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Donate to our crowdfunderRichard Lyle: Thank you, Presiding Officer. I wish you well in your new job. I rise to make my maiden speech in the Parliament. First, I record an interest: I used to work part-time for NHS Lanarkshire. I thank the many SNP members throughout the country who worked hard to get a majority SNP Government elected. Although they are too numerous to mention, I will remember here former members from my area, no...
Richard Lyle: Does the member accept that today, both Labour and SNP members of the planning committee of North Lanarkshire Council have agreed to oppose the proposal and to take the matter to law?
Richard Lyle: I intend to put forward another view. Prior to the conversion of most council houses to gas fires, rubbish and waste were burned in householders’ fireplaces. Since the 1960s, the amount of waste that we produce has risen dramatically, and thousands of tonnes have gone to landfill. That must change. We now have a policy of zero waste, and we have made tremendous progress on waste management....
Richard Lyle: The Labour Party goes from one end to the other, as Margaret Mitchell knows. North Lanarkshire Council’s Labour-led planning and transport committee needs no clarity on planning guidelines in the area. If all councils fully embraced recycling of all items that they could recycle, we would not need to review planning guidelines, as most of the waste that would otherwise go to incineration...
Richard Lyle: 3. To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on calls by credit unions for regulation of the industry to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. (S4O-00146)
Richard Lyle: Does the cabinet secretary share my concern that credit unions in Scotland are now being instructed by the Financial Services Authority to furnish a well-known credit reference agency with their individual members’ personal details?
Richard Lyle: I first remind members that North Lanarkshire went through the same type of sham consultation on the closure of Monklands accident and emergency department a number of years ago. NHS Lanarkshire moved for closure, totally dismissing all public objections. The local Labour Party came out against the closure, but the Labour Party in this Parliament agreed with the proposal to close it. It took...
Richard Lyle: I wish Paul Martin well in the campaign, and I thank him for bringing the debate to the Parliament.
Richard Lyle: Having dealt with housing issues for the past 35 years, I know that housing is an emotive subject—indeed, one can feel that emotion in this debate. Many inquiries that MSPs receive relate to housing. Over the past four years, the SNP-led Scottish Government has made significant progress in house building and I compliment the cabinet secretary and minister on their work in that respect. The...
Richard Lyle: No. Since 2008, more than £1.7 billion has been invested in new housing—the largest amount in any comparable period since the early 1980s. In 2008-9 and 2009-10, when the recession first hit, the SNP Government brought forward £120 million of affordable housing spend to support the construction industry. The cuts that have been implemented by the UK coalition Government are hitting...
Richard Lyle: Gil Paterson declared an interest, and maybe I should, too. I was one of the motorists who bought tyres from his company—
Richard Lyle: I did not buy chains or half a million tyres—I bought only four tyres. I pay tribute to all road staff and all those in services who worked tirelessly throughout last year’s bad winter. Many staff worked far above the call of duty. On many occasions, staff who worked from depots did not go home for several days. It is right that we debate winter resilience before the onslaught of this...
Richard Lyle: 8. To ask the Scottish Executive what steps a person can take to reclaim an overpayment of council tax due to a wrong banding. (S4O-00275)
Richard Lyle: Valuation appeal committees are refusing appeals due to time limits that have been set on appealing wrong council tax banding. Will the Government give due consideration to a member’s bill proposing the removal of time limits to appeal?
Richard Lyle: I could talk about this subject for hours but, in case the Presiding Officer is concerned, I assure her that I will stick to my six minutes. National adoption week means a lot to me as, 29 years ago, my wife and I adopted our first child: our daughter Marina. I always laugh at soaps or films that show couples adopting a child in a few weeks, as that is simply not true. After an application...
Richard Lyle: 16. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the reduction in the number of Scots applying for university places in England. (S4O-00323)
Richard Lyle: It is always a pleasure to follow my good friend Mary Scanlon. [Interruption.] Anything George Adam can do, I can do better. I welcome this debate on the integration of health and social care. Social care is pivotal to the care of all who require the service. A social work department in any council deals with the range of needs across a wide remit and must react to meet those needs. Many...
Richard Lyle: I support a welfare system that is simpler, makes work pay, and lifts people out of poverty. I do not support a system that undermines the principle of taking care of people by using modernisation of the welfare system to cut their benefits in order to save money and—dare I say it?—to reduce the massive deficit that was caused by successive London Governments. Those damaging cuts to...
Richard Lyle: 6. To ask the Scottish Government how many applicants have failed the police force entrance exam in the past five years. (S4O-00534)
Richard Lyle: I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. What steps can be taken to equip applicants to achieve their goal of joining the Scottish police force?