Author: fultonmacgregor

RECORD PROPORTION OF YOUNG SCOTS IN STUDY, WORK OR TRAINING AFTER SCHOOL

SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor has welcomed new figures showing more North Lanarkshire school leavers are in study, work or training than a decade ago.

Across Scotland, a record proportion of young people were in a positive destination three months after leaving school last year. The gap between those from the most and least deprived communities achieving a positive destination is the lowest since 2009-10.

In North Lanarkshire, the number of unemployed school leavers seeking work fell from 11.3% in 2009/10 to 3.6% in 2018/19.

Over the same time period the number of school leavers going directly to higher education rose from 35.2% to 39.9%.

Commenting, SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:

“It is very welcome that significant progress that more young people in North Lanarkshire are going on to positive destinations such as work and study straight from school.

“For the ninth consecutive year, more young Scots are in study, training or work three months after leaving school than ever before.

“It’s particularly welcome that the gap between the richest and poorest communities for those moving into a positive destination continues to narrow.

“Overall in North Lanarkshire 86.0% of young people we going to positive destinations in 2009/10, this has raised significantly to 94.3%

“This demonstrates that Curriculum for Excellence is delivering one of the ultimate aims of school education – to secure a positive next step in learning, life and work for our young people.”

 

SNP MSP BACKS NHS PROTECTION FROM US TRADE DEALS
SNP MSP, Fulton MacGregor, has backed a bill to protect Scotland’s NHS from privatisation or increased drug fees as a result of UK trade deals.

 

Peter Grant MP for Glenrothes will bring the ‘NHS Protection Bill’ to the House of Commons tomorrow – aiming to prevent future UK Governments from signing up to trade agreements that could threaten the foundations of the health service.

 

The SNP’s bill would also give the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Parliaments and Assemblies a final say over whether trade deals impact on their NHS.

 

The proposal was a key pledge in the SNP’s manifesto in the recent General Election, which saw the party win overwhelmingly in Scotland.
Commenting, SNP MSP for Coatbridge & Chryston, Fulton MacGregor, said:
“Each of the four UK Health services are precious to those who use them and it is our duty, as elected representatives, to do everything we can to ensure our health services are protected.

“But while the Scottish Parliament has control of most aspects of health policy, we currently cannot stop Westminster governments from entering into trade deals that potentially put our NHS here in Coatbridge & Chryston at a variety of risks.

“That is why I’m backing this proposal to protect our NHS from US style privatisation.

 

“If parties are genuine in their commitment to keep the NHS out of trade deals, then there should be no politician that can’t back this bill– helping us stop any future Westminster government from trading away our most cherished public resource.

“Our NHS has been there to care for and protect us for the last 70 years – now it’s our turn to stand up and protect the NHS.”

Coatbridge & Chryston MSP Fulton MacGregor has welcomed a Holyrood vote backing the right for Scotland to hold an independence referendum.

A majority of MSPs endorsed the right of the people of Scotland to have a say over their future.

Most Scots believe that the Scottish Parliament, rather than Westminster, should decide whether there should be an independence referendum.

A Survation poll published this month found that 61% of Scots believed the matter should be for Holyrood, with only 39% believing Westminster should decide.

Commenting, SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:

“This week Scotland is being dragged out of the EU against our will.

“In 2014 we were promised that voting No meant staying in the EU, and many people in Coatbridge & Chryston voted on that basis.

“In a democracy, when the facts change people have the right to change their mind.

“I was elected on a manifesto commitment to hold an independence referendum in the exact circumstances we now face.

“The Scottish Parliament has backed the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine their own future – and most people believe it should be for Holyrood to decide, not Boris Johnson.”

HOLYROOD PASSES PLAN TO TRANSFORM LANARKSHIRE’S ECONOMY

SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor has said the new Scottish National Investment bank will help encourage economic growth across Lanarkshire, after the bill to introduce the body was formally agreed to in Holyrood today.

 

MSPs from all parties gave their backing to the Scottish Government’s blueprint for the investment bank that will begin investing in businesses and communities later this year – committing to invest at least £2 billion in its first ten years.

 

The bank will have an important role in helping Scotland meet its ambitious climate change targets – forming part of the SNP’s Green New Deal to kick-start investment and build the momentum needed to reduce emissions and create high quality jobs in the process.

 

Commenting, SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:

 

“The Scottish National Investment Bank will help us reach our world-leading climate change targets while transforming communities here in Coatbridge and Chryston.

 

“Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, that’s why the bank will invest in firms and community projects that are looking to play their part in tackling the global climate emergency.

