Tag: Mark Lazarowicz

European Movement calls on Scottish Government to give young people a chance with Erasmus replacement

The European Movement in Scotland, Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation, calls on the Scottish Government to give young people a chance and put in place a replacement for Erasmus+, the world’s biggest and most successful student exchange programme.

The Scottish Government’s decision to shelve plans to replace Erasmus+ is depriving young people of life-changing opportunities. We are calling on them to restore the opportunities afforded by Erasmus+ and implement a comprehensive Scottish Exchange Programme that enables young people from all walks of life to live, learn and work overseas.

Following the UK government’s decision to quit Erasmus+ and the EU’s block on Scotland rejoining the scheme on its own, the Scottish Government pledged to develop and implement an equivalent programme alongside their counterparts in Wales.

The Welsh Government have put their £65m scheme in place but the Scottish Government have delayed their own indefinitely.

This delay is damaging for the thousands of young people who wish to enhance their education and training by studying in Europe. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds and/or in FE colleges are feeling the biggest impact with targeted funding taken away since the UK left Erasmus+.

Chair of the European Movement in Scotland Mark Lazarowicz says: “The loss of Erasmus+ is an act of cultural vandalism and we must do everything to restore the huge opportunities it gives to students, apprentices and others.”

Learn more about The European Movement’s Campaign by visiting:

Give Young People a chance – Support a Scottish Replacement for Erasmus+

A message from Mark Lazarowicz

Mark_Lazarowicz[1]I would like to thank all those who gave me their support in the general election held on 7 May. I was proud of the way we took our message to every street in every part of Edinburgh North & Leith, and although we were unsuccessful, I am sure that the efforts of our team were one of the reasons why I received more votes in 2015 than in the 2010 election.

I have been extremely privileged to have been able to serve the people of Edinburgh North & Leith as their representative in Parliament since 2001, and I thank them for giving me that opportunity.

I congratulate the successful candidate Deidre Brock on her victory. Like all MPs, she can be contacted at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, switchboard 0207 219 3000.

My constituency office will now close down, and as I am no longer an MP I will not be able to deal with any constituency work. However, Malcolm Chisholm MSP continues to have his constituency office at 5 Croall Place, Leith Walk and can be contacted for any Scottish Parliament matters in the Edinburgh Northern & Leith constituency.

PIPPed off!

Disability benefit delays: Mark Lazarowicz MP attacks Government for letting down the most vulnerable

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Mark Lazarowicz MP has attacked the Government for long delays in assessing benefits claims. The North and Leith MP was speaking during n a debate at Westminster on the introduction of the new disability benefit, the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The Personal Independence Payment is being rolled out across the UK in stages to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and reassessments of certain categories of DLA claimants in Edinburgh began in January 2014.

The Government’s own target for completion of assessments is 16 weeks, but Mr Lazarowicz says there are long delays in even assessing claimants – a six month wait is typical and in some cases constituents the wait has been even longer.

Mark Lazarowicz said: “Claimants even with extremely serious conditions such as cancer are typically waiting at least 6 months just to be assessed and I have had constituents contact me who have waited as long as EIGHTEEN MONTHS.

“That means that people may struggle to afford the travel costs of hospital visits or be forced to sell their home as they face extreme hardship: I want to see the Government offer financial help to people in difficulty due to delays.

“And when PIP is awarded at a higher rate than previously paid under DLA, the increased payments are only backdated for a maximum of 28 days, even if the application had been submitted many months before. It is an outrage that people lose out on payments due to them simply because of delay caused by the government”.

“At the very least claims from anyone with a terminal condition must be fast tracked (even if their life expectancy is longer than six months where applications are currently fast tracked).

“Nobody trying to cope with a serious illness or disability should have to face additional worry of how to cope financially because of Government incompetence.”

Mark Lazarowicz’ speech in the debate can be found here.

MP calls for fair deal for bmi staff

Debate raises pensions puzzle

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Edinburgh North & Leith MP Mark Lazarowicz MP led a debate in Parliament today to call for pensions justice for bmi staff.

A number of bmi staff – some of whom are Edinburgh-based – saw their pensions significantly reduced after takeovers first by Lufthansa, then by IAG, the group that includes British Airways.

Lufthansa is paying compensation to members of the bmi pension fund but it is to be subject to tax and National Insurance by HMRC. One constituent lost out substantially because of this and contacted the North & Leith MP: their discussion resulted in today’s Westminster debate.

