Category Archives: News
“UNACCEPTABLE” PLANS TO END JURY TRIALS AT STRANRAER “THIN END OF THE WEDGE”
“UNACCEPTABLE” PLANS TO END JURY TRIALS AT STRANRAER “THIN END OF THE WEDGE”
CALLS FOR COURT CONSULTATION TO BE EXTENDED TO ALLOW COUNCIL AND LOCAL PEOPLE TO RESPOND
Local Labour politicians have called on the Scottish Court Service to extend the consultation on changes to court structure, after it has emerged the proposals include plans to stop jury trials in Stranraer.
While the consultation document is clear that Annan Justice of the Peace Court and Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court are due to close, it is not clear that there was also a proposal to stop jury trials at Stranraer Sherriff Court.
Stewartry area committee and Annandale and Eskdale area committee have discussed the proposed closures of Kirkcudbright and Annan courts, but Wigtownshire councillors have never discussed the plan to end jury trials at Stranraer. When Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Policy and Resources Committee discussed the proposals on 4th December and agreed the council’s response to the consultation, the proposed changes to Stranraer were not brought to councillors attention.
The consultation is due to close tomorrow (21 December) and Russell Brown MP and local councillor Marion McCutcheon have made a submission opposing the downgrading of the court in Stranraer. However, they are also calling on the Scottish Courts Service and Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to extend the deadline to give time for councillors to discuss it and prepare the Council’s formal response.
Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown said:
“We will fight these proposals to stop jury trials in Stranraer. It is completely unacceptable for someone to have to travel to Dumfries for a jury travel whether they are witnesses or members of the jury. This centralisation of services by the SNP has to stop. The impact will be huge and I know that local solicitors are really worried. It is the thin end of the wedge and I am really worried that if Stranraer loses jury trials we will see the beginning of a rundown of the court.
“The Scottish Government is putting cost cutting ahead of local justice and it will be local people in our area who pay the price. These plans will shut local people out of access to the justice system and will make it harder for victims and witnesses to attend court.
“It is apparent that because the changes to Stranraer were hidden in the consultation document, many people, including the Council, are only finding out about it now. Although myself and Marion have made a submission to the consultation this week supporting the retention of jury trials in Stranraer, we have also written to the Scottish Courts Service and the Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to demand that the consultation deadline be extended. While we have submitted our views to the consultation, there will be many people who will end up missing out.”
Labour councillor for Stranraer and North Rhins, Marion McCutcheon, added:
“The Council’s different area committees have been able to discuss the plans for Annan and Kirkcudbright courts, but Wigtownshire councillors didn’t get the chance to discuss the proposals to end jury trials at Stranraer. I can understand why the council may have missed the implications for Stranraer because it is buried in the consultation document, but the Court Service and Scottish Government should do the right thing and extend the consultation to give councillors time to debate the matter and prepare a thorough consultation response.
“This will have significant implications for people Stranraer. Not only will people have to travel a round trip of 190 miles from Wigtownshire to attend a jury trial in Dumfries but it will impact on the quality of legal support people will receive. If they engage a local solicitor in Stranraer, much of their time will be spent travelling back and forward to Dumfries when they would prefer to be working for their clients. There is also a danger that people will choose to use solicitors in Dumfries and that will impact on local Wigtownshire businesses.”
ENDS
CONTACT – ANDREW MACKENZIE 07769206856
NOTES TO EDITORS
Link to Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Policy and Resources paper on 4th December, where the plans to close Annan and Kirkcurdbright courts were discussed but not the plans to end jury trials at Stranraer.
http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/
LOCAL MP VISITS NEWTON STEWART AND STRANRAER ROYAL MAIL SORTING OFFICES
LOCAL MP VISITS NEWTON STEWART AND STRANRAER ROYAL MAIL SORTING OFFICES
Dumfries and Galloway MP last Friday (14 December) visited Newton Stewart and Stranraer sorting offices to show his gratitude for the postmen and women during the Christmas period.
The week before he visited Dumfries and Castle Douglas sorting offices.
Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown said:
“I’ve now visited sorting offices right across the region and every time I am amazed by the real dedicated of the royal mail staff. Whether it is freezing temperatures, rain or snow, they are out making sure our cards and presents are delivered in time for Christmas. I felt it was important to visit and show them my appreciation for the work they do. I’d like to thank them for taking the time to meet with me and show me round, especially during such a busy time.”
ENDS
CONTACT – ANDREW MACKENZIE 07769206856
WINNING SCHOOL PUPIL SET TO VISIT LONDON FOR PRIZE GIVING CEREMONY
WINNING SCHOOL PUPIL SET TO VISIT LONDON FOR PRIZE GIVING CEREMONY
Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown has visited Castle Douglas High School to present S1 pupil Ella Booth with her certificate for winning Russell’s manufacturing schools competition.
Ella has won a trip to London to attend a prize giving ceremony in Parliament, donated by manufacturing company Dupont Teijin Films, which as a site in Dumfries.
Ella fought off competition from across Dumfries and Galloway to design an idea for a new product to be manufactured. Ella’s idea for her design, an aid to help people open bottles, came from thinking of ways to help her grandmother, who suffers from arthritis.
Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown said:
“Ella’s design for a device to help elderly people was a great idea and showed a real spark for inventing. It came about because Ella saw a problem with her grandma opening bottles and so she put her thinking cap on and came up with a practical solution to help her. I was very impressed by the way Ella took an everyday issue and put real thought into how it could be tackled.
“I look forward to welcoming Ella to London for her prize giving ceremony in the Houses of Parliament.
“I hope this competition will inspire local pupils to think about getting involved in manufacturing when they leave school. Our region, and the country as a whole, desperately needs more young people to aspire to high-level manufacturing jobs and gain a better understanding of how the industry and businesses involved in it actually works.”
