say in the east coast franchise negotiations next year.

Shona Robison said: “We have previously urged passengers and the public to participate in Transport Scotland’s Rail2014 consultation ahead of the next franchise.

“The Rail2014 consultation set out to ensure rail users in Scotland were given a voice in how their service develops.

“We’re pleased to hear of the continuation of direct cross-border services for Dundee and stations the north of Scotland.

“We strongly support the Scottish Government’s vision of an attractive rail service an accessible and affordable  option for as many people as possible.”

Local control over Scotland’s natural resources such as the seas, the seabed and all its marine assets including beaches and foreshore would give communities like Dundee a major boost say the city’s SNP MSPs.

They were commenting in the wake of a report by the Scottish Affairs Committee which proposes that control of the Crown Estate should be devolved to Holyrood who should then further devolve control to local communities themselves.

The SNP is calling for control to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament in the Scotland Bill, a move which has cross-party support at Holyrood.

Dundee  City East MSP Shona Robison said: “Getting control of the resources presently held by the Crown Estates Commission would drive forward the Scottish economy and allow us here in Dundee to push more effectively into the offshore renewables sector and create new jobs.

“At the moment several large multi-national investors are planning to invest in building offshore wind turbines but they are waiting for the next round of Crown Estate leases to be granted for sections of the seabed before they proceed.

“Delay in developing the offshore renewable industry could cost Dundee and prevent us from moving forward as rapidly as we need to in order to keep Dundee and Scotland at the forefront of the sector.”

Joe FitzPatrick, Dundee City West said: “There is now overwhelming cross-party support for this to happen. This new report is simply the latest in a line of similar publications backing the transfer of the Crown Estates’ asset to Scotland.

“Leases for offshore seabed sites and the power to sell Scottish assets, including the seabed and important historic sites – are important  in developing the Scottish economy.

“The greatest potential for development at the moment is on the seabed off our shores and we need to be in a position to control how fast, and where we develop new industries based on the resources there.”

On Burns’ Nicht, the Scottish Government launched their consultation on an Independence Referendum – which will be the most important question for the people in Scotland for over 300 years.

The consultation is mainly online, and you can take part here.  Alternatively, we have copies available in reception, or we can mail them out to you, let us know if you have any difficulties!

On Friday 29th June Joe and Shona will be ‘captured’ by Action for Children at the HMS Unicorn, Dundee, and won’t be released until they raise our ransom fee!  Please help them raise £1000 for Action for Children to secure our release and help children and young people across Scotland achieve their full potential.

Action for Children Scotland supports over 8,000 children, young people and their families at 62 projects across the country. The children and young people they support have hopes and dreams for their future but face daily challenges such as disability, deprivation, homelessness and abuse.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

You can donate online here.

Dundee’s MSPs today welcomed the inclusion of major local infrastructure projects on a list totalling more than £302m of spending across Scotland that is waiting a green light.

Alex Neil, the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment has handed-over a list of 36 projects which could get underway now if the UK Government allows Scotland to bring forward capital funding.

Joe FitzPatrick, Dundee City West MSP said: “The list includes Phases 2 and 3 of refurbishment of Duncan of Jordanstone for University of Dundee and the creation of Dundee Academy of Sport for University of Abertay / Dundee College, plus £4.5m of spending on Dundee Central Waterfront.

These are valuable projects for the city that will boost Dundee’s economy and provide work now.

“If these projects got underway this year, rather than being delayed, they would generate significant employment.

“For example, it is estimated that each additional £100 million of capital spending supports 1,400 jobs in the Scottish economy.

“We need the UK Government to allow the Scottish Government to bring forward capital spending to get the diggers on the ground and these projects built as soon as possible.”

Dundee City East MSP Shona Robison said: “If these go ahead now, they could provide a vital support to employment with every additional £100 million of capital spending estimated to support around 1,400 jobs across the Scottish economy.

“All of these projects are close to or already have completed the planning and procurement process and are ready for construction to get underway.

“As a result the Scottish Government is asking the UK Government to allow Scotland to bring forward capital funding from future years, to allow construction to get underway straight away.”

All three Dundee SNP parliamentarians will be attending the National Summit on Youth Unemployment today [Thursday 15 March] at Dundee College, Gardyne Road.

Joe FitzPatrick, Dundee City West MSP, said: “We will be attending this meeting as it is a key issue confronting both the Scottish and UK governments.

“Youth unemployment is too high and it is right that we adopt a collaborative cross-governmental approach.

“The Scottish Government has prioritised the issue by appointing the only dedicated Minister for youth employment in the UK.

“The real challenge is to increase capital spending to create real jobs for young people and I hope the national convention will be able to move forward on that.”

Dundee City East MSP Shona Robison said: “There is a lot of work being done already to tackle the high level of youth unemployment and our provision of 25,000 apprenticeship places and the „Opportunities for All‟ programme which guarantees a training or learning place for all 16-19 year-olds is helping.

“More young people could find employment in the Computer Games and Digital Media which are employment sectors that have a youthful workforce but we must  ensure that these remain competitive. One way to ensure that would be to provide carefully targeted games tax relief to games developers.

“There are many other examples of ways in which key sectors that could provide more employment for young people could be stimulated to allow job-creation and growth and I hope that some of these will be seriously considered at the summit.

“I also welcome the First Minister’s recent announcement that there will be a youth employment legacy delivered by the commonwealth games with a new investment of £5m to create training and employment opportunities

Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie said: “Young people have the dynamism we need to get our economy moving.  Scotland needs to get all of its young people into high-quality employment, training schemes and apprenticeships or a place in further or higher education.

“The Scottish Government has made significant moves towards that aim but does not have all the tools required to tackle youth unemployment on its own, so both parliaments need to work together and I hope that this summit will see several new initiatives being forward.”

Dundee SNP politicians have issued a public call for voters to respond to both consultations presently underway on the Independence Referendum.

Shona Robison said: “Discussions on the forthcoming independence referendum are heating up, with the Tories and their Liberal Democrat allies in London trying to dictate to Scotland how and when this historic vote should take place and we are keen to encourage voters to respond to the two public consultations presently underway.

“It is important that we get across our views on the process of the referendum and that as many people as possible participate in both consultations. The UK Government’s consultation closes for responses this Friday, 9th March.  To respond and comment on this go to the Scotland Office website (www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk) and follow the links to Scotland’s Constitutional Future. ”

Dundee City West MSP Joe FitzPatrick added: “The Scottish Government was first to launch a consultation to enable Scottish voters to have their say on the issue.  To participate in this discussion, go to https://consult.scotland.gov.uk.  The consultation closes on 11 May 2012.

“If you’ve any queries about either consultation or the referendum in general please email: contact@dundeesnp.org, or call 01382 903210 during office hours.”