McMILLAN SHOWS SUPPORT FOR SAMARITANS

West of Scotland MSP Stuart McMillan has highlighted the importance of the Awareness Day held by the Samaritans which takes place on the 24th July.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr McMillan said “The Samaritans provide an invaluable service and in order to support the 13,000 telephone calls, letters, emails, texts and face-to-face chats a day, it is important that they are in receipt of the necessary funds.

The need for Samaritans has never been greater and this is why they rely heavily on generous support that they are provided. Nobody knows when they may be in need of the Samaritans and that is the reason why they are available 24 hours a day. Please take note that no matter how big or small your problem may be you can contact the Samaritans for confidential, non-judgemental support.

This will be the second awareness day for the Samaritans and this time round they would like to encourage people to consider giving a few hours a month to be a Samaritans volunteer which is vital if they are to maintain their round the clock service.

You could help as a listening volunteer or make a difference by putting other skills to use in areas such as admin work, gardening, fundraising or even giving the branch an occasional lick of paint. Make a date to drop into your local branch and find out more about how you could support your local community”.

For those wishing to contact The Samaritans they should contact: www.samaritans.org or call 08457 90 90 90.

'Fan-tastic offer by MSP Stu'

Edited from the Greenock Telegraph article 10/07/07.

Football-crazy Greenock Telegraph readers have a once-in-lifetime chance to watch Premiership champs Manchester United take on arch-rivals Chelsea.

West of Scotland list MSP Stuart McMillan has teamed up with your favourite local paper to give away three sets of tickets to the FA Community Shield match next month.

The glamour tie between the title winners and the FA Cup holders is the curtain-raiser for the new season down south and a must-see match for all football fans.

Stuart said: “I wanted to give people local people the chance to go along to watch Manchester United and Chelsea play. There are plenty of supporters of both teams here.

“It will be a fantastic event.”

The new MSP has dusted down his old football boots to play in the Scottish Parliament team at a special charity tournament the day before the big match.

Managed by Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish, Stuart will be on the same side as political rivals Andy Kerr and Ken McIntosh as they take to the pitch to play Westminster, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Stuart got hold of the tickets through community shield sponsors, McDonalds. He said: “I am going down to play in the football tournament which will take place at Brunel University. We were given the opportunity of the tickets to do whatever we liked with them. I wanted to give local people the chance to watch the Community Shield match.”

Stuart will star in the politicians tournament which will take place at the new Wembley on Saturday 4 August.

WESTMINSTER REPORT CONFRIMS McMILLAN’S OLYMPIC CONCERNS

Stuart McMillan, MSP for the West of Scotland, has expressed serious concerns following the publication of a Westminster report that suggests the London Olympics may be set to give Scottish projects significant funding problems.

The report by the House of Commons Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee has supported concerns previously raised by the Scottish National Party that important lottery funding could be diverted to the London Olympics at the expense of other important activities.

The committee's comments are specifically about cultural heritage, however the concerns raised about funding being diverted to the Olympics reflect concerns in the voluntary and sporting sectors where it is widely felt that the main beneficiaries will be projects in London and the South East while projects elsewhere will struggle to attract lottery support.

Mr McMillan stated that "The concerns that my colleagues and I have raised about diversion of funds for the Olympics are supported by reports like this. Nobody objects to London hosting the Olympics but it cannot be at the expense of important charitable, heritage and sporting projects outside of London".

"Only last week I received a parliamentary answer which revealed the complete lack of benefit that the London Olympics would give to Scotland and Greenock and Inverclyde in particular. The costs of the London Olympics are spiralling out of control. From an initial estimate of £2.37 billion it is feared it could now reach £10 billion and eat into lottery funding for grass roots sport and also for cultural heritage according to this latest report".

"The UK government has yet to provide an assurance that this will not be the case and I will continue to push this issue until such assurances are given. I am very worried that West of Scotland organisations may get thin end of the wedge when it comes to future grants."

Similar concerns were raised in January by the umbrella body for Scottish charities, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), which said of Scottish charities: "These organisations are working with many of the most vulnerable in society and we seriously question why the most vulnerable in society should, in effect, pay for increased costs in holding the Olympics."

McMILLAN SLAMS ZONAL POSTAL CHARGING PLANS

Stuart McMillan, MSP for the West of Scotland, has raised concerns about the proposals for applying a surcharge on the delivery of mail in remote and rural areas.

Stuart has commented following discussions with colleagues who have rasied the issue in the House of Commons.

“We already have a situation where it is more expensive to post parcels to many rural and island areas. This is wholly unreasonable and discriminatory to both customers and businesses in rural areas of the West of Scotland".

“I am deeply concerned about the recent proposals by the Royal Mail to charge different prices for business mail depending on where in the U.K their mail is being delivered. The proposals would mean that low population rural areas pay 4.8% more compared to 4.9% less in high density business districts. This would mean it would be more costly to post to rural and remote areas of Scotland".

“These proposals strike at the very heart of the Universal Service Obligation. If granted by Postcomm then I fear that ordinary people across the West of Scotland, particularly in coastal areas and other rural areas will suffer. I am also particularly worried that if these plans are introduced then it could pave the way for future attempts to undermine and eventually destroy the Universal Service Obligation.”

Social-rented Housing supported

Stuart McMillan MSP has responded to housing charity Shelter call for support for more affordable homes for Scotland by becoming builders for the day – and placing one of the final 128 bricks on a ‘house’ it built outside the Scottish Parliament.

The charity was outside the Scottish Parliament to try and build cross-party support for affordable rented housing. Stuart was one of the 62 MSPs who signed a brick to help finish building the house.

Shelter Scotland, housing and homelessness charity, supported by Kier Building Group, built the ‘It’s time to get a move in’ Shelter Scotland house ahead of the first ever SNP government debate on housing.

Archie Stoddart, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “We are delighted that so many MSPs took time out of their day to come down, help build our house and show their commitment to affordable housing. We believe ‘It’s time to get a move in’ and build more affordable rented homes for Scotland. With hundreds of thousands of people on waiting lists, or in temporary accommodation, and rising house prices leaving many unable to buy a house, we need to give people real choices.”