Speaking after the debate, Mr Lazarowicz said: Longstanding staff, some of them based here in Edinburgh, have seen their pensions cut significantly and are now losing out again as the compensation is taxed by HMRC.

“The Government has said it has no choice but to apply the tax rules but it is the Government itself and Parliament that decide what the tax rules are.

“This is a matter of justice and has much wider implications for pensions: if a perfectly solvent company takes over another solvent company with pension liabilities, how is it possible for both companies to be freed of responsibility for those pension liabilities?

“The Government should act to allow bmi staff to receive the compensation in full – employee pensions built up over years should not be wiped away amidst commercial wheeling and dealing.”

When bmi was sold to Lufthansa in 2009 there was no obligation on it to fund the pension scheme although it was prepared to continue to do so to a limited degree. When Lufthansa then sold bmi to IAG in 2012, the pension fund was excluded from the deal.

At that point it entered the public Pension Protection Fund which does not pay all of the pension entitlement built up where staff have not yet reached retirement and some staff have lost as much as 50% of their entitlement even after the Lufthansa compensation.

In the case of Equitable Life, the Government decided to pay compensation tax-free to those members who lost out and in another taxation issue, improvements to listed buildings, it set up a fund to compensate for the imposition of VAT.

Lazarowicz: transfer of powers ‘without delay’

westminsterMark Lazarowicz MP has pledged to work for the transfer of powers promised to the Scottish Parliament without delay as Ed Miliband and the other UK party leaders confirmed their commitment to the process. 

The North & Leith MP sets out his views on the way ahead for Scotland and the rest of the UK on the path to constitutional reform in an article published on his website today.

He said: “There must be no delay in the transfer of powers promised during the referendum campaign to the Scottish Parliament.

“Gordon Brown announced a timetable with cross-party support for further transfers of power to the Scottish Parliament and Ed Miliband as well as the other UK party leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to it.

“That has now begun with the agreement of a Parliamentary Motion which will be published as soon as Parliament returns. Full debate involving the Scottish Parliament and civil society in Scotland will follow leading to legislation being drafted by January.

“We now need to re-engage people to rebuild democracy throughout the UK by devolving power and Scotland is leading the way in that.”

You can find the full text of the article at:

http://www.marklazarowicz.org.uk/constitutional_reform_all_round_needed_but_must_not_delay_implementation_of_commitments_to_scotland

Lazarowicz Bill to be debated on Friday

parlystatueMark Lazarowicz MP’s new Bill to ensure the Scottish Parliament has the power to tackle irresponsible parking in Scotland has now been printed and will be debated at Westminster on Friday (5 September).

The Bill would clarify the powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament to tackle irresponsible parking such as parking on pavements, at dropped kerbs and double parking which can present a real hazard to disabled people in particular but also pedestrians more generally who may be forced out into the road to get by.

The North and Leith Labour MP said: “This Bill would ensure that the Scottish Parliament has the power to act to tackle irresponsible parking which can be not just a nuisance but a real danger in the case of the elderly, children and people who may be visually impaired or disabled in some other way.

“There has been uncertainty over whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to legislate in this area and this Bill would cut through that by ensuring that it is devolved once and for all.

“It is devolving a practical power to tackle a public nuisance which can make people’s lives a misery and illustrates the way that devolution is a continuing process.”

The text of the Bill can be found at:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2014-2015/0030/cbill_2014-20150030_en_1.htm

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MP attends Food Project’s Open Day

Mark Lazarowicz MP at Edinburgh Food Project open day - 29 August 2014Mark Lazarowicz MP visited Edinburgh Food Project yesterday to meet staff at its new warehouse operation and learn more about how it is helping people who are struggling to put food on the table.

Edinburgh Food Project runs two of Edinburgh’s five Trussell Trust foodbanks covering the North West and Central areas of the city.

The local MP said: “I was extremely impressed by the hard work of all the staff at Edinburgh Food Project who are providing a vital service to people in the community in food poverty.

“People come to their two food banks for a range of reasons, some because of delays in benefit claims or sanctions but there are people as well who are in work but are still struggling to meet ever increasing basic bills.

“The Government refuses to see this for the tragedy it is and whilst I can’t praise the staff highly enough I also hope to see the day when people aren’t forced to turn to food banks.”

Since opening in November 2012 Edinburgh Food Project has fed over 5,500 people in crisis with food packs covering at least three days – the equivalent of 50,000 meals.

As part of the open day they held a ‘Tinned Sponge Pudding Pyramid’ which was built with donations.

