Anne McTaggart: It is of course vital that the people of Scotland have the opportunity to participate in the forthcoming local government elections through a system that they can trust and engage with. That is why the Electoral Commission’s role is extremely important. The Electoral Commission’s independence ensures that the public feel greater confidence in the procedures with which they engage. As we...
Anne McTaggart: 4. To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase broadband take-up in Glasgow. (S4O-00592)
Anne McTaggart: As Glasgow’s broadband infrastructure could support higher uptake than the present level, and given that there is an issue about computer access, does the cabinet secretary agree that greater public access to computers should be supported in schools, libraries and further education college community campuses?
Anne McTaggart: I begin by stating my appreciation for the role that kinship carers play in providing a safe and loving home for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable children. It is important to recognise that kinship carers take on responsibility for children who are the victims of circumstance and not of their own actions. We must also make it clear that kinship carers are often unaware that they will have...
Anne McTaggart: No—I have only four minutes. If the carer has no supply of practical resources such as clothes or bedding, an already difficult situation becomes all the more challenging. We must increase support for the kinship carers who are quite literally left holding the babies, and we must finance and resource that accordingly. Adoption parents and foster carers have a process by which they make...
Anne McTaggart: I, too, thank Liz Smith for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I am glad that the motion “congratulates Scotland’s colleges in terms of the outstanding contribution that they have made to improving educational opportunities for a wide range of learners”. The importance of access to further education should not be underestimated at any time, least of all in times such as...
Anne McTaggart: I thank Mr Dornan for his somewhat humorous speech. I am tempted to say that I would like to take it and do the reverse of it. I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. Like Sarah Boyack, I aim to highlight the disproportionate budget cuts that local authorities are receiving from the Scottish Government relative to the cuts that the Scottish Government is receiving from Westminster....
Anne McTaggart: I will continue. Glasgow City Council will be the third worst-off local authority under the spending plans, although Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and it will be the only local authority to have its budget cut five years in a row. Glasgow is again being penalised by the Edinburgh-based SNP Government.
Anne McTaggart: No. Protecting Glaswegians’ priorities will be a greater task this year as we struggle to balance the decreasing budget with the needs, issues and aspirations of our communities, which we strive to serve. The impact will hit the most vulnerable in our communities—those who depend on local government services—and will ultimately result in more people losing their jobs. That is the...
Anne McTaggart: It still equates to a 30 per cent cut. The finance secretary, John Swinney, and the SNP Government may still struggle to justify the housing budget cut to the people of Glasgow. I know that the Labour administration in the city chambers, which is led by Gordon Matheson, will continue to struggle on the city’s behalf against the bias that I have described, in order to protect our communities...
Anne McTaggart: I am just coming to my last sentence. Here again we have the same old rhetoric: the SNP administers on local authorities real pain, and brandishes Westminster with all the blame.
Anne McTaggart: I am glad to speak—quickly—in the debate, on an issue that, as we have heard, is of great interest to the people of Glasgow. I thank my colleague Councillor Alistair Watson and Glasgow’s Evening Times for their save our stations campaign, which highlighted the level of real concern that constituents in Glasgow feel. Last month, when Patricia Ferguson secured a members’ business debate...
Anne McTaggart: I am sorry, but I have only four minutes—unless the Presiding Officer is willing to give extra time.
Anne McTaggart: In relation to the stations in Glasgow that could be affected by closure, we need to consider the impact on our communities. For example, the elderly rely on having train stations close by. Do we ask them to stretch their pensions even more to take a taxi to a station that is further away? Like most other cities, Glasgow has a lower number of car owners than is the average outside the cities,...
Anne McTaggart: 8. To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. (S4O-00736)
Anne McTaggart: Given that the Welfare Reform Bill has now passed its final hurdle in the House of Lords, what discussions have ministers had about the impact that the bill will have on working families in Scotland, particularly those in receipt of working tax credit?
Anne McTaggart: I begin by declaring an interest as an elected member of Glasgow City Council. Since joining the Local Government and Regeneration Committee at the beginning of this year, I have had the opportunity to take part in the final stages of the committee’s report on the living wage in Scotland, and I owe recognition to my colleagues, Mark Griffin and Kezia Dugdale, for their efforts and the work...
Anne McTaggart: I rise to speak as the next member on the conveyor belt. Although I am not a member of the Health and Sport Committee, I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. After all, at the heart of the inquiry was the need to ensure that our older people have systems and structures that provide a safe and dignified life. I put on record my appreciation for the hard-working, compassionate people...
Anne McTaggart: That is why it is concerning to read in the committee’s report that, in some cases, residents and service users do not feel confident about contacting service providers directly to make complaints. How can we allow our older people to be cared for by businesses that they do not feel confident in speaking to? There have been worryingly similar accounts from staff about whistleblowing in the...
Anne McTaggart: All I can say is that the SNP has had a long time to tell that story. We are still waiting and, given what its partners in England are doing, we will still be behind. As a working mother with three children, I sincerely welcome the debate. I know all too well how difficult it is to find high-quality, affordable childcare and certainly realise how important it is not just for the kids but for...
