Week
beginning Monday 19th September 2005
Last
full week of by-election campaigning towards the big day on the 29th
September, so Monday in Cathcart to fight for Maire Whitehead and
Tuesday in Livingstone for Angela Constance. Two smashing candidates –
it would be great to have Maire join us here in Holyrood and have
Angela stand up for Livingstone at Westminster (we could do with a
woman in our Group down there! Nothing against the lads you
understand, lest I’m accused of sexism).
There’s also a Council by-election in Burntisland on the same day, so
good luck to George Kay as well.
I know that
I ended up working in the office late on Tuesday evening, but you
know, I have no recollection at all of what I did! It must be the
weekend’s Conference that’s wiped it from my mind – at least I hope
that’s all it is. Anyway, Wednesday was as ever hectic starting with
the Public Petitions Committee in the morning. Although I’m not a
member any more, this was a special occasion as Jeanette and Madge
from the Murray Owen Carers Group in East Kilbride were through
because their petition was being discussed yet again.
This is
an issue which I have written about here before – over and over again.
The plight of elderly carers looking after their adult children with
learning difficulties, and their wish to see their children settled
and secure before they are no longer able to look after them. The
Committee was considering the Executive’s and the Council’s responses
and agreed to ask for further information. That’s all fine, and I’m
glad the Committee are refusing to close this petition until they have
answers and solutions, but I feel so frustrated that despite visits,
committee attendances and debates, the carers in the Murray Owen Group
and others all over the country are actually no further forward in
their wish to protect their families. As I said to the committee on
behalf of Madge and Jeanette:
“The
original petitioners are not getting any younger. Every day, they face
the prospect that they may soon be unable to look after their children
who are adults. I can think of nothing worse than knowing that a son
or daughter who needs help is not settled and is not achieving
everything that they can in the community.
The petitioners
should not need to face the thought that, one day, they will not be
there when their son or daughter comes home and crisis management will
need to step in. Therefore, can the committee emphasise to the
Executive the urgency of many of these cases?”
The Committee agreed,
so on we go. The spirit of Jeanette and Madge, and so many others like
them, astounds me – I get so frustrated whilst they remain calm and
positive all the time, looking not just to their own situations, but
to make things better for others in the future.
And so through my now
regular Wednesday meeting with the European Committee clerks to
Chamber in the afternoon and the Climate Change debate. With it being
conference week, there are only a few of us holding the fort at
Holyrood and all hands on deck for contributing to debates – somehow I
think I was over-enthusiastic though in offering my services as I’ve
ended up with four! The climate change debate was interesting though,
based on the Environment Committee’s inquiry and subsequent report.
Certainly worth reading as it draws together all the information for
those of us who do not deal with the subject day to day. It makes
scary reading though with a stark warning from the Royal Commission on
Environmental Pollution: "If
we go for business as usual ... we are destined for something
unimaginable."—[Official
Report, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee,
26 January 2005; c 1545.]
As I said on the day:
“ … leadership is required. In paragraph after paragraph, the
committee's report urges radical action from the top to encourage
everyone else. Some solutions may be difficult for people to
implement, but the Government's job is to make decisions about what is
necessary for the greater good”.
We await the
Executive’s plans with interest.
On the day that the
United Nations promotes as the UN Day of Peace and International
Ceasefire, and the week that Scotland was deemed by a UN Report to be
one of the world’s most violent societies (certainly the data for that
assertion requires some further analysis) I attended an interesting
meeting in the evening about how to promote a Culture of Peace in
Scotland, and the incorporation of peace culture into education. So
often this stuff sounds wishy-washy, but the presentations from the
contributors were excellent and I am sure that those in the audience
who started out sceptical will have food for thought. It’s not about
deciding that children will have a time slot every week to discuss
‘peace’, it’s about things like mutual respect, negotiating skills,
anger management, mediation etc. being embedded across subjects. This
is of course already happening within some Scottish schools and
certainly in South Lanarkshire ‘citizenship’ is a subject which pupils
enjoy.
And so to Thursday and
before hotfooting it to Aviemore for the SNP Conference I’ve got three
debates to get through, as well as a public meeting with Douglas
Alexander MP, Minister for Europe, followed by a discussion lunch. I
enjoyed the meeting and was impressed by Mr. Alexander’s knowledge of
the current state of play in regard to the European Constitution,
Services Directive, International Development and other issues. I’ll
be even more impressed though when Scotland is a member of the
European Community in its own right and sending our own Minister to
look after Scottish interests.
