LABOUR WIN IN TWO KEY BY-ELECTIONS

Alex Rowley – Labour 

Labour has won two key council by-elections in Glasgow and in North Lanarkshire.

The party successfully defended the Cardonald seat which fell vacant following the untimely death of Alistair Watson. Jim Kavanagh was elected with a ten point increase in the Labour vote compared to the May council elections.

In Fortissat, North Lanarkshire, Clare Quigley gained the seat from the Tories, with the SNP finishing third.

Cardonald is part of the Glasgow South West constituency, where Labour cut the SNP majority to 60 votes during the General Election, while Fortissat is part of Airdrie and Shotts, which Labour came within 195 votes of winning.

Interim Scottish Labour leader, Alex Rowley, said:

“These are two fantastic results which make clear that Labour is on the way back in Scotland.

“These are seats in areas that the SNP thought were safe for decades – instead the Labour vote increased by ten points in Glasgow and the SNP were pushed into third in Fortissat.

“Clare Quigley and Jim Kavanagh will be tireless fighters for their communities.

“Labour’s radical message of hope is winning back Scots fed up of a decade of an SNP government over promising and under delivering.

Fortissat Councillor Clare Quigley said:

“I am delighted that the people of Fortissat have put their faith in me as their new councillor. I’m looking forward to standing up for local people in the council chamber, and joining a Labour group which is defending vital local services from brutal cuts made by the SNP government in Edinburgh.”

Cardonald Councillor Jim Kavanagh said:

“This was a by-election no-one in Glasgow wanted, but I will work tirelessly to stand up for the people of Cardonald and honour the memory of Alistair Watson.  Only Labour in Glasgow is standing up against austerity and for a city that works for the many, not the few.”

NOTES

Cardonald (Glasgow) first preference votes:
Labour 48.6% (+10.1)
SNP 36.7% (-7.5)
Con 10.3% (-1.7)
Elected: Jim Kavanagh

Fortissat (North Lanarkshire) first preference votes:
Labour 38.5% (+2.0)
A Better Britain – Unionist Party 23.3% (+12.2)
SNP 20.6% (-8.4)
Con 11.5% (-1.8)
Elected: Clare Quigley

LABOUR WILL OPPOSE ‘REPEAL BILL’ OVER DEVOLUTION CONCERNS

Labour will vote against the ‘repeal bill’ if concerns around devolution are not addressed.

The EU (Withdrawal) Bill started its second reading in the UK Parliament on Thursday.

Labour has said it cannot support the legislation until a number of issues are resolved.

In its current form, the Bill would place new restrictions on the Scottish Parliament over legislating in areas which have been devolved. It would prevent Holyrood from making any changes to ‘retained EU law’ which covers economic development policies, agriculture and the environment.

The UK government has said these restrictions would be temporary. However, there is nothing in the legislation to bind the government to this promise.

The Bill would also give huge discretionary powers to UK government ministers, allowing them to rewrite legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament without any consultation.

Labour supports a clear presumption of devolution in the Brexit process, with powers returning directly from Brussels to Holyrood, unless a clear and compelling argument can be made by the UK government for any power to be retained at Westminster.

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Lesley Laird MP said:
“Labour is the party of devolution, the creation of the Scottish Parliament is one of our proudest achievements in government, and we will not allow the Tories to use Brexit as a Westminster power grab.

“And a power grab is exactly what this Bill is in its current form. It would put huge and unaccountable power in the hands of UK government ministers to simply rewrite legislation which has been democratically passed by the Scottish Parliament.

“That is completely unacceptable, both to the Labour Party and the people of Scotland.

“We will not allow the Tory government to undermine and introduce restrictions on devolution in the UK.

“Labour believes there should be a clear presumption of devolution throughout the Brexit process, with powers returning directly from Brussels to Holyrood.

“That is why, 20 years on from a Labour government achieving the historic devolution settlement, we will oppose the repeal bill.”

NOTES

The full text of the article published in the Daily Record on Thursday 7th September is below:

The Repeal Bill will drive a coach and horses through the devolution settlement. Labour cannot support it.

Devolution to Scotland and Wales was one of the earliest, and most significant, reforms delivered by the Labour Government elected in 1997.

Now, twenty years on, a Tory Government is threatening to drive a coach and horses through that devolution settlement, using Brexit as a pretext for an unprecedented attempt to centralise power still further in Whitehall.

The EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which starts its second reading in the House of Commons this week, proposes two changes to the devolution settlement which are completely unacceptable to Labour.

First, the Bill puts a wholly new constraint on the rights of the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales to legislate on devolved issues.

