Still time to win some Lotto cash

When we buy a lottery ticket we’re hoping for that big win that will change our lives forever. Even a small win can make you feel good. I was pleased to hear that Renfrewshire South is already winning in the Lotto stakes having scooped a remarkable £4,481,319 for our local communities between January 2006 and November 2015. This is a significant contribution that has been allocated to projects that improve the community, support new organisations, improve lives and give children the best start in life. With just one week to go, it’s not too late to apply to the Communities and Families Fund where grants of between £250 and £10,000 are available to support local projects working with children eight years and under (or their parents). You have until noon on Monday 29th February 2016 to apply. If you’d like to know more then please visit www.biglotteryfund.org/uk/cff.    

Families First

Despite the Scottish Government cuts to Renfrewshire Council’s budget, the Council has given a priority to extending the successful Families First project into Johnstone. I know the project has made a real difference in Linwood, and I’m delighted that it will start soon in Johnstone. Thank you Renfrewshire Council for this welcome boost to local families.

It’s great to talk in Linwood

I was delighted to go along to Linwood Elderly Forum with my colleague, Paul O’Kane, who hopes to follow in my footsteps to represent the people of Renfrewshire South in the Scottish Parliament.  Paul, the Scottish Labour candidate for Renfrewshire South, was pleased to meet and listen to what my constituents had to say. Lots of great ideas were discussed and it was an opportunity to come together to tackle the issues of concern to more senior people in Linwood. Our older generation has a wealth of knowledge and experience so it’s important that we provide opportunities to hear their views on local and national issues and tap into this wisdom. Forums such as this one help to provide information, advice and support to elderly people. If this is something you or someone you know might benefit from, you can contact Carolyn Russell, Community Link Officer on 0141 618 5598 to find out more about the nine elderly forums in Renfrewshire. 

Redhead with Fire in his Boots

I’m a football fan myself but enjoy other sports – watching, reading or listening to and about them – not actually taking part. So I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Gazette’s great feature on Johnstone man Peter Harvey.  Peter has quite rightly gone down in history as one of the rugby greats having played in both the rugby union and the rugby league at a time when such a thing was never heard of. And to think the story could have been so different. His entry into the world at the family home in Craigview Avenue in the town was quite dramatic as a stray German bomb dropped just 200yards from the family home as his mother gave birth. Luckily they both survived to tell the tale and his new autobiography “Redhead with Fire in his Boots” promises to be an interesting read.

Protect public services

We all want good quality public services. The question is who pays for them? At the moment, council budgets are 100% controlled by the Scottish Government. Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney decide how much councils can spend. So when I hear complaints about service reductions in education, care, roads or civic amenity sites then I have to ask two questions. Who is cutting the budget which causes this problem and secondly who can do something about it? In both cases the answer is the Scottish Government. On the second question, I know money is tight. But the Scottish Government has new powers over taxation. That's why Scottish Labour has proposed a 1p tax increase with protection for those earning less than £20,000. This would raise almost £500 million per year to protect vital public services like education and care. Why shouldn't a well paid person like me pay an extra £481 per year, and why shouldn't Nicola Sturgeon pay an extra £1447 from her six-figure salary? The reaction from the SNP has been nothing short of hysterical using Thatcherite language like "tax grabs". For some reason this so-called radical party is opposed to progressive taxation where the highest earners pay more to protect services. If we are not prepared to pay for vital public services on which we all rely, then we shouldn't complain when they are cut.

A sporting hat-trick

I was delighted to hear that sports fans in Barrhead, Neilston and other areas in East Renfrewshire will benefit from a cash boost of more than a million pounds from sportscotland . Our local kids will reap the benefits as the money will be used to encourage them to get active. East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure Trust hope to get more youngsters to enjoy sport through their Active Schools programme as well as developing and supporting more Community Sport Hubs. They also plan to encourage more people to volunteer as sports coaches, an official, or to help run sports clubs and we know what an important role these people who give up their own time play in a child’s life. The Trust is doing a great job with loads of new developments like disability swimming lessons, a new gymnastics programme, more sports classes and I believe membership of the hubs is rising.  We all know the benefits of staying active so this is a winner as far as I’m concerned. 

Beat the litter bugs

Well done to the Neilston Hit Squad who collected eight bags of rubbish in one hour from the Main Street, Kirkstyle Lane and the High Street car park. Litter isn’t just a visual problem, it also impacts on our health, the environment and the economy. Each year we spend millions of pounds tackling litter. If you’d like to do your bit to help keep Neilston litter free, you can join the Hit Squad on Sunday 28th February, 2pm at The Bank. One hour of your time can make a huge difference.