Time running out to save courts

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.

Claire’s fears for Kingdom’s ash trees as Ash Dieback reaches Fife

Posted on by

Mid Scotland and Fife MSP and Scottish Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Claire Baker, has raised her fears for the future of ash trees in the Kingdom after Ash Dieback was confirmed in Kinghorn.

Ash Dieback is a fungus disease which affects ash trees and was first diagnosed in the UK at the beginning of this year. The disease has the potential to cause major damage to the UK’s 80 million ash tree population as affected trees may have to be destroyed. The disease had previously infected 90% of ash trees in Denmark and could be as devastating as the Dutch Elm disease which killed or destroyed millions of elm trees in the 1970s and 80s.

The disease was first suspected in Scotland in July at a site near Kilmacolm in the West of Scotland. Since then further tests have revealed that ash dieback has spread, including to Fife, and is present in trees near Kinghorn. Other sites in the surrounding area include Cowdenbeath, Glendevon, Blairgowrie and Scone.

Whilst a summit was held in the Scottish Parliament this week the Scottish Government have come under criticism for the length of time it has taken them to inform the public since they first became aware of the disease.

Speaking from Kirkcaldy, Claire Baker said:

“I was shocked to learn that ash dieback has spread into the Kingdom and is attacking our ash trees. The Scottish Government have been aware that this disease has been in the country since the beginning of this year but it was only until the final week in October that the wider public and parliament were informed.

“What we are seeing at the moment is the Scottish Government closing the stable door well and truly after the horse has bolted. The SNP failed to be proactive in containing the disease when it first came to their attention and now the Fife countryside has been put at risk.

“I will be writing to the Forestry Commission in Scotland to find out what action they will be taking to contain the disease and ensure it doesn’t spread across the whole of Fife.”

Claire welcomes the support of the Citizens Advice Service in the Kingdom

Posted on by

Claire Baker MSP has warmly welcomed the work undertaken by the Citizens Advice Service Scotland in Fife after a recent survey found they contributed to 92 jobs and £2 million in wages to the Fife Council area.

The study by Fraser of Allander Institute found that the total common good of the Citizens Advice Service across the whole of Scotland totalled £166.2 million.

The Service also contributes an annual client financial income of £63 million which results in a further £27.4 million in wages and 1246 jobs. It is from this fund that the Fife Council area benefits from the 92 jobs and £2 million in wages.

The Scottish Citizens Advice Bureaux Service has been offering advice in Scotland since 1939. Since its formation the Citizens Advice Bureaux has offered confidential advice and information for free to ensure individuals don’t suffer through a lack of knowledge of their rights and responsibilities.

Citizens Advice Scotland is the national umbrella body that provides support for the Bureaux’s across Scotland. It is a membership organisation that aims to shape policy in Scotland and the UK through the experience of its members and clients.

Speaking in Parliament after meeting Citizens Advice Scotland, Claire Baker MSP said:

“The money and jobs that is invested in Fife by Citizens Advice Scotland is vital not just for those that benefit from the jobs but for the local community as a whole. It’s important that during these difficult economic times that support is offered to communities and CAS fits that bill.

“The service has helped a lot of people with advice and information across Fife. With the huge challenges facing people across the Kingdom from welfare changes and with the rise of payday loans its essential that the public have an independent and confidential point of contact for any help they may need.

“It was great to meet with them in Parliament to discuss their work across the Kingdom and hear about their great success stories. I hope to visit their bureaux in Fife in the near future and see first-hand the help the offer.”

Job Seeker claimants in Kirkcaldy above National Average.

Posted on by

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics have shown that despite a fall in unemployment across the UK in Scotland it has risen by 4,000 between July and September. Similarly whilst employment in the UK has risen there has been a fall of 27,000 north of the border.

Locally the amount of people claiming job seekers allowance in Mid Scotland and Fife stands at over 15,000. Kirkcaldy has the highest number of claimants in the region with 6.2% of the population on job seekers allowance, this compares with a national average across Scotland of 3.9%. Other areas in the Kingdom with a higher than national average for job seeker claimants includes Mid Fife and Glenrothes with 4.6% and Cowdenbeath with 4.5%.

Youth unemployment has also risen sharply over the last quarter in Scotland, increasing by 10,000 amongst 16 to 24 year old.

Commenting on the new figures, local MSP Claire Baker said:

“What we are seeing across Fife is the consequences of the actions taken by the Scottish Government. The people of Kirkcaldy have the skills and resources to work but the SNP aren’t giving them the opportunities. We need investment in jobs and education instead we see the queues at the job centre and on college waiting lists growing.

“Kirkcaldy now has, on average, almost double the amount of job seeker claimants than across the whole of Scotland. Unemployment is going up, employment is going down and the SNP are currently in a complete shambles over college places and budgets.

Claire welcomes new cancer drug

Posted on by

Fife MSP Claire Baker has today welcomed news that the cancer drug abiraterone has finally been approved for use for prostate cancer sufferers in the Kingdom.

The drug was originally only available to those who are in the advanced stages of prostate cancer in England and Wales but after lobbying by groups such as Prostate Cancer UK and MSPs including Claire Baker the drug was finally approved by the Scottish Medicines Consortium in August.

The drug, however, was still to be made available in Fife as late as October as NHS Fife were “bound be the decision taken by NHS Lothian on behalf of the Cancer Network.”

Claire Baker said:

“I welcome the news from NHS that abiraterone will finally be available in the Kingdom. It’s important that doctors have the full range of treatments at their disposal when dealing with a patient.

“Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer and it was vital that we addressed the disparities between the drug being available to cancer suffers south of the border but not in Scotland.

“Thankfully this has now been rectified and the availability of aribaterone will lead to sufferers of prostate cancer living a better quality of life.”

Claire joins MASScot in Promoting Sun Awareness

Posted on by

Scottish Labour MSP Claire Baker has signed up to MASScot’s campaign to prevent skin cancer, the most common cancer in 15 to 34 year olds in Scotland.

MASScot (Melanoma Action & Support Scotland) hosted an exhibition in the Scottish Parliament, highlighting the high incidence of malignant melanoma in Scotland.

MASScot asked the MSPs to consider a public education campaign to prevent skin cancers by avoiding sunburn and to make people aware of the early signs of skin cancer and the dangers of sunbed use.

Early diagnosis with removal by minor surgery will cure thin melanomas, but all too often the early signs of cancer are missed. MSPs were asked to sign that they agreed that Sun Protection is Vital and add a comment of their own.

Continue reading →

Claire visits Fair Isle Primary School

Posted on by

Claire Baker MSP recently visited Fair Isle Primary School in Kirkcaldy to congratulate them on the work they have done to achieve their Rights Respecting Level 2 award from UNICEF.

The achievement is presented to schools that incorporates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in their teaching and Fair Isle Primary have now managed to secure both level one and level two of the award.

Claire Baker was shown around the school by head tea

cher Mrs Rae Walker who highlighted the work the teaching staff and pupils undertook in achieving the award and met pupils from Primary 2.

Speaking after the tour, Claire Baker said:

“To reach not just level 1 but level 2 of the Rights Respecting award in such a short period of time is a fantastic achievement and it was great to get the opportunity to share the schools achievement with the Scottish Parliament. Continue reading →

Scottish Government ‘too little too late’ in taking action against Ash Dieback

Posted on by

Responding to the announcement that 11 sites in Scotland have now been confirmed with Ash Dieback and that the Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse will be convening a summit of key stakeholders this Tuesday, Claire Baker MSP said:

“The disease was first believed to be in Scotland in July yet there was no information from the Scottish Government until last week. Considering the ease with which the disease can spread and the fact the disease was confirmed months before in England, the Scottish Government are closing the stable door after the horse has bolted and failed to be proactive in containing the disease.

“The Scottish Government must answer questions on when they first became aware of the threat of ash dieback and what if any precautionary action did they take.

“The First Minister admitted today that Ash Dieback is seasonal so one must ask why the Scottish Government did not take any action during the height of the season once they became aware the disease had spread to Scotland. The Government may be convening summits and attending COBRA meetings in winter whilst the disease has less chance of spreading but is it a case of too little too late?”

In response to a question Claire asked last week, the Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse admitted that the Scottish Government were aware of the disease in the summer, however Parliament was only informed at the end of October.

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): The minister will be aware of newspaper reports that the Forestry Commission was aware of the threat of ash dieback as far back as 2009. When exactly did the Scottish Government and the Forestry Commission Scotland first become aware of the threat of ash dieback and what action was taken then to stop the disease spreading?

Paul Wheelhouse: The member is correct in her assessment that Scotland has been aware of the disease. Work is on-going to identify exactly how it is being transmitted to the UK and within the UK. As I said in response to John Scott, the disease was first identified in Scotland in July and was confirmed in August. Until that point, there was no evidence of its presence in Scotland. We are now undertaking extensive survey work to identify the extent of its presence in Scotland. I assure the member that we will do everything that we can to move forward, to manage the disease effectively and to try to eradicate it in the best way possible

Claire questions Ministers about Biomass and Air Quality

Posted on by

This week in Parliament Claire questioned Fergus Ewing and Paul Wheelhouse about biomass and air quality in Scotland. A full transcript of the questions and answers can be found below.

 

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): I acknowledge that the subsidy has been removed from electricity-only stations. Is the minister aware, however, of concerns that the proposal to define good-quality CHP plants across the United Kingdom as those having a 35 per cent efficiency level, which is considerably lower than the European Union directive, which states a level of at least 70 per cent for industrial applications, will create a loophole for inefficient biomass generation, and does he agree that we should be seeking to increase the level of efficiency at which subsidies can be claimed?
Fergus Ewing: The member makes a reasonable point. The consultation proposals—I stress that it is a consultation, so, by definition, we have not prejudged any outcome—suggest a different approach from that which I believe is being proposed down south. We have proposed that a 10MW threshold should apply to the use of biomass to produce only electricity and that, above that threshold, the biomass plants should be capable of providing electricity and heat.
In reaching that view, which we have put forward for consultation, we have taken account in particular of the views of all members of this chamber who have put them to me, including Mr Biagi, and those of the traditional timber sawmilling sector, which has pointed out that timber is a finite resource, that it has a call on it, which we recognise, and that the sector provides a great deal of employment in many rural communities.

 

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): Given that the failure to meet the European Union air quality directive targets can result in fines, what consequences does the Scottish Government believe that it will face if we continue to miss the targets?
Paul Wheelhouse: I agree with Claire Baker that it is important that we meet our targets under the air quality directive. In partnership with Transport Scotland, SEPA, local authorities, the United Kingdom Government and others, the Scottish Government is working on a range of measures to ensure full compliance as soon as possible. Those measures are set out in detail in the UK’s application to the European Commission for a time extension to adapt to the targets.