Stevenson Addresses Lack of Ambulance Cover in North East

Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, has met with senior staff at the Scottish Ambulance Service to discuss concerns about ambulance cover in the North East.

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Earlier this month, Mr Stevenson met with Chief Executive Pauline Howie, and Milne Weir, Divisional General Manager of the Scottish Ambulance Service, at Holyrood to discuss their progress and plans for the future.

Mr Stevenson and Banff and Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford have held a series of meetings over recent months with senior regional management at the SAS and front-line emergency personnel to examine concerns that there are areas of the North East not adequately covered by the ambulance service.

As a result, initiatives such as a recruitment drive to enlist and train more specialist ambulance personnel and increased co-operation with partnership organisations such as Scottish Fire and Rescue have been progressed.

Stewart Stevenson MSP said:

“As a result of a number of concerns from constituents I felt that it was important to meet with senior personnel from the Scottish Ambulance Service for an update on their progress.

“I was delighted to hear that their national recruitment drive has been very successful and that they are working hard to fill vacancies within the service in the North East. They are also providing a comprehensive training programme for those joining up.

“They assured me that they have been doing extensive engagement within the community over the past 18 months, and that the ambulance service are very much part of a community team approach across the area, working with local partners – which will benefit many people in the long term as well as the short term.

“The SAS has been working on training up more volunteers such as community first responders, and they are encouraging workplaces and schools to engage in CPR training so that the general public are educated in how they can help. More lives are being saved than ever before.”

At the meeting, SAS Chief Executive Pauline Howie said they had identified that seven in 10 of every emergency 999 call could be treated by professionals out with a hospital context, and that the service was working on a more effective joined up care within the community.

Eilidh Whiteford MP added:

“I am very pleased that substantive action is being taken to address the concerns of local communities in the North East, and to restore and improve on the levels of emergency cover across the area.

“We will continue this dialogue in the hope that our constituents know that they can rely on the responsiveness and function of their local ambulance service. We look forward to receiving reports of continued improvement in the future.”

Stevenson Welcomes Offshore UCG Moratorium

HUNDREDS OF CONSTITUENTS RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT FRACKING AND UGC
Banffshire & Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson has welcomed the announcement that a moratorium will be placed on offshore Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) in Scotland.

The announcement by the Scottish Government also included a timetable for an “extensive” research and consultation process into the impacts of onshore unconventional oil and gas exploration.

SNP MSP Mr Stevenson has received hundreds of emails from constituents concerned about the potential for environmental damage by fracking and UCG.

Welcoming the moratorium Stewart Stevenson said:

“Many of my constituents have serious reservations and concerns about the processes involved in fracking and Underground Coal Gasification.

“These are relatively new technologies and it is absolutely right that they should be subject to rigorous analysis and evidence gathering before they can be deemed safe or otherwise.

“The research and consultation timetable set out by the Scottish Government today shows that they are serious about conducting an extensive and thorough examination of the community, environmental and public health impacts.

“I know that this considered approach will be welcomed by the many campaigners locally who have supported a moratorium, and everyone, whatever their views on the issue – will have an opportunity to have their voices heard.”

Stevenson Highlights Work to Recruit Teachers in the North East

Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, questioned Education Secretary Angela Constance today (Wednesday) on what the Scottish Government is doing to address teacher shortage in the North East and how local recruitment is being supported.

At Portfolio Questions in the Scottish Parliament Mr Stevenson asked:

“Does the Cabinet Secretary agree that it is important to local communities that young people in particular, who may have had to study elsewhere, can find employment in their home area? In this context what is the Scottish Government doing to encourage routes into teaching for people, especially the young, who live in the North East?”

Ms Constance agreed that young people and those who are newly trained should be encouraged to stay within their communities in the North East.

She added:

“The Scottish Government is committed to working with local authorities and universities to develop routes into teaching that enable people to remain within their local area.

“This is why we have increased the number of student places for initial teacher education across Scotland – but especially at the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee and the West of Scotland. We have also brought the University of the Highlands and Islands on stream as an initial teacher education provider.”

Ms Constance attended the Teacher Summit last week in Aberdeen to discuss the problem of teacher recruitment.

She said:

“Aberdeenshire is one of the local authorities to have benefitted from Scottish Government funding to the University of Aberdeen to develop the part time distance learning PGDE course – so that partner local authorities can develop existing staff as primary teachers on a part time basis - while continuing in their employment.”

Ms Constance added that this innovation had been widely welcomed by local authorities and that she was looking into extending this to the secondary sector.