Macduff Distillery A Worldwide Success Story

Stewart Stevenson MSP says "Water Directives Should Not be Implemented In Scotland"

Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, visited his local whisky distillery today [Friday, 19th] as a guest of the Macduff Distillery management and of the Scotch Whisky Association. Commenting afterwards, Stewart Stevenson said,

"This was my first visit to a distillery although far from an introduction to this excellent Scottish product. I had not realised that our local Glen Deveron single malt was as large an exporter as to be among the largest brands of malt in the world. The £100 million in duty waiting to be paid to the London Exchequer from one single warehouse in Macduff shows how important we are to the national economy.

"In an age of increasing fears about adulteration of food products, Scotch Whisky stands out as something whose purity is guaranteed. My own small sample certainly bore that out!"

Turning to future threats to the whisky industry, Mr Stevenson added,

"As a large user of water, the whisky industry would, like our local fishing industry, be severely affected by any moves to introduce the EC's Water Directives to Scottish law. The Directive has been introduced primarily to control water use in the European Community in southern countries where it is scarce resource.

"We are permitted to rule that it need not apply in Scotland where the rainfall is more than adequate for our needs. In the case of Macduff Distillery it would be particularly inappropriate since they have their own private water supply.

"I shall now be writing to the Scottish Executive to re-inforce input from a number of quarters about how badly introduction of such measures not designed for Scotland would be for local industries such as whisky and fishing."

Unpaid And Overworked

What Future Lies Ahead For Local Agencies In The Voluntary Sector Asks Stevenson MSP?

Speaking today in Parliament Banff and Buchan MSP Stewart Stevenson spoke of his concern about the lack of funding provided to local agencies in the voluntary sector. Although the Scottish Executive has increased its funding to £39 million this year, the local agencies are not seeing the benefit. Commenting on North East examples: Grampian Addiction Problems Service and Buchan Alcohol Service Information Service Stevenson said:

“Local unpaid voluntary organisations aren’t given a lot of recognition for their work and suffer greatly from limited funding. Due to the lack of funds such organisations don’t have the ability to develop the much-needed services that the communities require.

“Local agencies also suffer from participating in unsuccessful bids when the money could be used to deliver a more productive service. It is obvious that to see that the service will, in turn, decline as a result.

“Workers in the unpaid voluntary sector are suffering from low morale, which is at an all time low. This is completely understandable as who wants to give their time and effort to a cause in which you are not only unrecognised but also undervalued and misused.

“The Scottish Executive should eradicate the local communities’ problems by directly funding the local agencies who really want to see the problems disappear”.

Alarm at Threat to Rural Hospitals in Grampian

"Grampian University Health Trust's Financial Problems Must Not Be Allowed To Reduce Clinic Provision in Community Hospitals" says MSP Stevenson

Following a meeting with Grampian Health today [Friday] it emerged that the current review of Health Board spending presents a very real threat of cut-backs in rural areas. It appears that the number of consultants' clinics in community hospitals throughout Grampian will be reduced. Speaking after the meeting, Banff & Buchan MSP Stewart Stevenson said,

"I went to this meeting with a number of questions about Chalmers Hospital services in Banff. In the event the answers indicated that the Health Board 'thought it likely' that clinics in community hospitals would have to be reduced.

"These clinics are a very important part of the delivery of acute services through local hospitals throughout Grampian. By the Health Board's own admission they enable a superior service to be provided to our rural communities.

"This threat arises because of overspending within the University Trust in Aberdeen and from lack of funding from the New Labour/Lib coalition in Edinburgh. However the impact may be most acutely felt within rural communities. If the current clinics enable delivery of a superior service then withdrawal will, by definition, provide a poorer quality of healthcare to people outside the city."

Turning to funding of health-care in Grampian Health's area generally, Stevenson commented,

"New Labour's recently announced funding for our area has resulted in 10% of Scotland's population receiving only 9% of the funding. If, as appears likely, rural areas are hit once again it is further proof that Labour neither understand or care about rural communities."