Latest news from George Foulkes in Parliament.
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Over 40% of Community Service orders are breached in the Edinburgh City Council area.
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George Foulkes MSP calls for support for student parents
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City Council drop attempts to tender out Care Services
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Save Edinburgh Leisure Creches
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George stands up for Forth Crossing residents
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Foulkes calls for Scottish Boiler Scrappage Scheme
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Foulkes calls for FMQ Shakeup
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A Well Deserved Reward for the Sick Kids
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George Backs Bus Bill
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George Fights to Lift the Ban
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Relentless Education Cuts across Edinburgh Once again, the City of Edinburgh Council is making cuts to its overall budget in the next financial year (2010/11) and has announced that all city schools will face cuts. Over the past two financial years (2008/9 and 2009/10), Primary schools have already had to make a 1.5% cut to their budgets, but the council is now proposing an additional 2.5% cut year on year for the next three years. The cumulative effect of this will mean a cut of 9% in 2012/13. Schools in Scotland are in the process of implementing a brand new national curriculum (Curriculum for and... |
Foulkes steps up the campaign against Overdraft Fees George Foulkes MSP has today stepped up the campaign against Halifax Bank of Scotland's new overdraft fee structure which is expected to hit the pockets of thousands of Scots hard. From the 6th of December, HBOS will charge their customers for every day they are in their overdraft replacing their previous interest rate based fee. This new scheme is bad news for customers who are consistently overdrawn, regardless of the amount of money involved. For one customer being overdrawn by £20 for 20 days in a month will cost £20. For another consistently being £400 overdrawn over the space the... |
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George Foulkes backs campaign to protect furry friends from fireworks. George Foulkes today tabled a motion in Parliament backing the SSPCA’s campaign to change the law on the use of fireworks. Currently the sale of fireworks is restricted to particular times of year but the use of fireworks is much more liberal. Fireworks can be used 365 days of the year between the hours of 7am and 11pm. George Foulkes would like to see this restricted so that fireworks can only be used on days of recognised festivals and special events like Guy Fawkes night, the Edinburgh Festival and Chinese New Year. The Scottish Society for the Prevention of to... |
SCHOOLS PROGRAMME IN CRISIS I spoke in this weeks Schools Programme Debate where I brought the Scottish Government to task over its claim to have announced the rebuilding of 14 Schools. James Gillespie's was one of the 14 schools announced for rebuilding, however, what the Scottish Government failed to mention was that it will only provide two thirds of capital funding, leaving local authorities to find the remaining one third. Gillespie's is estimated to cost around £42million meaning the City of Edinburgh Council will have to find the other £14m. The Convenor of Education at the council has already said that the money not... |
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Scottish Government School's Failure I was in full support of our deputy leader Johann Lamont, today, as I sat in the Chamber at FMQs and listened to her launch an attack on the Scottish Government for its inaction over the school building programme, which the Government has admitted, will provide no new schools before 2013. Johann Lamont rightly challenged Nicola Sturgeon who once said her government ‘would expect to be judged by actions, not sound bites'. Ms Lamont said: "By that measure, how many marks out of ten would she give Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop? "It has taken two years for the the Scottish Governmnet to produce their building... |
GEORGE FOULKES BACKS SEARCH FOR UK’S TOP LOLLIPOP PERSON George Foulkes has backed a UK campaign highlighting the importance of school crossing patrols, and says that schools in Edinburgh and across the Lothians should recognise the role lollipop people play in local road safety. The Kwik Fit Insurance Lollipop Person of the Year campaign, which is open to all primary schools in the UK, aims to find Britain's favourite lollipop person. But the campaign, launched by TV star Lorraine Kelly in London on September 23, also highlights the importance of having adequate supervision for children who have to cross roads on the way to school. George Foulkes said: safety... |
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Fight to save jobs at Bausch & Lomb News of 500 job losses at eye health products company Bausch & Lomb came as a huge blow to the workers and thier families last week as the company announced it was entering into a 90-day consultation period involving its facility in Livingston, as part of a planned programme of global contact lens manufacturing restructuring. The company plans to migrate contact lens production to existing sites in Waterford, Ireland and Rochester, New York, U.S. I met with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney last week, to discuss this decision and to try and find a solution that could jobs... |
FOULKES DEMANDS SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT FIGHT FOR WEST LOTHIAN JOBS Ahead of his crunch meeting with John Swinney tomorrow, Lothians MSP George Foulkes outlined "The tale of two cities" contrasting the Scottish Government's approach to pending job losses at Diageo in Kilmarnock with those at the Bausch and Lomb plant in Livingston. In his meeting tomorrow, George Foulkes will demand that the Cabinet Secretary for Finance show the same degree of interest and passion in saving the jobs in Livingston that they demonstrated in Kilmarnock. In his most recent video diary George Foulkes said: "I'll be asking John Swinney to increase the Scottish Governments own profile in the campaign save... |
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Foulkes Brands NHS Charges "Ridiculous" George recently branded the charges faced by patients of the ERI in Edinburgh “absolutely ridiculous” following a Freedom of Information Request which led to the revelations. Patients in the ERI, whatever illness they are suffering from, and however long they are there, are expected to pay 10p per minute to land lines along side a 10p connection charge, and furthermore, friends or relatives have to pay up to 49p per minute to call them. But it’s not just phones, as watching TV has never been more expensive, with charges of £10 for 5 days of viewing and £2.90 for hours.... |
FOULKES: MINISTERS NEED TO GET OUT OF THEIR LIMOUSINES Lothians MSP George Foulkes today released information which shows that the majority of Scottish Goverment Ministers are shielded from the public by constantly using Ministerial limos. Only two current Ministers regularly use the train- Jim Mather and Stewart Stevenson, and Mr Stevenson uses the train more than all the other Ministers combined. Ministers who have not once used the train for official business are Fiona Hyslop, Keith Brown, Adam Ingram, Nicola Sturgeon, Alex Neil, Kenny MacAskill, Fergus Ewing and astonishingly, the Environment Minister, Roseanna Cunningham. George Foulkes said: “Ministers are constantly urging the rest of us to reduce our carbon footprint by the... |
PROBATION ORDER BREACHES HIT 5 YEAR HIGH UNDER SNP.