It prevents the devolved institutions after Brexit from making any changes to ‘retained EU law’, that is EU rules and regulations which are being written into UK law by the Bill. By contrast, Parliament will be free to legislate to bring about drastic changes to agricultural, environmental or economic development policies, all of which are currently devolved. The Government claims this is intended as only as a temporary restriction and that there are no grounds for complaint, as the new restriction simply replaces a current rule which requires the devolved legislatures to enact nothing which contravenes existing EU law (a rule which, of course, also applies to the UK Parliament).

But there is nothing in the Bill itself about these restrictions being temporary. And there is a world of difference between the new and the old restrictions. On the one hand, a constraint which applies equally across the whole EU and which is policed by independent EU-wide institutions, to avoid undermining policies freely negotiated by 28 member-states and ratified by the European Parliament. On the other, a blank cheque for any future Tory Government to unilaterally claw back powers which were transferred to the peoples of Scotland and Wales.
It gives a whole new meaning to ‘taking back control’.

Second, as part of the Bill’s wider attempt to give the Government huge discretionary so-called Henry VIII powers at the cost of all the Parliaments in the UK, it proposes giving UK Ministers greater scope to ‘correct’ legislation in devolved policy areas than Ministers in the Devolved Administrations.

This sounds arcane and technical but it isn’t. It means a Minister in Whitehall can rewrite legislation passed in Edinburgh and Cardiff, without any consultation with the Scottish or Welsh Governments, or the Scottish Parliament or National Assembly which passed it. And the sort of technical corrections it envisages could include giving powers to a body such as the Environment Agency – which operates only in England – to police compliance with what were formerly EU environmental standards in Wales and Scotland, despite the fact that environmental policy has been devolved for 20 years.
What’s more, all this is unnecessary.

Labour believe there should be a clear presumption of devolution so that powers over devolved policy areas currently exercised by the EU go directly to the relevant devolved body, unless the UK Government can make a clear and compelling case for this power to be held at Westminster.

The Welsh Labour Government has also set out proposals as long ago as January for how to, where necessary, create a ‘level playing field’ in areas where policies are devolved, but where in the past EU regulations have ensured there is no distortion of trade within the UK. This would see common frameworks negotiated freely, but binding once agreed, between the four administrations in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. And Labour as a whole is committed to delivering a Brexit which puts jobs first, retains the benefits of the Single Market and maintains the high standards in employment and environmental regulations which characterise the EU. It’s not the Labour Party or the Welsh Labour Government which is itching to tear up the EU rule book.

But instead of moving ahead on the basis of discussion and dialogue, the UK Government ignored the Welsh Government’s proposals for more than six months and instead proceeded with these wholly unacceptable proposals in the EU (Withdrawal) Bill.

If the Government is to create the kind of national consensus we need on Brexit, it needs to fundamentally rethink the way it addresses devolution. Ministers need to engage with, not sideline, the devolved governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. They need to listen to Labour and legitimate concerns from all sides of the House of Commons.

Twenty years on from the historic devolution settlement of 1997, this is a huge missed opportunity to drive through the further devolution of power we need to see across the UK. Labour, the party of devolution will, as before, not accept this divisive and harmful approach.

Lesley Laird, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
Keir Starmer, Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales.

EIS REPORT SHOWS SNP COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION IS SIMPLY A CHEAP SLOGAN

Independent research commissioned by the teachers’ union, the EIS, has highlighted the poor working conditions of teachers.

The research, carried out by academics at Bath Spa University, has concluded that the working conditions of Scotland’s teachers are ‘extremely poor’.

The study found that teachers in Scotland face high levels of workload demand, leading to greater stress and reduced job satisfaction. Significantly, the research also found that over 40 per cent of teachers surveyed plan to leave their post within the next 18 months.

Earlier in the summer Labour called for an independent review of teachers’ pay, conditions and career structure, but such a review was missing from Nicola Sturgeon’s Programme for Government.

Labour education spokesperson Iain Gray said:

“This week Nicola Sturgeon apparently re-committed to making education her top priority, but this report shows that the commitment is nothing more than an empty slogan.  Thanks to the SNP, our children’s teachers are undervalued and under too much pressure.

“A teacher is £6,000 worse off because of SNP decisions. It is becoming harder and harder for teachers to stay in the classroom while moving up the pay scale. Teachers are seeing their pay squeezed as earnings rise slower than the cost of living, while workloads continue to increase.

“On top of this Scottish teachers have seen thousands of their support staff go, and face some of the biggest classes in the developed world. No wonder we have a recruitment crisis.

