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Tag Archives: House of Lords
No cheers for Britain’s Chagos Islands Marine Protected Area
Britain – and our infant Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, is trumpeting Continue reading
Urgent action needed in a tale of two copyrights: music and photography
Protection of earnings from copyrighted work is a matter Continue reading
More serious concern on food safety
The UK Government has made a priority of what it calls ‘food security’. Continue reading
No more lobby firm income for Lord George Foulkes, MSP and Labour peer
The ennobled George Foulkes , Labour peer and MSP Continue reading
Enterprise Minister Jim Mather challenges Alan Reid MP to say where he stands on part-privatisation of the Post Office
Argyll’s MSP and Enterprise Minister, Jim Mather has fired a range-finding shot at Alan Reid MP, Argyll’s representative at Westminster. He has effectively challenged Mr Reid to come out and say exactly where he stands on the issue of the UK Government’s determination to part privatise the Post Office.
For Argyll has already reported on a significant contradiction in Mr Reid’s behaviour. He has been active in making supportive statements of Post Offices in the fastness of Argyll from where news of his words is unlikely to get back to Westminster. He has not, however, yet signed the Early Day Motion lodged at Westminster by Labour MP Geraldine Smith, opposing the planned privatisation.
Mr Mather now says: ‘I am surprised at the lack of public response from Labour and LibDem sources in Argyll & Bute to what is a genuine threat of privatisation to a vital public utility.
‘Some weeks ago there was a great deal of furore raised about legislative proposals to lease a part of the Forest Estate to private operators and the unions and political opponents were quick to suggest that this was some form of privatisation. We are in the process of arranging a local public meeting that will enable the very newly appointed Minister for the Environment, Roseanna Cunningham, MSP, to elaborate on what is proposed, to rebut misrepresentations and to explain how the consultation process will contribute to the debate.
‘In the case of the Westminster Government’s plans for the privatisation of part of the Royal Mail business no such debate is envisaged and there could be no mistaking the intentions of Lord Mandelson of Foy when he introduced the proposals in the House of Lords.
‘Far from any scrutiny from the elected chamber of the House of Commons far less a local public meeting, the stark facts were spelled out. The effect that this will have on rural mail services and the preservation of the Universal Service Obligation can all too easily be projected. We can be confident that the private operators will be much more interested in delivering mail to Derby than to Dervaig and to Colchester rather than Colonsay’.
Argyll’s wildlife photography experience business, Loch Visions, nominated for Scottish Countryside Alliance award
Loch Visions, a Loch Awe-based wildlife photography experience business won the Argyll regional final of the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust’s (PSYBT) ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ award.
The bsiness was also the focus of the Rural Gateway’s Your Enterprise feature last year and has now been nominated for the Rural Enterprise prize in this year’s Scottish Countryside Alliance Awards.
Winners will be announced in mid-February at a reception in Holyrood. They will then go on to represent Scotland at a UK final to be held on 18th March at the House of Lords, where they will be up against other regional winners from across the UK.
Geva Blackett, chief executive of the Scottish Countryside Alliance says: ‘We are excited about the quality, enterprise and commitment of the nominees, they deserve great praise for the work they have done in the past year in particular.
‘It will be an extremely tough task to select the winners and we are confident that whoever wins will be superb representatives for Scotland at the UK final’.