Stevenson Officially Opens Moray Hearing Centre

Local MSP Stewart Stevenson has officially opened Moray Hearing Care in Buckie.

Jo Farquhar, who has worked in the audiology industry for over 35 years, is the director of the practice, and also works as the audiologist.

Mr Stevenson commented:

“I’m delighted to open this excellent facility and wish Jo every success in her venture.

“This hearing centre is very important, not only to Buckie, but also the surrounding area. I’m in the fortunate position of having regular hearing tests through this I’ve witnessed the degrading of my hearing over the years. The facility we have here in Buckie will help people extend their hearing as long as possible and I would urge people to make use of it.”

Mrs Farquhar said:

“If you get a bad leg, say, you can easily see what’s wrong, but that’s not the case with deafness - you can’t just look at someone and see that they’re deaf.

“I firmly believe we should be taking the same care of our hearing as we do of our eyes. People are prepared to have their eyes tested every two years and the same should be true of their hearing.”

MSP Welcomes Launch of SEPA Flood Warning Scheme

Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, has welcomed SEPA’s launch of its new Floodline flood warning service.

The scheme, which went live earlier this month, will provide free flood warnings to those who register with the programme. The following coastal areas in Banffshire & Buchan Coast will be part of the new Floodline scheme:

• Rosehearty to Fraserburgh
• Gardenstown to Pennan
• Portsoy to Macduff
• Portgordon to Cullen

Mr Stevenson commented:

“I am aware of the devastating impact that flooding can have on people’s lives. Homes and places of work can be severely affected by flooding. I therefore welcome this initiative by SEPA giving people the opportunity to sign up for warnings of potential flooding.

“People receiving early warning of potential flooding will be better able to prepare themselves for any risks and I would encourage those in the areas covered by the new Floodline warning service to sign up to it.”

People can sign up for the Floodline Scheme by visiting http://floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodingsignup/ or by calling 0845 988 1188.

Banffshire and Buchan Coast to Lose Out by up to £2,000 from Child Benefit Cap

Labour plans to continue with the Tories’ child benefit cap could cost families in the Banffshire and Buchan Coast as much as £2000 in figures revealed this week.

The move has frustrated local SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson who believes that this is an example of why decisions on welfare should be made in Scotland.

Mr Stevenson said:

“Extending the child benefit cap will impact the wellbeing of children and hit ordinary families in the pocket – families with three children will suffer a cumulative loss of over £2,000 by 2016/17. At a time when many families are already struggling to make ends meet, we need to enable our families instead of hinder them.

“The Westminster parties’ race to the right illustrates why Scotland needs full powers over welfare – so we can use our welfare state to support people and as a springboard to a better life.”

New analysis from Scottish Parliament researchers shows that under Labour’s plans to extend the Tory child benefit cap for an additional year, a family with one child will cumulatively lose out on more than £875, a family with two children will lose almost £1,500, and a family with three children will lose over £2,000.

These changes would have a significant effect on families across the Banffshire and Buchan Coast, which is made up of 8075 families with over 13,000 children altogether. With the majority of these children under the age of 10, the outcome of the benefit cap will hinder the wellbeing of the next generation.

Labour’s support for the child benefit cap comes despite the fact that when the Scottish Parliament debated the Tory cuts to child benefit in January 2013, the Labour amendment to the Scottish Government motion would not have removed the line that “cuts to child benefit will directly impact on the wellbeing of children across Scotland”.