“That’s why Labour has called for an independent review of teachers’ pay, conditions and career structure to re-establish the profession as world leading, and attract new teachers to it.

“More than anything, we need to see proper investment in our schools. Scotland can have the best schools in the world – if the SNP government is prepared to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to invest in them.”

WAITING TIME TARGET FOR CHILD MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT HAS NEVER BEEN MET

Alex Rowley – Labour 

9,000 CHILDREN WAIT TOO LONG FOR TREATMENT

The waiting time target for child and adolescent mental health services has never been met since it was introduced almost three years ago.

In December 2014 the SNP government set a standard of a maximum wait of 18 weeks from a patient’s referral to treatment for specialist Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

This standard should be delivered for at least 90 per cent of patients.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions today, Alex Rowley revealed that 9,000 children have had to wait more than 18 weeks since the SNP introduced the target.

Mr Rowley raised the issue a year to the week that Scottish Labour first presented Nicola Sturgeon with proposals to tackle the growing crisis of child mental health.

In September 2016, the party outlined three proposals to end the scandal of delayed mental health treatment.

• Review of rejected referrals.
• Guaranteed access for every secondary school to a qualified and appropriately experienced school counsellor.
• Using the tax powers of the Scottish Parliament to stop the cuts to public services and invest instead.

The SNP’s mental health strategy committed to an audit of rejected referrals but has failed to guarantee school-based counselling, and the government still refuses to use the Parliament’s tax powers.

Scottish Labour interim leader Alex Rowley said:

“The First Minister has a habit of saying the opposition only bring problems to this chamber, but a year ago Labour published proposals to end the scandal of delays in child mental health treatment and put them directly to Nicola Sturgeon.

“We called for three things: a review of why so many children were rejected for treatment, guaranteed access for every secondary school to a qualified and appropriately experienced school counsellor, and for the SNP government to finally use the tax powers of the Scottish Parliament to stop the cuts to public services and invest instead.

“A year on from these proposals and there has been no action on school counsellors and no action on cuts – and 9,000 children have waited too long for treatment against a target the SNP government has never met. So sadly for too many young people the levels of support are worse today than they were a year ago.

“This is simply not acceptable and we cannot allow this situation, where children are being denied access to the support and the services they need, to continue.”

NOTES 

Time	Total Patients Seen	Number of patients		Percentage of patients
		0-18 weeks	over 18 weeks	0-18 weeks	over 18 weeks
Jan 15 – Jun 17	43,564	34,506	9,058	79.21%	20.79%

Source: ISD Scotland Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Waiting Times in NHSScotland (Adjusted Completed waits for people seen)

Labour first raised the issue, and proposed solutions, to the crisis in child mental health, a year a ago this week –http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14731677.MSPs_hear_how_too_many_youngsters_wait_more_than_a_year_for_mental_health_help/

The original proposals are available here – http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/page/-/FMQ’s%20Child%20Mental%20health%20briefing%20.pdf

The SNP Government finally produced a mental health strategy six months laterin March 2017, it failed to commit to school counsellors, with the Scottish Association for Mental Health saying

“we are disappointed it lacks the ambition and investment that Scotland deserves, especially for children and young people”

Source: https://www.samh.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/new-mental-health-strategy-samh-response

This week Scottish Association for Mental Health criticised the Scottish Government’s inaction on rejected referrals and said that urgent action was needed for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

Source: https://www.samh.org.uk/about-us/news-and-blogs/urgent-action-needed-for-child-and-adolescent-mental-health-services

 

GROWING DEMAND FOR UNIVERSAL CREDIT ROLLOUT TO BE HALTED AHEAD OF ROWLEY’S MEMBERS DEBATE

Alex Rowley – Labour 

There is growing demand across civic Scotland for the rollout of Universal Credit to be halted in Scotland, ahead of Alex Rowley’s Member’s Debate on Thursday.

Labour highlighted the recent intervention from the Church of Scotland, which has written to MSPs urging them to take part in the debate.

The intervention follows 24 charities and individuals signing a joint public letter last week calling for the rollout to be stopped.

The expansion of Universal Credit has been blighted by errors, with a six-week payment delay at the start of the process causing particular difficulties for families.

Today (Thursday) the Scottish Parliament will debate supporting Citizens Advice Scotland’s call to stop the accelerated rollout of the vital social security payment.

Labour has demanded the implementation of Universal Credit is delayed in Scotland until payment issues surrounding the benefit are resolved.

