We need your support to keep TheyWorkForYou running and make sure people across the UK can continue to hold their elected representatives to account.
Donate to our crowdfunderPatricia Ferguson: I am grateful to the member for his comments and I sympathise entirely with him about the tragic constituency case that he is talking about. Will he therefore support the amendments on enforceability of sheriff’s recommendations that I intend to make at stage 2?
Patricia Ferguson: Does the minister accept that the issue is not just how quickly families are communicated with but how quickly the decision is made and then communicated to them?
Patricia Ferguson: 6. To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to so-called deep-end general practitioner practices in the most socioeconomically deprived populations. (S4O-04613)
Patricia Ferguson: It has long been recognised that patients who attend such practices often suffer from a range of illnesses, as the cabinet secretary said, which often contribute to premature death. Is she aware that such patients are also likely to suffer some 20 years more of poor health than are those in more affluent areas? Is it not time that the funding formula for GP practices properly recognised that...
Patricia Ferguson: Since the issue was raised at First Minister’s question time two weeks ago, the UK Government has made a welcome change to its policy on accepting refugees from Syria. It did so because of mounting public opinion and real anger in this country that our Government’s response was so inadequate. That the number of refugees that the Tory Government has promised to take has risen to 20,000...
Patricia Ferguson: Does the member accept that one reason why Labour-controlled local authorities and other local authorities could not build houses was because of the right to buy, which was revoked only when Labour reformed the right to buy in an earlier session of the Parliament? We put the money into social housing in other ways, through housing associations. That is the fact of the matter.
Patricia Ferguson: My postbag, like those of most elected members, is dominated by housing issues. In my 16 years as an MSP, that pattern has not changed. However, what has changed over time is the housing problems that I hear about. I will not rehearse all the issues that are brought to me, because we are all aware of them; I am sure that they are the same or similar to those that members across the chamber...
Patricia Ferguson: I will come to that later, if Mr Doris will bear with me. I plan to say a little about that issue. Glasgow City Council’s imaginative approach is outlined in its new residential development report. The council plans to build 25,000 new homes over 10 years and, with Glasgow Credit Union, it will introduce a mortgage guarantee scheme to help those who wish to own their own home. Working with...
Patricia Ferguson: I welcome the actions that the minister described in his response to Ms White. I also welcome the U-turn that the Prime Minister has performed, but the Prime Minister’s decision to accept 20,000 people over five years from the vulnerable persons relocation scheme does nothing to help people in immediate danger, whose situation in Syria is so bad that they are trying to escape in overcrowded...
Patricia Ferguson: I thank the First Minister for her comments concerning the appalling situation facing those of our fellow human beings seeking refuge in Europe. This week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not just welcome people to her country; she also stood in front of a group of right-wing protesters and told them that they were wrong. She said that there is in her country “no tolerance towards those...
Patricia Ferguson: 7. To ask the Scottish Government what process communities should follow to apply for funding from the town centre communities capital fund. (S4O-04534)
Patricia Ferguson: The cabinet secretary will be aware of my interest in town centre regeneration and my support for the Scottish Government’s previous scheme. Although the funding for the new scheme is welcome, I worry that the amount of money that is available will be oversubscribed, as was the case with the previous scheme. Will the cabinet secretary give some more information about the criteria that will...
Patricia Ferguson: I congratulate Neil Bibby on securing the debate. I also congratulate Gleniffer high school on its excellent decision to invest in and promote Bala Sport. I will say more about Gleniffer high school later. Bala Sport is based in Glasgow. It is a co-operative that was launched in February this year with a start-up grant of £19,500 from the co-operative Glasgow business development fund—a...
Patricia Ferguson: When the minister mentioned leadership, it occurred to me that we heard in the past 24 hours of the appointment of Louise Martin—a very worthy woman and Scot—as president of the Commonwealth Games Federation. Given her new role, I wonder whether we might contact her to urge that the Commonwealth Games Federation take account of the availability of fairly traded sports equipment,...
Patricia Ferguson: I thank members across the chamber who have supported the motion that we are debating this evening. I want to speak about the experiences of two men that I hope will help to highlight why this short debate is so important. A few years ago, a friend of mine, Dave Scott, who then worked with my husband, former MSP Bill Butler, became ill. Dave did not talk much about it, but it was obvious that...
Patricia Ferguson: I am happy to.
Patricia Ferguson: It is very interesting that the minister should say that, because I would challenge her figure. My understanding is that the incidence is now 16.9 per 100,000 and clinicians have told me that it is the fifth most common cancer in Scotland and the third most common cause of cancer deaths. Scotland now has the unenviable record of being the global leader for incidence of the disease. When Mr...
Patricia Ferguson: Although I understand that there is a great focus on detecting cancer early, it is clear that even we who debate these issues are not always familiar with things such as Barrett’s oesophagus. The incidence of Barrett’s oesophagus progressing to become oesophageal cancer in Scotland is five times higher than it is in a relatively similar-sized country such as Denmark, so is it not time to...
Patricia Ferguson: I listened carefully to what the minister said and agree entirely with his comments to Mr Adam. The Clydesdale Bank has now decided to close its branch in Springburn and is suggesting that its customers can make their way to one of Glasgow’s suburbs beyond the city boundary if they wish to bank. Does the minister think that it is appropriate that people who are elderly or who perhaps do not...
Patricia Ferguson: Presiding Officer, before I begin my speech, I apologise to you and to the chamber. I will not be able to stay for the entire debate as I have constituency visitors here. I also apologise to any Home-Start staff, clients or volunteers from my constituency. For the same reason, I do not think that I will be able to join them for the reception that I now understand will follow the debate. It is...