Council leader hails taxi accessibility talks

Access Action Plan is on it’s way

Council Leader Andrew Burns and Convener of the Regulatory Committee, Cllr Gavin Barrie met with charity campaigner Gordon Aikman yesterday to discuss concerns about taxi accessibility in Edinburgh.

Recently Mr Aikman, who has motor neurone disease, struggled to find a taxi that was able accommodate his wheelchair. He was due to introduce Ed Miliband at the Labour Party Conference in the capital but missed the opportunity after two taxis he called were unable to pick him up – one because the electric ramp was not working and the other because he ‘took too long to come down’.

Cllr Burns said: “What happed to Gordon is of course completely unacceptable and the purpose of today’s meeting was to discuss what we can do to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We have identified steps that we can take as the licensing authority for taxis in the city, to ensure that these vehicles are accessible to wheelchair users.

“For example, we will be cracking down on drivers who fail to stop for disabled customers and increasing the number of spot checks to check that the taxis’ ramps are operational. We will also be calling for taxi companies to review their allocated waiting time for collections with a view to extending this for people with mobility issues.

“We want to make sure that wheelchair users in Edinburgh have a positive experience when using taxis and I would like to thank Gordon for highlighting this very important issue.”

Other actions agreed include a review of the current driver training arrangements to improve accessibility training and looking at introducing refresher courses. Taxi drivers who are exempt from manually loading wheelchairs for health reasons may also be asked to display a prominent sign on their vehicle indicating that they are not accessible.

The agreed measures will now be taken forward by the Council, led by Councillor Gavin Barrie as Convener of the Regulatory Committee.

Welcoming the outcome of yesterday’s meeting, Gordon Aikman said: “This crackdown is very welcome. Wheelchair or not, each and every one of us should be able to get into a cab and get from A to B without any hassle. I’ve only been in a wheelchair for a couple of weeks, but have been shocked by the treatment disabled folk have to put up with.

“I’m confident this Access Action Plan will help make taxis in our capital more accessible. I hope other councils follow Edinburgh’s lead. This is not about special treatment – it is about equal access. No disabled person should have to put up with second rate service.”

Smith Agreement: call for halt to Work Programme extension

Holyrood Ministers have called on the UK Government to keep its promises on devolving further welfare powers and reverse the extension of new Work Programme contracts.

The move came at yesterday’s Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare, where Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil and Fair Work Secretary Roseanna Cunningham met Scotland Office Undersecretary of State David Mundell and Department for Work and Pensions Minister of State Mark Harper to discuss progress on implementing the welfare elements of the Smith Agreement.

The UK Government agreed to consider revised wording from Scottish Ministers on its planned Scotland Bill in three areas – the power to create new benefits in devolved areas, the ability to make discretionary payments on reserved areas and clauses on support programmes for unemployed people.

Ms Cunningham said: “UK Ministers took a conscious decision to extend the Work Programme in Scotland until 2017, despite Smith recommending its devolution on expiry of the current contract. Despite successive requests, vital information on the cost and impact of existing services that would enable us to move forward quickly in re-designing support, has not been provided.

“So in order to build more effective, targeted and fairer employment support services in Scotland, I have asked the UK Government to cancel the Work Programme contract extension and for the transfer of the necessary resources and legal powers to deliver an alternative service to meet the needs of unemployed Scots from April next year.”

Mr Neil said: “We are committed to supporting a Bill that implements the Smith Agreement and commands broad support, but UK Ministers have watered down the proposals, given us mixed messages and stalled on progress.

“So I welcome today’s new offer to consider our proposed changes to the wording of the Bill, which we will supply as quickly as possible. I do however want to see decisions taken by UK Ministers before the election, to enable the Bill to be introduced as early in May as possible. As ever, the UK Government will be judged by its actions and how seriously they’re taking the Smith Agreement process.”

Lazarowicz backs living wage

‘Low pay is a moral scandal in our country’ – Mark Lazarowicz MP

Mark Lazarowicz MP is supporting Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy’s plan to address the problem of low pay by offering employers tax rebates when they increase their staff’s pay to the living wage of £7.85 per hour.