Scottish Labour interim leader Alex Rowley said:
“The rollout of Universal Credit has been nothing short of shambolic across the UK.
“While we support the principle of streamlining benefits to make payments easier for recipients, the reality has been starkly different for families.
“Charities such as Citizens Advice Scotland have highlighted the damage the initial six-week payment gap is inflicting on families who are struggling to get by.
“It has directly led to people ending up in rent arrears, relying on crisis grants and foodbanks to afford the most basic necessities.
“It is vital that we do not allow the rollout of this system to go ahead here in Scotland.
“I hope MSPs will join Labour, dozens of charities in Scotland, and now the Church of Scotland, in seeking to halt Universal Credit until these issues are resolved.”

NOTES 

Letter sent to MSPs

I am writing to you ahead of Alex Rowley MSPs Members Debate on Thursday 7 September: Support for Citizens Advice Scotland’s Call to Stop Accelerated Roll-out of Universal Credit.
The Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland is deeply concerned by the evidence that Citizens Advice Scotland has reported of significant hardship being caused by the rollout of the new Universal Credit processes. People in local churches across Scotland recognise the experiences that are reported by Citizens Advice Scotland – we see the very real fear and anxiety being caused in our communities by the current rollout process.

We urge the Scottish Parliament to consider the evidence presented by Citizens Advice Scotland on the consequences of the rollout of Universal Credit, and to use every available means to convince the UK Government to stop the accelerated roll-out of Universal Credit while the processes are improved.

I hope that you will be able to be part of the Members Debate on this important issue.

Yours sincerely,

Rev Dr Richard Frazer
Convener of the Church and Society Council

See motion below

Motion S5M-07056: Alex Rowley, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 08/08/2017

Support for Citizens Advice Scotland’s Call to Stop Accelerated Roll-out of Universal Credit

That the Parliament notes with concern the reported evidence from Citizens Advice Bureaux regarding the initial roll-out areas in Scotland, and elsewhere in the UK, which it believes highlights that the reality of universal credit risks leaving many people in Scotland without the support they need, pushing them into debt and leaving them unable to make ends meet; is further concerned that Citizens Advice Scotland, it understands, has reported that evidence from initial roll-out areas shows that, since universal credit was introduced, bureaux have seen a 15% rise in rent arrears issues compared to a national decrease of 2%, and an 87% increase in Crisis Grant issues compared to a national increase of 9%, and that two of the five bureaux in impacted areas have seen a 40% and 70% increase in advice about access to food banks, compared to a national increase of 3%; notes the call from Citizens Advice Scotland and a host of antipoverty organisations across Scotland for the UK Government to pause the accelerated roll-out of universalcredit until the reported design and delivery problems have been addressed; notes the comments from the Chair of Citizens Advice Scotland, Rory Mair, that “universal credithas major delivery and design flaws which risk hurting families instead of helping them. These include long waits for payments that push people into crisis and debt, all the while battling a highly complicated process with little support”; considers that it is not right to proceed with the accelerated roll-out of universal credit in the knowledge that it will, it believes, result in tens of thousands of men, women and children in the Mid Scotland and Fife region and across Scotland being driven into debt and rent arrears and having to turn to foodbanks just to survive, and notes the calls on the UK Government to pause the process, listen to the evidence and act accordingly to address the issues.
Supported by: Mark Griffin, Kenneth Gibson, Iain Gray, Pauline McNeill, Neil Findlay, Elaine Smith, Alex Neil, Bill Kidd, Ben Macpherson, Sandra White, Stuart McMillan, Richard Leonard, Stewart Stevenson, Monica Lennon, Joan McAlpine, Mark Ruskell, Ross Greer, John Mason, Ivan McKee

Current Status: Achieved Cross Party Support

http://www.cas.org.uk/news/scotlands-third-sector-unites-call-universal-credit-roll-out-be-halted

http://www.cas.org.uk/news/press-release-citizens-advice-scotland-calls-halt-universal-credit

Comment on ScotRail off-peak ticket promotion

Commenting on ScotRail’s promotion on off-peak tickets, Scottish Labour Transport spokesperson Neil Bibby said:

“I am sure many passengers will welcome this move but will also believe there should be more affordable rail travel all year round.

“This £1 million giveaway should be put in its proper context. Abellio were reported to be making profits of £1 million a month while the Transport Minister was apologising for their poor performance.

“Passenger surveys show that many ScotRail customers do not believe they are getting value for money. That’s why Scottish Labour called for a fare freeze this year to benefit all passengers. We will keep up the pressure and continue to campaign for affordable rail travel and a People’s ScotRail that puts passengers before profit.”