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For more information about Edinburgh foodbanks go to

http://edinburghnw.foodbank.org.uk

Protecting the Arctic: local MP signs declaration

arctic-ocean-pack-ice-seaMark Lazarowicz MP has signed a declaration calling for the Arctic to be safeguarded from a rush to exploit its natural resources.

This exploitation could speed the melting of the Polar ice cap, which would have severe consequences not only for the environment in the Arctic itself, but climate change in general by transforming weather patterns.

The marine biologist Sylvia Earle, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Richard Branson and leading NGOs are supporting the Declaration which has also been passed by the European Parliament. It can be found at http://www.arcticdeclaration.org/

Mark Lazarowicz was one of the MPs behind a pioneering report on protecting the Arctic published in September 2012 and he said: ““I am very pleased to see this Declaration highlight the dangers facing the Arctic if unrestrained commercial exploitation such as drilling for oil is allowed to go ahead.

“The long Arctic winter would make any clean-up operation extremely difficult – that’s why an environmental sanctuary over at least part of the Arctic is essential before we consider commercial exploitation on any scale.”

“The ice cap is already melting at an alarming speed and safeguarding it should be one of the key parts of any strategy to tackle climate change.”

The Declaration and its demands will be presented – along with a petition of five million names – to global leaders and to the foreign ministers of the Arctic States (USA, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark).

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Lazarowicz: continued concern over Waverley access

PENTAX ImageMark Lazarowicz MP has written again to Network Rail to express continued concern over access to Waverley station.

After first raising the issue of access for disabled passengers now that vehicles were barred from the station, Mark has welcomed action taken by Network Rail but stressed that real problems remain more generally affecting all those using the station, especially at busy periods such as Festival time.

In particular, the North & Leith MP is calling for Network Rail to:

· look again at access for people with disabilities

· introduce clearer access for cyclists, and

· quickly improve signage to taxi ranks outside the station as well as bus and tram services in time for peak Festival time.

He said: “I recognise that Network Rail is taking action to meet the concerns that I and others expressed but I remain concerned about access to Waverley for passengers generally.

“People with restricted mobility should be able to access the station as independently as possible rather than having to rely on the passenger assistance service provided by staff however good it is.

“The only access route for cyclists is now along the pedestrian footway from Waverley Bridge which is clearly undesirable for both cyclists and pedestrians.

“There is no longer any taxi access into the station but there also don’t seem to be there any signs to taxi ranks outside. There are signs to buses but not which bus and tram services stop where.

“The number of passengers using Waverley went up to 19 million last year but too many still face problems accessing the station.”

MP acts to resolve parking deadlock

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Edinburgh North and Leith Labour MP Mark Lazarowicz is launching a new Private Members’ Bill this week to resolve the deadlock which has delayed new legislation in the Scottish Parliament to ban irresponsible parking.

Inconsiderate parking can be a major headache for people like wheelchair users, the visually impaired and parents with children in pushchairs, and the Bill would end uncertainty as to whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to legislate on this issue after a Bill to introduce a Scotland-wide ban was delayed due to conflicting legal advice.

Mark Lazarowicz said: “This Bill would ensure that the Scottish Government has the power to make a real difference to our streets by tackling irresponsible parking that can block pavements, kerbs and crossings and choke the flow of traffic.

“It can be dangerous where for instance it pushes people into the road to get past or impedes a wheelchair user from crossing a street because someone had thoughtlessly blocked a dropped kerb.

“A Bill in the Scottish Parliament has had its progress delayed because of conflicting legal advice as to whether the power to legislate to tackle irresponsible parking is still reserved or not.”

“I want to cut through that with this Bill which would specifically devolve this power once and for all to make a practical difference to the streets in our towns and cities in Scotland.”

Sandra White MSP has proposed a Bill to introduce a Scotland-wide ban on irresponsible parking. The Bill has support from a wide range of organisations such as Guide Dogs Scotland and Capability Scotland and has cross-party support in the Scottish Parliament.

Mark was one of 20 MPs who won the right to introduce a Private Members’ Bill in the draw for Bills which recently took place. He will introduce the Responsible Parking (Scotland) Bill tomorrow ( Wednesday).

The Bill has already won the support of MPs from other parties and Mark’s move has also been welcomed by Sandra White MSP.

The North and Leith MP must now wait to see if his Bill will go through. He said: “Although the fact that there are controversial Private Members’ Bills ahead of mine in the queue this year will make it a challenge to get mine through, my Bill has all party support which I believe gives it a reasonable chance of making progress.”