39,000 workers in Edinburgh who are currently paid less than the living wage would benefit and £17 million in funding would go in tax rebates to businesses that support the living wage for their staff.

Under the plans, employers would receive a tax rebate of up to £1000 for every low paid worker who gets a pay rise.

The average rebate would be £445, meaning that if every low paid worker across Scotland was given the living wage, business would get a windfall of over £180 million.

Mr Lazarowicz said that research that shows a living wage leads to:

•a 25% fall in absenteeism

•80% of employers believing the living wage has enhanced the quality of the work of their staff

•66% of employers reporting a significant impact on recruitment and retention within their organisation

Over 400,000 Scots are currently paid less than the living wage – with an estimated 39,000 in Edinburgh alone – and Scottish Labour argues the living wage is best for business and best for fairness.

The North & Leith MP said: “Low pay is a moral scandal in our country and it is also holding our economy back. This plan to extend the living wage could lift thousands of Scots out of low pay. We could give a pay rise to as many as 39,000 workers in Edinburgh alone.

“Edinburgh City Council has already led the way by becoming a living wage employer so it is committed to paying all of its staff at least the living wage. Local businesses will see a bonus too, with £17 million available for businesses in Edinburgh.

“The research shows that absenteeism and staff turnover go down whilst performance and morale go up. It means a happier, more efficient workplace.

“A lot of businesses in Scotland aren’t turning over millions. They are on the sharp end budgeting month to month, they might want to give a pay rise to their staff but the conditions aren’t right.

“That is why Scottish Labour has a plan to convince these businesses to pay the living wage. We will use make work pay contracts to incentivise better pay for staff – and better performance for business.”

Johnstone: Government must get tough on TTIP

TTIP: ‘an assault on public protections’ – Alison Johnstone MSP

Questioning the Minister for Europe at Holyrood today, Green MSP Alison Johnstone called on the Scottish Government to broaden their stance on TTIP, the free trade treaty currently being negotiated between the US and the EU.

She highlighted figures contained in a new report from Westminster’s Environmental Audit Committee (1) on the difference between chemicals regulation in the US and EU. 1300 chemicals are restricted for use in cosmetics in EU countries, whereas only 11 are in the US.

The Minister, Humza Yousaf, replied that while the Scottish Government has raised a number of concerns with the UK Government, TTIP as a whole is “difficult to oppose without seeing the final agreement”.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP said: “This deal risks much more than our precious public services. There is a real risk that important environmental and public health protections will be weakened by this treaty, which would undermine decades of political progress towards a more sustainable world.

“Overall the components of TTIP add up to an assault on public protections with little evidence of any reward, and it should not be so difficult for the Scottish Government to oppose this.”

SNP leader Steve stands down

Deputy council leader Councillor Steve Cardownie is to step down from front-line politics. The Forth councillor will stay on as an elected member but has relinquished leadership of the SNP group – and with it his Deputy Council Leader post. Mr Cardownie says he is leaving for personal reasons and to spend more time with his family.

Formerly a trade union official, Steve Cardownie became a Labour councillor on Edinburgh District Council in 1988. Always a colourful and often a controversial figure, Cardownie infuriated many when he ‘jumped ship’ to join the SNP in 2005.

Mr Cardownie was a lonely figure as the sole SNP councillor on the local authority for two years but an upsurge in his new party’s fortunes saw a greatly-increased SNP group share power in successive coalitions – first with the Liberal Democrats in 2007 and then with Labour in 2012. He has served in his current role since 2007 and is widely recognised as the city’s ‘Festival Czar’.

With over 25 years of political experience under his belt the SNP will find Steve Cardownie’s skills as a negotiator and fixer hard to replace. The new group leader is Sandy Howat, but he’ll find the Jambo from Leith a hard act to follow.

Cllr Howat said: ““Steve will still have a large role to play in the group. He has been a very successful politician on many and all levels, and he goes with a great deal of thanks. Honestly, I would have liked him to stay for another year – I thought he still had a lot to offer.”

