Category Archives: Fife News

Claire switches the fish with Sainsbury’s

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Claire helped encourage shoppers across Fife to try alternative, lesser known British fish for free when Sainsbury’s gave away fish as part of ‘Switch the Fish Day’.

Customers were able to try lemon sole, mussels, Cornish sardines, coley fillets or loch trout fillets in a bid to encourage shoppers to expand the range of fish they eat and try alternative species as part of the retailer’s continued commitment to sustainable fish.

Claire visited the store in Kirkcaldy to encourage customers to continue to broaden their appetite for fish beyond the ‘Big Five’ species of cod, haddock, tuna, salmon and prawns, which currently makes up 80% of all the fish Brits consume.

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Step Change Delivered by actions not ambitions

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Commenting on the publication of the second Report of Proposals and Policies in Parliament today, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change Claire Baker MSP said:

“Tackling climate change is not as simple as passing legislation and hoping it all falls into place, RPP2 must address previous failings, previous missed targets and plan for the future.

“It is policy not proposals, actions not ambitions, that is needed to deliver the step change to get our country back on course.

“Today’s statement gives little reassurances that the shortcomings of the first RPP will be addressed and that the proposals offered in RPP2 will ever come into fruition.

“The Edinburgh to Glasgow improvement project has been rolled back, the Sullivan report on new building standards watered down and plans to use public subsidies to support inefficient large biomass. The Scottish Government’s rhetoric does not match its reality.”

Claire: Byre Theatre ‘deserves to have a future’

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Local Fife MSP Claire Baker has today joined calls for action to save the Byre Theatre in St Andrews.

The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP joined locals in a demonstration in St Andrews on Monday to support the threatened theatre.

The board of the Byre Theatre of St Andrews Ltd have announced that due to financial difficulties the theatre is due to close its doors on Thursday and go into liquidation.

Speaking after the demonstration Claire Baker MSP said:

“The news that Byre Theatre is to close this week is hugely disappointing to the people of St Andrews and the wider Fife community.

“This is a fantastic theatre – at the heart of the community – delivering quality theatre in a top class centre. It deserves to have a future. Continue reading →

Claire backs community volunteering

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I recently joined forced with Focus Scotland Magazine to help promote community based volunteering.

The campaigns aims to get the Scottish public to embark on a volunteering journey in 2013 whilst also raising awareness and promoting community volunteering throughout the year.

I’m pleased to join Focus Scotland in promoting community based volunteering and hopefully build on the success of 2012. I signed their banner in Parliament pledging my support to the campaign, with the hope of seeing an increase in community involvement throughout Fife in 2013.

Last year was a positive year for the image of volunteering with the successful summer of ‘Games Makers’ during the Olympic Games. Focus Scotland hope that individuals within Scotland will continue to volunteer and that the campaign will act as a reminder for them of the impact they can have at community level.

Fife home owners getting a bad deal from the Scottish Government

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Statistics released to me in answers to parliamentary questions that I laid down show that Fife is suffering above average cuts to the Home Owners Support Fund. The Scottish Government must do more to support home owners in the Kingdom.

During 20011-12 the Fife Council Area has suffered cuts of 56% in the total amount paid out to those under threat of losing their home compared to a national average cut of only 28%, this is despite a 9% increase in applications in Fife.

Therefore, whilst the number of applications is increasing, there has been a reduction in the amount of people receiving support from 55% in 2010/11 to only 22% of those who applied in 2011/12. Further cuts to the Home Owners Support Fund are due in 2012-2013.

With the ever increasing cost of living and the pressures households are feeling across the Kingdom many people are finding themselves one pay check away from being unable to pay their mortgage.

I meet recently with the Fife Citizen Advice Bureau in parliament and they highlighted that the struggle to make mortgage payments is one of the biggest issues facing households across the Kingdom.

It is vital that during these harsh economic times the people of Fife are giving all the help and support that they need to ensure they are able to stay in their own home.

I am disappointed that these figures highlight the bad deal that Fife seems to be getting from the Scottish Government and I will be raising this issue at the earliest opportunity in Parliament.

The Home Owners Support Fund should be there to help people that are on the verge of losing their homes but these continuing Scottish Government cuts, disproportionately falling on Fife are resulting in a drop in successful applications and could potential force people out into the streets.

The Home Owners Support Fund aims to help those in danger of having their home repossessed to continue to stay in their homes through a mortgage to rent and mortgage to shared equity scheme.

The mortgage to rent scheme will see a successful applicant’s home being bought by the council or housing association, however they will continue to live there as a tenant. With the mortgage to shared equity scheme the Scottish Government takes a financial stake in the applicant’s home, however ownership will still remain with the applicant.

Claire joins campaign to fund Scotland’s future.

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Last Friday I met with the President of Adam Smith College Student Union, Ryan Smart, and signed up NUS Scotland’s campaign to ‘Fund Scotland’s Future’.

The campaign was launched by NUS Scotland after the Scottish Government’s draft budget proposed cuts of £36.4 million to the college budget and takes a form of a petition that I urge you to add your support too by signing up.

The petition highlights the concerns the impact that the cuts will have on colleges in Scotland whilst also calling on the Scottish Government to “reverse the proposed cut, and to protect college funding at current levels.”

This comes only a year after NUS Scotland campaigned on ‘Our Future, Our Fight’ which succeeded in forcing a Government climb down as they eventually reversed plans to cut colleges. Hopefully with your support we can force the Scottish Government to once again reverse these unfair and unjustified cuts to further education.

The Scottish Government cuts will have a detrimental effect on the quality of teaching and the number of courses available. We are already seeing an increase in waiting list times for students and further cuts will only add to the pressures being felt by colleges such as Adam Smith.

