Living Wage – Meeting of the Parliament, 01 March 2012

14/03/2012

As a member of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee, I was pleased to take part in the inquiry into the living wage in December and January. I wholly support the committee report, and I would like to address both the wider economics and the morality of the living-wage argument. Read more of this post

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Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1 – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 21 February 2012

14/03/2012

Good afternoon. I want to follow that up at a local level. In Fife, we have a pretty good relationship between Fife Council and the police, especially at local level. We have wards, area committees and so on, and as a councillor I regularly meet constables, sergeants, inspectors and chief inspectors…

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Building Repairs (Scotland) Bill – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 08 February 2012

14/03/2012

Good morning, Mr Stewart. My question goes back to the consultation that you have done so far, particularly with the Scottish Government, which has history in this regard, so I reckon that there is quite a lot of information. I am not asking you to praise the Scottish Government, but are you satisfi…

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Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (Review) – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 08 February 2012

14/03/2012

Good morning, Mr Muir. I am very interested in this subject. You want the Government to carry out “an independent ‘fit for purpose’ review” because the SPSO is set up by the Parliament. How do you see an investigative body being selected, bearing it in mind that you are asking …

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Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1 – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 08 February 2012

14/03/2012

I will follow that up on a practical level. I am still a local councillor in Fife and we have a pretty good relationship with the police. For example, at ward level we work with constables and sergeants; at area committee level, we work with chief inspectors; and at Fife Council, we work with the ch…

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Budget (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 – Meeting of the Parliament, 08 February 2012

14/03/2012

I hear what Claudia Beamish says about wanting more money for certain things and reducing the cuts. I do not like the word “cuts”, but sometimes that is what they are. If we are not to implement the cuts that she mentions, will she and her colleagues please tell us which budgets they would cut?

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NHS 24 (Free Calls from Mobile Phones) – Public Petitions Committee, 07 February 2012

14/03/2012

I support that. Until recently, I was not aware how many people call NHS 24 from mobile phones, which is pretty expensive. People phone when there is a serious matter that does not merit a 999 call. I hope that consideration of the 111 number will be concluded soon, so that we can merge consideratio…

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Child Sexual Exploitation – Public Petitions Committee, 07 February 2012

14/03/2012

Perhaps I should declare an interest. I am still a member of Fife Council.

My question leads on from what colleagues have said. In the complex situation that we are in, unfortunately, with child sexual exploitation, how does the Scottish Government hold the 32 councils to account for what…

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Broadband – Meeting of the Parliament, 02 February 2012

14/03/2012

Everyone else is getting a geographical mention. I am one of the poor souls in the constituency of Dunfermline in West Fife who does not have broadband in his house. I have petitioned the cabinet secretary, but to no avail.

 

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Proposed High Hedges (Scotland) Bill – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 01 February 2012

14/03/2012

Good morning, Mark. I have two follow-up points. In my mailbag, I have had lots of correspondence on the issue in Fife. Unfortunately, trees are often part of the problem, because they can form a neat barrier. The issue is not just shadow, but the views that people should be able to enjoy from their…

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A92 Upgrade – Public Petitions Committee, 24 January 2012

14/03/2012

I hear everything that Claire Baker says and agree with much of the feeling behind it. I am the local member at the Dunfermline end of the road but, unfortunately, I do not see what more we can do with the petition. Things are happening, albeit too slowly, and I do not know what more the committee c…

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Youth Football – Public Petitions Committee, 24 January 2012

14/03/2012

I declare an interest as a long-serving, longsuffering fan of Heart of Midlothian Football Club.

Sandra White put it well, and I am all for helping to develop football, too. There are many positive aspects, despite some of the negative stuff—I am thinking about recent behaviour. I am conc…

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Staffordshire Bull Terriers – Public Petitions Committee, 24 January 2012

14/03/2012

I agree with what has just been said. The problem is that such steps could apply to other breeds. We are talking about Staffies, but all sorts of other dogs—I could probably list six or seven breeds—should be included in the action. From my purchasing and rehoming of dogs over the years, I know what…

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Access to Insulin Pump Therapy – Public Petitions Committee, 24 January 2012

14/03/2012

I agree with what has just been said. I hate the phrase “postcode lottery”—I think that you used the word “passport” just now, convener—but, when the petitioners spoke to us, I was shocked by the idea that the availability of insulin pumps is so variable. That just seemed wrong.

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Question S4O-00585: Year of Homecoming 2014

14/03/2012

Bill Walker: To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made regarding the programme for the year of homecoming 2014.

Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19/01/2012 Read more of this post

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Living Wage Inquiry – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 18 January 2012

14/03/2012

I am interested in what you have said, and would be interested to hear your comments on one thing that you did not touch on. Most people agree that, broadly speaking, the living wage is a good idea; it is just a matter of how, when, how much and so on. You did not mention competition from outwith th…

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Dangerous Buildings and Building MOTs – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 18 January 2012

14/03/2012

Some of my questions have been answered in the responses to Anne McTaggart. I agree with David Gibbon that a great deal of work on buildings is reactive. To some extent, it is the same with cars, but I remind John McKinney that at least cars must have MOT tests when we are required to do things, so …

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Question S4O-00684: Support for Dairy Farmers

14/03/2012

Bill Walker: To ask the Scottish Government what measures are in place to support dairy farmers.

Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19/01/2012 Read more of this post

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Question S4O-00521: Radioactive Contamination at Dalgety Bay

14/03/2012

 Bill Walker: To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the radioactive contamination detected at Dalgety Bay.

Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22/12/2011 Read more of this post

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Living Wage Inquiry – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 21 December 2011

14/03/2012

I am very much in favour of the living wage—either now, or as an aspiration in some areas. It is to be welcomed.

The Scottish Government has experience of the issue, so I will ask two questions about the cost of the living wage. Cabinet secretary, you are known as a master of numbers; can…

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Living Wage Inquiry – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 14 December 2011

14/03/2012

I have a devil’s-advocate question about the level of the living wage. I do not know quite how you established the London living wage. Have you discovered that, in terms of differentials, the amount that is paid is enough to attract applicants for the work? You mentioned …

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Education Staff (Training in Learning Disabilities and Autistic Spectrum Disorder) – Public Petitions Committee, 13 December 2011

14/03/2012

You have partly answered my question, because I wanted to establish what level of knowledge mainstream teachers need. You appear to suggest not that all mainstream teachers become specialist teachers, but that they are trained to such a level that they can recognise the problems, following which the…

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Fruit Tree Planting – Public Petitions Committee, 13 December 2011

14/03/2012

 Apologies for my interruption earlier. I was extremely keen to speak and was trying to attract the convener’s attention.

This is a no-brainer project. It is all win-win. I am pleased with the answers that have been given so far.

I was pleased to participate in the recent openi…

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Wild Land (Protection) – Public Petitions Committee 13 December 2011

14/03/2012

I, too, have met the lady concerned. I am interested in the whole topic, because the protection of wild land is obviously an important thing in any country. We do not have much legislation in that regard in Scotland, so the petition should definitely be continued. We should seek more information fro…

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Living Wage Inquiry – Local Government and Regeneration Committee, 07 December 2011

14/03/2012

Good morning, gentlemen. I am keen on the concept of the living wage and its implementation. However, the issue has been raised with me several times that when a whole family is living on benefits it is just not worth going out to work for an extra 50p or whatever an hour. Will the living wage be en…

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