Steve Cardownie said: “It had been my intention for some time to relinquish the position as leader, but I wanted to ensure the coalition got to the other side of the referendum intact. I have successfully negotiated two coalition deals – first with the Liberal Democrats and then with Labour – which has kept the SNP in the administration for eight years now.

“Having got through the referendum, the coalition is still strong and I felt it was time to give someone else the opportunity to develop their style. I have a ten-year-old son and I want to spend a bit more time with him.”

Welfare powers: get a move on!

Scottish government says swift action is needed on welfare

Scottish ministers have urged the UK government to deliver Lord Smith’s recommendations for new powers on welfare almost four months after the report’s publication .

The call comes ahead of the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare in Edinburgh later today (March 11) that will be attended by Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil and Fair Work Secretary Roseanna Cunningham, and which will focus on future delivery of welfare and employment support services in Scotland .

Mr Neil said: “It has been over a month since the Working Group met for the first time and weeks since the Smith Commission delivered its recommendations. Over that period of time there has been a frustrating lack of progress from the UK government in recognising that its current proposals do not meet Lord Smith’s recommendations.

“We want to see early progress on flexibilities around Universal Credit as well as assurances that the UK Government will deliver the Smith report in full. It’s really frustrating that the UK has refused to make early progress on those flexibilities, although these are technically feasible now. And they have refused to change their draft clauses which fall short of the Smith proposals.

“Just last week both the Welfare Reform Committee and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlighted the scale of the damage inflicted by Westminster’s austerity agenda on people across Scotland.

“With more powers in our own we hands we could build a system better suited to our needs. The Scottish Parliament is best placed to make decisions about welfare policies that affect the people of Scotland.”

Ms Cunningham added: “This Government’s commitment to Fair Work means we believe people should be supported into work, instead of being punished for being unable to secure employment. The UK Government’s current conditionality and sanctions regime isn’t working and the UK Government needs to adopt a positive and proportionate approach to support people, rather than cutting their incomes and having to deal with misguided policies such as the ‘bedroom tax’.

“We await vital information on employment services, such as the Work Programme, to enable the Scottish Government to move forward quickly in re-designing this type of support for Scotland. We are determined to use these powers to deliver seamless, effective support in Scotland that helps unemployed people in Scotland into work and delivers sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

“As we move towards the UK pre-election period, we call upon the UK government to act swiftly on the Smith recommendations to ensure we can bring forward a Bill that is fit for purpose and allows us to take a new approach to tackling inequality.”

Flying high: Keir welcomes APD report

Colin Keir MSP has today welcomed a report by Edinburgh Airport that shows the gains of controlling and cutting Air Passenger Duty (APD) and calling for timetabling of the powers promised to Scotland.

The analysis backs the Scottish Government’s position and shows that the impact of reducing APD in Scotland by 50% will initially support around 800 new jobs and millions of pounds for the economy.

Colin Keir, the MSP for Edinburgh Airport said: “This excellent report by Edinburgh Airport, which shows that the impact of reducing APD in Scotland by 50% will initially support 800 new jobs and create millions for the economy, is most welcome and must be taken seriously by the UK Government.

“The tourism tax that is particularly damaging to Scottish airports – should be cut at once. Devolution of APD would be a game changer for Scottish airports.

“The Scottish Government has committed to cutting Air Passenger Duty once it is devolved and that responsibility cannot come soon enough for passengers and Scotland’s airports.

“Only a strong team of SNP MPs elected on May 7 will ensure Scotland gains the powers it has been promised – including APD – to create jobs and build a more prosperous and fairer country.”

Lazarowicz welcomes plan to close education gap

Mark Lazarowicz MP has welcomed the plan announced at the Scottish Labour conference to use funding from Labour’s cut in pension tax relief for highest earners to set aside £125m extra for the Scottish education budget to close the educational attainment gap between children from rich and poor backgrounds.

The cut in pension tax relief will also provide funding for school leavers to ensure more students from the most deprived backgrounds have the chance to go to university and all young people start their working lives on a secure footing.