 

“Individuals, and small local businesses, the length and breadth of Scotland are set to benefit from this historic move as we move towards a low carbon economy fit for the future. I look forward to seeing the bank’s impact in Lanarkshire.”

 

Fulton MacGregor MSP has welcomed the announcement that the SNP plans to give new fathers 12 weeks paternity leave to be taken on a “use it or lose it” basis.

The promise, which will be part of the SNP’s General Election manifesto, is part of a package to enable parents to spend more time with their young children.

The plan will ultimately extend shared parental leave to 64 weeks, with the additional 12 weeks to be ring-fenced for the father in order to encourage take-up.

Commenting, Fulton MacGregor MSP for Coatbridge & Chryston said:
“I have campaigned for some time now for extension to paternity leave as research strongly indicates that where there is higher paternity leave, there are reported higher levels of gender equality.”

 

“As a father of two, I fully support these plans and know what a difference it will make across Scotland in conjunction with the SNP’s other policies to help young families. “

 

“There is plenty of research that suggests a link between longer paternity leave and greater involvement of fathers in the early lives of their children, but a minority take up their full entitlement.”

 

“We still have some way to go, especially in terms of societal expectations, but this SNP Government is clearly committed to tackling inequality”

NEW £11.5 MILLION FUND EMPOWERING LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Coatbridge & Chryston community groups are set to benefit from new Scottish Government funding to tackle poverty and inequality.

Around 250 community groups, social enterprises and charities across Scotland will receive a share of £11.5 million in 2019-20 through the Scottish Government’s Investing in Communities Fund.

Projects in Coatbridge and Chryston, such as Glenboig Community Centre and Kirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre, will be supported with the new funding.

 

Local groups that will benefit from the money operate in areas as diverse as Old Monkland and the Northern Corridor.

Further funding each year, over the next two years, will allow recipient groups to create longer-term plans and this, in turn, will help Coatbridge & Chryston’s most disadvantaged residents.

 

Local SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:

 

“It is incumbent upon all of us to challenge inequality wherever it rears its head.

 

“This new fund will promote community-led solutions to try and get the best possible outcomes for Coatbridge and Chryston’s most vulnerable people.

 

“The flexible, multi-year structure of the funding is geared towards sustainability.  It will give these initiatives confidence that they will have resources they need to succeed.

 

“It is the tireless dedication and compassion of all the local volunteers that allows these projects to exist.  I am confident that this funding will allow these projects to flourish.

NEED FOR FULL POWERS AT HOLYROOD TO TACKLE POVERTY “HEAD-ON”

The Scottish Welfare Fund made 3678 payments to people in North Lanarkshire in the last financial year, new figures show  – an increase compared to the same period last year.

A total of 638 Community Care Grants and 3040 Crisis Grants were awarded in North Lanarkshire between April and June 2019 to help people with essentials such as food, heating costs, and household items.

The SNP introduced the Scottish Welfare Fund in 2013 as part of a £125 million annual package to mitigate the impact of UK government austerity.

Since its launch in April 2013, the Fund has paid out more than £200 million to support over 336,000 households across Scotland, with a third of recipients being families with children.

SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:

“The Scottish Welfare Fund is a vital lifeline for many people facing poverty or personal crisis.

“The fact that so many households in North Lanarkshire are in need of emergency financial help is appalling, and a sad indictment of the UK Government’s record on austerity and welfare cuts.

“The Scottish Welfare Fund is an important example of the kind of action the Scottish Government has taken using the powers it currently has to try and mitigate Westminster’s welfare cuts.

“However, we would prefer that these resources were invested directly to tackle poverty head-on, rather than protecting people from Tory austerity.

“As long as welfare decisions remain at Westminster, Scotland’s least well off will remain at the mercy of the Tories’ austerity agenda. Until those decisions are devolved, the SNP will continue to do everything in our power to tackle poverty and support low income families.”

The SNP are working to tackle inequality in Coatbridge & Chryston and “lift people out of poverty” with new commitments to expand childcare into primary school and scrap social care charges.

 

As announced by Nicola Sturgeon at the SNP conference this week, the SNP will scrap all non-residential social care charges and expand childcare into the school holidays for primary pupils from the poorest backgrounds if re-elected at the 2021 election.
The First Minister pledged the new policies to ensure that everyone in Scotland has access to the support they need without cost – providing high quality care for those in most need, and helping parents continue working over holiday periods.
Commenting, SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:

“By August next year the SNP in government will have all but doubled the hours children receive. It will give them 30 hours a week of high quality, free care and education – saving families in Coatbridge & Chryston £4,500 per year for each child.

