Category Archives: Parliament News

We must offer refugees hope as well as a home

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Yesterday I led a debate for the Scottish Labour Party on the ongoing refugee crisis. The debate was an opportunity to discuss Scotland’s response to the crisis and to push for more help for refugees both in Syria, its neighbouring countries and in Europe

Prior to the debate I called for the Scottish Government to increase the number of refugees to be accommodated in Scotland to be at least 2,000 and I was pleased that following a meeting of their refugee taskforce they committed to meeting these numbers.

Scotland has led the UK in our response to the refugee crisis and it is important that we continue to do so. That is why I called for the number of refuges to be welcomed in Scotland to be at least double the 1,000 originally announced.

I also moved an amendment – that was passed by Parliament – which looks to build on the work of the University of Glasgow in accommodating Syrian students and academics.

Studies have been disrupted, jobs and trades lost and carers halted by this crisis. We must look at how we rebuild the lives of refugees and help them to build a better future.

We must ensure that refugees that come to Scotland are given more than just a home, they must be given hope of a better future.

You can read my speech here.

Claire raises film studio at FMQs

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During First Minister questions yesterday I raised the lack of progress on a film studio in Scotland. When I first came into the role as culture spokesperson for the party the Scottish Government were on the verge of announcing their plans. Nine months later I am still waiting but for the sector the wait has been much, much longer.

Their frustration at this lack of progress was clear to those who attended a Creative Industries conference in Edinburgh this week. I chaired a session in the morning of the conference that included the progress, priorities and next steps of Scotland’s screen industries and it was clear to me that the long wait for the studio is, according to many, beginning to hinder the growth of that sector.

Arabella Page Croft, a leading producer that can count the recent (and popular) Sunshine on Leith amongst her works, highlighted that 20 years ago Scotland was the biggest production cluster outside London. Now we are 6th behind Wales, Northern Ireland and regions of England. Continue reading →

Havelock Europe job losses raised in Parliament

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This week in the Scottish Parliament I raised the recently announced job losses at Havelock Europa. The Kirkcaldy based company have announced that they would be cutting their staff by 10% which would see the loss of 50 jobs.

The job losses are another major blow to Kirkcaldy and the wider Fife economy, coming on the back of significant losses at major employers such as Tullis Russell, BiFab and Tesco.

Following the closure of Tullis Russell the Scottish Government has been working with Fife Council and set up a taskforce to help retrain and find employment for workers who were laid off. Continue reading →

Creative Industries debate and BBC Charter Renewal

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On Thursday I questioned the First Minister during FMQ’s about the future of the BBC before going on to lead for the Scottish Labour Party in a debate on the Creative Industries in Scotland.

We know that the BBC is facing a very tough licence fee settlement and we need to balance being ambitious alongside maintaining quality. That is why I called for an open debate that is led by licence fee payers during FMQs.

During the debate I cautioned that I have yet to see evidence that the Scottish public are calling out for a Scottish-only channel and we must ask if such a move is an appropriate use of licence fee payers’ money considering the considerable cost of such a move.

I also raised my reservations about moving to a federal system within the BBC. Many will remember the controversy when STV didn’t show Downton Abbey when it first aired in the rest of the UK. If we move to a system of buying and selling shows within the BBC then we could find popular BBC programmes not being available in Scotland. Continue reading →

Longannet Power Station Statement

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On Thursday the Energy Minister delivered a statement on the future of Longannet Power Station in the Scottish Parliament.

Following the statement I was able to ask a question about the future of the site and warn about the impact of further job losses to the local economy, particularly on the back of the recent announcement of redundancies at Havelock Europa.

I will be raising the job losses at Havelock Europa on Wednesday during Finance Question.

In the meantime you can watch the statement on the video below. The statement starts 46 mins 30 seconds into the video and my question starts at 1 hour 12 minutes and 50 seconds.

You can also read my question here.

#RefugeesWelcome

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Yesterday I stood alongside Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale in calling for the UK Government to take action towards tackling the ongoing refugee crisis.

This is one of the biggest humanitarian crisis to hit Europe in recent years and it is vital that we all come together to do whatever we can to help.

Anyone that saw the truly heart-breaking picture of little Aylan will have felt a range of emotion from sorrow to helplessness and an urge to see action.

That is why I am pleased that Scottish parties have joined together to attend a humanitarian summit in Edinburgh today and I am delighted to see that Fife Council is offering support to the Governments at Westminster and Holyrood.

I believe that Scotland is an open, inclusive and multicultural society and that we will welcome refugees into our communities.

Claire calls for review into deaths in police custody

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Today in the Scottish Parliament there was a Scottish Government statement on Police Scotland following the deaths of Sheku Bayoh, Lamara Bell and John Yuill on the M9 and controversy over stop and search.

I was able to question the Justice Secretary on the upcoming reviews of Police Scotland and called for these to include reviewing deaths in police custody and the powers of Pirc (Police Investigations and Review Commissioner).

I have been working closely with the family of Sheku to get answer regarding what happened that morning. I’ve previously met with Pirc and the Lord Advocate to discuss the case.

His tragic death raised many unanswered questions and it is vital that the family are able to learn the truth about what happened that morning. Continue reading →

Scottish Government’s Legislative Programme

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Yesterday the First Minister launched her Government’s programme for 2015-16. This will be the legislation that the Scottish Government will bring forward ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in May.

With the Scottish election on the horizon, we have a shorter parliamentary year than normal so it is important that we use the time that we have to make progress in a number of key areas.

I was delighted to be able to speak during the debate. I want to see the transfer of power to local communities, empowering them to deliver the change that they need. It won’t be easy for a number of factors but the rewards will be huge if we see people engaging more in their communities, making decisions every day rather than just at the ballot box. Continue reading →

Quad Bike Debate

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Directly after First Minister’s Questions on Thursday I held a debate on the illegal and anti-social use of off-road motorcycles, particularly quad bikes and scramblers. The debate was an opportunity to make the case for action to address the problems we are seeing throughout Fife, particularly the examples I raised in Levenmouth and Kirkcaldy.

I have been campaigning for action on this issue for some time and I’m delighted that following my meeting with the Justice Minister earlier this year that he met with Police Scotland and they introduced a new police data management system.This will hopefully aid them in their attempts to tackle the issue of stolen bikes.

However, I am clear that more still needs to be done. We need to ensure that our local police have all the relevant tools in their box to deal with this problem, and we must look at what more can be done including looking at compulsory registration.

You can watch the debate on the video below, along with a copy of my motion and speech.

Continue reading →

Post study work visa steering group

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I am pleased to announce that I will be taking part in a cross party steering group established by the Scottish Government to work towards the reintroduction of the Post Study Work Visa in Scotland. The group will include members of all the major Scottish parties such as the Minister for Europe and International Development Humza Yousaf, and John Finnie MSP as well as representatives from the business and college and university sector.

The post study work visa was first introduced by the then First Minister Jack McConnell and his Labour led executive. Then it was part of the Fresh Talent scheme and its success in Scotland led to it being rolled out across the UK by the then Labour Government. Unfortunately it was then cancelled by the coalition during the last Westminster term.

The previous post study work visa allowed international students to remain and work in Scotland for 2 years following graduation from university, with the aim is to attract and retain world-class talent in Scotland. Continue reading →