The extra £125m is only part of the plan which would also:

require Ministers and local councils to report annually on progress in reducing inequality in education

see all local authorities appoint a chief education officer to lead the work to close the gap in attainment

create a National Centre of Excellence of Education to enable best practice to be shared

double the number of teaching assistants in those primary schools that send children to the 20 secondary schools where there is most concern over attainment

Labour also plans to introduce

better grants for poorer students, worth over £1000 to enable more students from deprived backgrounds to attend university

a fund worth £1,600 each to support young people who don’t go on to college or university or an apprenticeship to pay the cost of training, setting up a small business or expenses like driving lessons

Mark Lazarowicz said: “This funding from taxing highest earners will enable us to really tackle the gap in attainment between children from the richest and poorest backgrounds which has been too often neglected.

“It will also ensure young people who don’t go on to study at a college or university or gain an apprenticeship are not forgotten by helping them with the cost of training or other expenses as they start their working lives.

“Educational opportunity at every level should be our aim and we must do much more to make that a reality to give all our young people the chance they deserve.”

The Scottish Labour leader, Jim Murphy, has reaffirmed that there will be no tuition fees at Scottish universities if Labour wins the next Scottish Parliament elections but he also went on to highlight the need to widen access so that students from the most deprived backgrounds have the chance to study at university in much greater numbers.

Independent studies show that Scotland currently has the lowest proportion of university students from the most deprived backgrounds in the UK.

The funding would come from the funding that the Scottish Government would receive from Labour’s cut in pension tax relief for highest earners. That would cut

the rate of pension tax relief for people earning over £150,000 a year to the basic rate;
the annual limit on pension contributions free of tax from £40,000 to £30,000;
the lifetime allowance from £1.5 million to £1 million.

Scotland’s changing …

2.5 million Scottish households to receive leaflet explaining devolution changes

A leaflet explaining the changes to devolution as the UK Government prepares to transfer powers to Holyrood will begin arriving through letterboxes in Scotland this week.

The 8-page Scotland’s Changing leaflet (see below) will explain the new powers as well as the benefits people in Scotland retain as part of the UK, including the pound, pensions and passports.

It will be sent to every one of the 2.5 million households across the country.

Find out more about Our United Future

The leaflet clearly explains which powers will be devolved and reserved following the Smith Commission and the earlier Scotland Act 2012. Powers going to the Scottish Parliament include income tax, some elements of welfare and choices over new taxes such as Airport Passenger Duty and Stamp Duty.

The Smith Commission recommended action to raise public awareness of devolution and this is part of the UK Government’s response to that challenge.

Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said:

“Scotland is changing for the better, with new powers coming to the Scottish Parliament.

These powers will have an impact on every person living in Scotland and it is important that we all know what they are and what they mean for us.

From Monday, households across Scotland will receive a leaflet, direct to their door – and that leaflet will spell out the facts.

The Scottish Parliament will soon be given power over the rates of income tax, welfare provision with a starting budget of more than £2.5 billion, and the ability to give the vote to 16 and 17 year olds in Holyrood and local government elections.

Alongside borrowing powers, and continued control over health, education, housing, public transport and so much more, the Scottish Parliament is set to become one of the most powerful devolved parliaments not just in Europe, but in the entire world.

At the same time, Scotland will keep the many benefits which come as part of the UK. We’ll keep our UK pound, our UK passport and our UK pensions. We’ll also continue to benefit from a single jobs market, a single defence system and a single, strong and fast-growing UK economy.

This is good news for Scotland. A united future, built to last.”

Scotland_s_Changing_info_leaflet

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General Election 2015: your questions matter!

Come along and ask candidates the questions that matter to you! Pilton Community Health Project will be holding hustings in each of the two constituencies in the area.

Candidates for Edinburgh North and Leith have been invited to attend hustings on Thursday 19 March from 6.30 – 8pm at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre. A light soup supper will be available from 6 with questions starting from 6.30. The event will be Chaired by the very able Harry Woodward.

Candidates for Edinburgh West have been invited to attend hustings on Thursday 26 March from 6.30 -8pm at Muirhouse Millennium Community Centre. A light soup supper will be available from 6 with questions starting from 6.30. The event will be Chaired by the very able Harry Woodward.

Get in touch if you would like some help with childcare or have any questions – contact Anita on 0131 551 1671.