Describing her winning design, S1 Castle Douglas High School pupil Ella Booth said:
“The best inventions are when you see a problem and solve it. My Grandma has terrible arthritis in her wrists and fingers and is always asking people to open bottles as it’s quite hard for her to open one for herself. So my invention is ‘Hydration Release’ (a water bottle opener).
“Hydration Release is a device that can be fixed onto the handle of a walking stick, or be screwed onto a wheelchair or shelf. It would help because instead of having to grip the small bottle top, you would push the bottle into the device to hold the lid and turn the bottle It is a cone like shape that has soft rubber flaps on the inside to grip the bottle top. The rubber would be firm enough to hold its shape, but flexible enough for the thin flaps to mould to the lid.”
ENDS
CONTACT – ANDREW MACKENZIE 07769206856
NOTES TO EDITORS
Attached – Photo of Russell Brown handing certificate across to Ella Booth.
Left to right in photo: Leigh Burchill (teacher), Russell Brown MP, Ella Booth (winning pupil), Alistair Scobie (representing Dupont Teijin Films, sponsor of competition)
DALBEATTIE JOB LOSSES A “TRAVESTY” FOR THE WORK FORCE AND THEIR FAMILIES DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
DALBEATTIE JOB LOSSES A “TRAVESTY” FOR THE WORK FORCE AND THEIR FAMILIES DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Commenting on the loss of 40 jobs from near Dalbeattie by the collapse of Swift Horsman Ltd, Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown said:
“This is a big blow to Dalbeattie and the loss of 40 jobs is a huge number for the area. This is a real travesty for the workforce and their families. To find out just days before Christmas that they are being made redundant is awful news and has thrown their lives into turmoil. I have spoken with some of the workforce and the administrator and I have made it clear that I will do all I can to help get the employees their redundancy payments as quickly as possible. We also need to see the Council implement an action plan tailored to Dalbeattie area to counter the recent spate of job losses that part of the region has suffered. Once again we see the real difficulties facing the construction sector and unfortunately this is another casualty.”
ENDS
CONTACT – ANDREW MACKENZIE
NEW STUDY SHOWS INCREASE IN DEPRIVATION LEVELS IN DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY
NEW STUDY SHOWS INCREASE IN DEPRIVATION LEVELS IN DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY
The latest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), which is the tool for indentifying those places in Scotland suffering from multiple deprivation, has been published today (Tuesday).
It shows that the amount of deprivation in Dumfries and Galloway relative to the rest of Scotland has increased, with 6.7% of Dumfries and Galloway among Scotland’s most deprived areas compared to 5.7% in 2009 and 4.7% in 2004.
The most deprived area on this scale is in Lincluden and Lochside, which is amongst the 5% most deprived areas in Scotland.
The study shows the deprivation relative to elsewhere in Scotland, split into small areas called datazones. The report ranks these small areas in terms of different measures of deprivation, which shows:
- Most income deprived area in D&G – datazone in Stranraer West (amongst the 5% most income deprived areas in Scotland)
- Most employment deprived area in D&G – datazone in Lincluden and Lochside (amongst the 5% most employment deprived areas in Scotland)
- Most health deprived area in D&G – datazone in Lincluden and Lochside (amongst the 5% most health deprived areas in Scotland)
- Most education deprived area in D&G – datazone in Annan North (amongst the 5% most income deprived areas in Scotland)
- Most housing deprived area in D&G – datazone in Nithside and Nunholm
- Most access deprived area in D&G – datazone in Crocketford and Carsphairn (amongst the 5% most access deprived areas in Scotland)
- Most crime deprived area in D&G – datazone in Nithsdale and Nunholm (amongst the 5% most crime deprived areas in Scotland)
- The report also shows that datazones near Kelloholm and Kirkconnell have moved into the 15% most deprived in Scotland.
Commenting on the new report, Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown said:
“This report makes grim reading and it is concerning that more parts of Dumfries and Galloway are now among the most deprived in Scotland than when the same study was carried out 3 years ago.
“The study measures issues such as income, employment and health and I am worried that the Tory and SNP cuts we have seen over the last few years are really hurting local people. My big fear is that as the cuts bite even further over the next few years we will see all these indicators worsen. This comes at the same time as energy costs are soaring and more and more people are now facing the awful choice of heating their homes or eating a meal.
“We also need to remember that because this study looks at concentrations of deprivation in areas, it will miss out a lot of the rural poverty dotted around our region. All too often that is hidden from view and we cannot ignore the additional costs these people face in terms of longer travel and not being connected to the mains gas grid.
Dumfriesshire MSP Elaine Murray said:
“We need to see a real plan by the Scottish Government to tackle the growing problems facing ordinary people in our communities. We are facing a jobs crisis in Dumfries and Galloway and I am particularly alarmed by the high rate of youth unemployment. All the evidence shows that if people are out of work when they are young then they are more likely to have period of unemployment later in life. Unless the Government makes getting young people into jobs a top priority then they are stoking up real problems for the future.”
Speaking about the fact parts of Lincluden and Lochside is the most deprived area in Dumfries and Galloway, Labour Group Leader and North West Dumfries councillor Ronnie Nicholson said:
“I hope that because of new facilities in North West Dumfries, like the health centre, we will start to see some improvements, but we need to see a real drive to boost local employment and raise people’s incomes. The Council is not doing enough to mitigate the effects of the Tory and SNP cuts are having on our area and their recent budget cut plans will impact hardest on areas of deprivation. Local families and pensioners are fed up of hearing how hard things are at the moment, they want to see concrete steps taken to make a difference.”
ENDS
Loading ...