Colleges across the country, including right here in Fife, provide high quality education equipping people with skills for the future as well as providing some of the more deprived communities with the opportunity of a better future. At a time of increasing youth unemployment it is vital that this opportunity is maintained.

I was glad to be able to get the opportunity to meet with Ryan today and hear first-hand the concerns of local students at Adam Smith. It’s important that whilst the budget is still in its draft form that the Scottish Government listens to these concerns and reverse their cuts.

I urge you to join me to sign up to NUS Scotland’s campaign and stand alongside local students from Adam Smith College and beyond. http://www.fundscotlandsfuture.org/

Cost concerns over court changes

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Last week in Parliament I raised my concerns over the proposed changes to Scottish courts to the Justice Secretary during General Questions. These changes include closing Cupar Sheriff Court with business moving to Dundee, and the reorganisation of Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court with jury trials moving to Dunfermline.

I have concerns that the Scottish Court Service has not published a robust cost benefit analysis for the proposed changes that could lead to the closures and reorganisation not realising significant savings whilst at the same time significantly reducing access to local justice.

There seems to be growing evidence that what has been proposed in Fife will not only fail to result in significant savings but may actually lead to an increase in costs.

I asked the Cabinet Secretary Kenny MacAskill if he shared my concerns that the Court Services has failed to recognise the potential for increased costs as a result of their proposals. I was disappointed in his response indicating that he does not.

The Scottish Court Service has failed to publish a robust cost benefit analysis. They claim this is a money saving exercise yet it is increasingly clear that increased travel costs, along with the reduction in access to local justice, means the proposals for Fife are seriously flawed and short-sighted.

The consultation had no indication of the extra costs that will be incurred by the proposed changes and decisions of this magnitude should not be made blindly. It is vital that the Scottish Government is open and honest with the people of Fife.

The consultation, which closed just before Christmas, is on the back of the Scottish Government’s draft budget which will see the Scottish Court Service’s budget cut by £10.9 million over the next two years.

I have submitted a response highlighting my opposition to the closure of Cupar Sheriff Court, the removal of jury trials from Kirkcaldy and the amalgamation of Kirkcaldy Justice of the Peace into Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

Claire welcomes Barnardo’s to Parliament

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Last week I was able to welcome volunteers from Barnardo’s charity shop in Cowdenbeath to the Scottish Parliament for a tour around the building.

The group, led by Shop Manager Amelia Howie, were shown around the Parliament, including the Garden Lobby, Committee Rooms, and the Chamber before taking their places in the public gallery for General Questions and First Ministers Questions.

I was then joined by local MSP Helen Eadie and we were able to sit down with the volunteers to discuss Barnardo’s and local issues. It was good to be able be joined by Helen and have a conversation with them as it’s important to hear the views of local constituents and hear any concerns they may have.

The visit comes after I volunteered in the Cowdenbeath shop as part of Barnardo’s Scotland’s Make a Difference Day. It was lovely to be able to invite Amelia and her colleagues to my own place to work after I was invited to theirs. Volunteering is a valuable and enriching experience and it was good to be able to offer them the opportunity to come across to Edinburgh.

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Time running out to save courts

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Time is running out to save local courts across the country, including here in the Kingdom, as the Scottish Government and the Scottish Court Service consultation on ‘shaping Scotland’s court services’ draws to a close.

It is important that the Scottish Court Service listens to the views of local communities during this consultation period and I urge residents of the Kingdom to make their voices heard and respond before time runs out.

The consultation proposes the movement of jury trials away from Kirkcaldy, the closure of the Kirkcaldy Justice of the Peace building and the closure of Cupar Sheriff Court. Last week I visited Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court to see first hand the facilities on offer for jury trials and I plan to visit Dunfermline in the near future.

These changes will see justice no longer delivered locally and could result in an increase in delays as courts face unintended consequences and pressures. Trials can already be a stressful ordeal for any victims and witnesses and any delays will only add to that.

This is despite figures I obtained from the Scottish Court Service which showed that the Sheriff court in Kirkcaldy has three times as many jury trails as Dunfermline, where the jury trials would be moved to, and sits for almost double the amount of days.

The potential closures are on the back of the Scottish Government’s draft budget which sees the Scottish Court Service issued with a £10.9 million budget cut over the next two years.

What we are seeing is SNP cuts sending the court service into disarray, courts are closing, trials are being moved, the potential for delays are increasing and now defence lawyers are taking industrial action all due to changes imposed by the Scottish Government.

It is important that local voices are heard during this consultation and I would urge you to make a submission and help save our courts.

 

 

 

Claire calls for action over Proxy Purchasing

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Last week in the Scottish Parliament I lodged a question for General Questions on Proxy Purchasing, which is the purchasing of alcohol by someone over the age of 18 on behalf of someone underage.

I asked the question after meeting with local organisation Clued Up in my office in Kirkcaldy, who highlighted their concerns that proxy purchasing is still a problem in Fife.

I asked the Justice Secretary how many convictions there had been in Fife since 2009 for proxy purchasing with Kenny MacAskill answering that there had been 22 in total in the Fife Police Area out of a total of 301 across Scotland.

I have concerns  that the conviction rate seen across Fife does not reflect the true extent of the problem and proxy purchasing remains a major factor in underage drinking.

Bottle marking has been piloted in Fife and is now being tried in Dundee and I would ask the Cabinet Secretary to look again at including that as part of a package to combat the problem.

I have been highlighting the concerns around proxy purchasing since I was first elected and the Scottish Government must accept that it is a problem and a challenge for all parties to address.