The first debate of the
morning was on whether Gross Domestic Product is a suitable tool by
which to measure a nation’s progress. It’s a fascinating subject,
tying in with the sustainable development agenda that all countries
are supposed to be following, and GDP, in my humble opinion, should
not be the sole indicator of a country's growth and well-being. A
recent report covering the period from 1970 to 1997 shows quite
clearly that although economic growth shows a steady rise, the life
satisfaction figures are static. So, people are not necessarily
happier and do not feel a greater sense of well-being just because the
GDP happens to look good. We obviously cannot scrap GDP as a
measurement, but we could look at using alternative measurements in
tandem. One strange moment during my contribution: when I said “Everyone
knows that everyone in the SNP believes in independence for Scotland”
that wee toerag minister Allan Wilson responded “half
of SNP members do”.
I don’t know where he gets his ideas from, perhaps the discarding of
principles within his own Party. Whatever else the SNP may argue about
internally, there is one principle which will never be compromised,
and that one is Independence.
The next debate was one
which I wish we didn’t have to have – another debate, called by the
Green Party, on asylum issues, this one called due to the appalling
treatment meted out to the Vucaj family in Drumchapel. I am ashamed to
live in a country where, as reported, 16 immigration officers kicked
in the family's front door at 6 o'clock in the morning, the children's
father was handcuffed in front of them and they were all removed to a
Detention Centre for deportation. This after living in Drumchapel for
years and being part of the community. I am however, glad to live in a
country where the strength of public opinion, in the Drumchapel area
and beyond, is such that the First Minister has been forced to condemn
this and say that he will discuss this treatment of children with his
counterparts at Westminster. I am not convinced, after years of
lobbying, that he is entirely genuine here, and will watch progress
(if any) with interest. As far as I am concerned, under the auspices
of the Children’s Act 1995 the Executive should just be saying to the
Home Office “NO – IT’S NOT
HAPPENING HERE”. The
Children’s Commissioner, here in Scotland, is outraged at the way
children are being treated, and is being very vocal. More power to her
elbow.
The last debate of the
week – the Report of the Cultural Commission, a huge document with
much worth, but lots of sifting through required to find it! My own
concern, echoed by others, was that you cannot be prescriptive about
culture; in fact how do you define ‘culture’. After all, one person’s
three hours of heaven whilst sitting in a theatre chair, may well be
someone else’s idea of hell. Even in my own household there are things
which Duncan loves to attend, whilst I stay at home, and vice versa.
As my colleague Roseanna Cunningham contributed, the Report seems to
talk about how to deliver culture, but doesn’t actually define the
product to start with. Again, Executive plans awaited.
And so, off to Aviemore
with my pal Angie and colleague Stewart Maxwell for company in the
car. A long time since I’ve been in Aviemore, except to stop for
fish-and-chips on the way north, and I have to say that the new
Aviemore Centre was a pleasant surprise. I love Conference, and this
one was particularly grand because I had nothing to do! All my fringe
meetings had to be handed to others because I was stuck in Edinburgh.
So I had a great time dropping in on events, contributing to the odd
debate and enjoying meeting folk I hadn’t seen for some time.
A couple of highlights
– the brilliant session organised by Alyn Smith MEP and Ian Hudghton
MEP to discuss progress since the G8 met in Gleneagles – not a lot I’m
afraid, a sad position wonderfully articulated by Kumi Naidoo, the
Chair of the Global Call to Action against Poverty and Chief Executive
of CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation, based in
South Africa. Read about this organisation on
http://www.civicus.org.
Another highlight was the support being gained from delegates by the
Marie Curie campaign for the right to die at home – this is one of the
issues which I’ve raised before with readers, and one which has
prompted a lot of responses from readers; all in favour of that right
and many telling their own stories of caring for their loved ones who
were terminally ill. The petition was well subscribed and will go a
long way towards the campaign.
Scotland supporting the
Choice to Die at Home
The final highlight was
of course was the tribute to Winnie Ewing, retiring as the Party
President. Whilst we have all respected Mrs. Ewing for years, actually
watching the tribute and realising all over again what this grand lady
has achieved in her life for the nationalist cause brought a lump to
many a throat. No tribute can be enough to express our gratitude, so I
won’t even try.
Winnie told a funny
story about Alex Salmond having written to a constituent who was
complaining about non-availability of dentistry services in the Banff
area saying “Willie, I
am sorry I cannot help; get onto Stewart Stevenson; your teeth are
devolved”. We have
our own funny office story about teeth. Davie was away South for the
weekend, and I reproduce below (with his permission!) email received
the other day:
“Hello David.
Just to let you know we have found your teeth. I will be posting them
out to you Friday. I will pack them well.”
So, no more quiche for
Davie, just lots of ribbing from his colleagues.
Linda Fabiani:
26.9.05
Email Linda at
Linda.fabiani.msp@scottish.parliament.uk