Foulkes says plans to extend community sentencing are ‘DANGEROUS AND STUPID’
George Foulkes MSP today reacted to new statistics that show breaches for both probation orders and supervised attendance orders have increased in the last year. The new figures are another blow to Kenny MacAskill’s plans to scrap six-month jail sentences and replace them with non-custodial disposals.
There were 4,100 breaches of Probation Orders in 2008-09 across Scotland, a 19 per cent increase compared to the total of 3,400 in 2007-08. The most recent Official Scottish Government figures show that a third of...
George Foulkes, MSP for the Lothians, today backed calls from NUS Scotland for greater support for parents to help them study at college and university in Scotland.
The costs of childcare can be a huge barrier to parents entering and staying in college or university education. However over the last few years the childcare funding system in Scotland has been stretched to breaking point. A number of colleges have run out of funds in the past, meaning student parents losing crucial financial help half way through their courses.
The current system is discretionary meaning student parents cannot be sure level...
Edinburgh City Council have today announced that following an independent review, they are to abandon their ill advised attempts to tender out the city's care services.
Volunteer groups and service users across Edinburgh will be thrilled to hear that their long fought campaign has been successful. With more news to follow, the key points of the news released today are:
· No Care and Support contracts will be awarded.
· All tenders have now ceased.
· The Deloitte report found that there were problems in the tender award process
· The Deloitte report found that that ranking of bids were changed in the assurance...
Thank you to all those who have contacted me regarding Edinburgh Leisure’s decision to close the remaining four crèches. The "Save our Creches Campaign" has been run extremely well and I know a great deal of pressure has been placed on Edinburgh Leisure and council officials to ensure money is secured to keep these facilities open.
I fully support the campaign and agree that these crèches provide a very valued resource that allows parents and carers to maintain a healthy lifestyle while feeling confident that the children are being well looked after. This much needed ‘me’ time is also opportunity...
On Friday 15 January, George Foulkes MSP joined local community groups in visiting the site of the new proposed Forth Replacement Crossing.
Local residents are extremely concerned about the lack of consultation regarding the new bridge and feel like they've been left in the dark with many questions unanswered.
George Foulkes today tabled 14 questions to the Scottish Government regarding the lack of consultation. He said:
"I'm very grateful to the local community groups for inviting me out for a site visit. I completely understand their concerns regarding the proposed site, particularly as there are big questions over the use compulsory...
One of a number of things that the Chancellor announced in his recent pre-budget report was a scheme designed to help hardworking families reduce their heating bills. With a grant of £400, it is now easier for families to upgrade their boilers to a more efficient system ensuring that they can stay warm in these wintry months and reduce their heating bills.
Unfortunately, this scheme is only for England and Wales because the powers needed to do it are devolved to the Scottish Parliament and we have yet to hear whether the Scottish Government plans to introduce a similar Lothians...
Lothians MSP George Foulkes has written to the Standards and Procedures Committee asking them to consider changes to First Ministers’ Questions.“A number of MSP’s, constituents and people in the media have said to me that First Minister’s Questions has become less relevant, less spontaneous and less interesting than in the past” says George Foulkes.Following this Lord Foulkes has written to the Clerk to the Committee proposing three major changes:1) Reverting to an afternoon session to be preceded by General Questions.2) More opportunity for spontaneous supplementary questions so issues which arise can be pursued.3) Powers to the Presiding Officer to long...
Each year, the Forestry Commission very kindly donate a Christmas tree to each MSP, who can choose an organisation or place to put their tree. This year, George’s choice was the Sick Kids in Edinburgh, who have had a roller coaster of a year. From worries of securing funding in their existing building, to putting in every effort to raise £15 million for their new home, they have been working tirelessly to stand up for some of the most vulnerable children in our community, and their tree is well deserved! George said, “The Sick Kids have constantly been battling for against...
Labour MSP for Glasgow Cathcart, Charlie Gordon, has brought a Bill to the Scottish Parliament calling for the re-regulation of Scottish Buses. Such a move would result in a big change from the way our buses have been run since 1986, as it would give council across the country far more power in services, as it would allow them to step in and stop market forces running down the service.
The Regulation of Bus Services (Scotland) Bill will also extend free bus travel around the country for those on the lowest forms of Disability Living Allowance, giving travel to who...
Despite ground-breaking legislation in 2004 which allowed same sex partners to enter a civil partnership together, homosexual and lesbian couples still do not have the right to marry in the UK. While thousands of couples have exercised their right to a civil partnership, giving them the same tax and kin-rights that the institution of marriage allows, marriage remains a distant dream for many long term couples and single people hoping to commit to one another in the future. LGBT National Youth Council, an organisation which advocates and represents the views of lesbian, homosexual, bi-sexual and transgender people, has started a campaign,...Tag Cloud
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