Anne McTaggart: I welcome the opportunity to speak in this members’ business debate on safer social networking for children and I thank Alex Johnstone for securing the opportunity to consider such a serious issue of our time. I was shocked to discover from statistics that the number of young people who have fallen victim to cyber-bullies in recent years is not only alarmingly high, but is increasing. That...
Anne McTaggart: The current economic reality of low wages and high unemployment has led to some of the most difficult years in living memory for thousands of Scottish families. That, coupled with the rising costs of energy, has resulted in an increase in Scots suffering fuel poverty, as we heard. Every day, people are forced to make a choice between putting food on the table and heating their homes. We live...
Anne McTaggart: The spend in 2011-12 was £53 million. It was cut from 2010-11, from £67.3 million.
Anne McTaggart: First, I give a warm welcome to the Parliament tonight to the Leprosy Mission Scotland, which is based in Stirling. I am delighted to contribute to this debate on the work of charities tackling the disease of leprosy. I thank Bruce Crawford for securing parliamentary time to recognise the importance of world leprosy day, which is to be held on 27 January 2013. Leprosy is a debilitating...
Anne McTaggart: 2. To ask the Scottish Government what the Lord Advocate’s position is on the legal validity of the agreement between the United Kingdom and Scottish Governments on an independence referendum. (S4O-01750)
Anne McTaggart: In response to a question from my colleague Mark Griffin MSP, the Lord Advocate said: “the Edinburgh agreement, in laying out an agreed route to independence, provided the basis upon which specific legal advice could be sought.”—[Official Report, 7 November 2012; c 13131.] However, the Lord Advocate will be aware that the Advocate General for Scotland said in a written answer that was...
Anne McTaggart: Before I begin, I declare an interest, in that I am a member of Scotwest Credit Union, Glasgow Credit Union and the cross-party group on credit unions. I am delighted to contribute to this debate on the increasingly squeezed standards of living for families in Scotland and to express my growing concern that a part of the financial industry that is responsible for the economic crash is...
Anne McTaggart: As a member of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee, I welcome the opportunity to scrutinise the Government’s proposals in the High Hedges (Scotland) Bill. It is clear that the bill aims to address what can often be a major source of anti-social behaviour in our communities and intends to provide individuals with a course of action to address the problem of overhanging or...
Anne McTaggart: I am delighted to contribute to this debate on the 50 miles per hour campaign, and I thank David Stewart MSP for securing the time for it. I know that my colleague has a wealth of experience in advocating on road safety issues and is well placed to illustrate the key issues that surround the important proposal. The UK Government has welcomed the proposition to increase the speed limit for...
Anne McTaggart: As a member of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee, I have been involved in discussions about both the pace and the quality of public service reform in local authorities for some time. Our discussions and evidence-taking sessions illustrated some of the key issues that local authorities, stakeholders and communities face in seeking to achieve reform that makes way for a...
Anne McTaggart: The example that Mr Stewart mentions was excellent. The recent report by the Finance Committee on Scotland’s changing demographics, which showed an increase in the number of people of pensionable age, illustrates the challenges that we face and highlights our responsibility to evolve our public services in a way that provides high-quality and efficient resourcing into the future. The...
Anne McTaggart: As a parent of three lovely young children and a former chair of the Blairdardie primary school parent board in Glasgow, I am delighted to take part in the discussions on the importance of parenting. I welcome the Scottish Government’s £18 million investment in a national parenting strategy that develops information, advice and support for those with guardianship and caring...
Anne McTaggart: Like others, I congratulate the members of the Finance Committee and their support team on their informative report and thank them for it. Demographic change and the ageing population in particular are becoming a major concern in relation to Scotland’s fiscal sustainability. The Finance Committee’s report on the issue highlights some key issues and concerns with regard to the implications...
Anne McTaggart: 7. To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to address the issues identified by the report of the commission on women offenders. (S4O-01888)
Anne McTaggart: The report cited the failure of the Scottish Government’s mental health strategy to place sufficient emphasis on women in prison. Given that more than 80 per cent of female prisoners in Cornton Vale have a recognised serious mental health problem, does the cabinet secretary recognise the importance of that issue?
Anne McTaggart: 4. To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to Her Majesty’s Young Offenders Institution Polmont to implement recommendations arising from the full inspection carried out in October 2012. (S4O-01898)
Anne McTaggart: How does the Scottish Government plan to address the fact that, currently, only 45 per cent of young offenders at Polmont access education programmes? Does the cabinet secretary share my view that greater participation in those programmes, smaller class sizes and increased opportunities to participate in learning during evenings and weekends are imperative if we hope to reduce reoffending...
Anne McTaggart: I thank my colleague, Neil Findlay, for securing the debate, and I welcome the members of our mining community who are here today in Parliament to highlight the grave injustice that was perpetrated by police against our mining community. In the light of the South Yorkshire Police post-Hillsborough cover-up, there is now an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation into a similar...
Anne McTaggart: I am keen to contribute towards the debate on the quality of the lives of children in Scotland—most importantly, on how we can continue to improve the services and opportunities that we offer to our youngest citizens. As a mother of three children, I know full well that Scotland is often an exceptional place for young people to grow up in. However, I also know, through my work experience in...
Anne McTaggart: I am pleased to begin the debate by speaking to my amendment 5. The amendment seeks to achieve the same effect as one that I proposed at stage 2 at the Local Government and Regeneration Committee and later withdrew on the strength of an undertaking from the minister that he would reconsider the issue in detail. Amendment 5 seeks to expand the definition of a high hedge so that the bill will...