“But we will not stop there. If the SNP is elected after the next Holyrood election, we will expand childcare into the school holidays for primary pupils from the poorest backgrounds – to help ensure that parents can continue working over holiday periods.

 

“Earlier this year, the SNP Government extended free personal care to everyone who needs it, regardless of age – and over the next parliament, the SNP will scrap non-residential social care charges for all.

 

“We’re determined to help families with the cost of living throughout their lifetimes – ensuring that fairness and equality are embedded in our society from birth to retirement.

 

“That progressive, ambitious vision for government is exactly why people in Scotland continue to put their faith in the SNP.”

Fulton MacGregor MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston Constituency is backing the Scottish Powerchair Football Association and Clyde Powerchair football club in their call to give more people across Scotland the chance to play powerchair football. Fulton met with representatives of the SPFA who were visiting the Scottish Parliament to promote the growing sport.

 

Powerchair football is a growing sport in Scotland with teams competing in the Scottish Powerchair Football Association Leagues. Players can either compete by having special bumpers attached to their own wheelchairs or, for more serious competition, they can use specially modified chairs sports Powerchairs that are faster and more responsive.

 

Currently, Scotland has 6 powerchair football clubs with 9 teams, all of which are giving disabled people the chance to take part in exciting competition as well as helping to reduce isolation, improve mental wellbeing and build the self-confidence of players. Played by 4-a-side teams on a pitch roughly the size of a basketball court, the sport is open to powered wheelchair users and is currently the only team sport open to disabled athletes who use a powered chair.

 

Scotland has its own national league with two divisions and two Cup competitions. In addition, a national powerchair football team, formed from players across the country will be hosting a tri-nations tournament against Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at the sportscotland National Centre in Inverclyde.

 

The SPFA used the opportunity of a stand outside the debating chamber in Holyrood to bring the sport to the attention of more MSPs. To support the continued growth of the game across Scotland and allow more disabled individuals to take part, the SPFA are asking MSPs to write to Sports Minister Joe Fitzpatrick MSP and back their calls for the Scottish Government and sportscotland to provide funding.

 

After signing a pledge in Holyrood to support powerchair football in Scotland Fulton MacGregor MSP said:

 

“The SPFA is doing great work in giving power wheelchair users in Scotland the opportunity to play football and to participate in a team sport has so many benefits; allowing players to compete locally, nationally and even internationally. Powerchair football allows people to develop skills, discipline and friendships as well as giving players a focus that benefits them both physically and mentally.

 

I welcome the decision by the Scottish Government to require Changing Places toilet facilities in all new build Sport Centres, however many existing sports facilities across Scotland are not accessible to Powerchair footballers. By improving disabled facilities and supporting the work of the SPFA, the Scottish Government has the chance to make a real difference to Scottish Para footballers.

 

I will be writing to the Joe FitzPatrick MSP, the Minister for Sport, and asking him to consider greater funding and support for powerchair football and other sports aimed at disabled individuals in Mid Scotland and Fife”

 

 I would encourage all local authorities and SportScotland to consider their current facilities and ask if they meet the needs of all Scottish Para athletes”

 

SCOTLAND “GLOBAL LEADER” ON TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE

 

SNP MSP for Coatbridge & Chryston, Fulton MacGregor has outlined his support for the Scottish Government’s finalised policy of no support for ‘fracking’ in Scotland.

 

Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse today confirmed that the Scottish Government would not license any fracking development.

 

This position was confirmed following a comprehensive period of evidence-gathering and consultation, including environmental and business assessments.

 

SNP MSP Fulton MacGregor said:

 

“Scotland has been at the forefront of global action to combat climate change – recently announcing some of the most ambitious statutory targets in the world.

 

“I’m delighted that the Scottish Government are putting the interests of our communities in Coabridge & Chryston first and maintaining Scotland’s reputation as a global leader on tackling climate change by announcing no support for ‘fracking.’”

 

“It’s a move which shows we’re serious about protecting communities in Coatbridge & Chryston, meeting our climate change targets and creating a better, greener country for the next generation.

 

“Meanwhile in England, the Tories are intent on fracking underneath people’s homes, in the face of considerable public opposition, without any concern for the impact on people’s health, the environment or their communities.

 

“The transformation of the energy system in Scotland has the potential to bring significant economic and social opportunities to individuals, businesses and communities in Coatbridge & Chryston.”