Humza Yousaf must come clean
First Minister Humza Yousaf must come clean about how the decision to freeze council tax was made.
Angela Constance MSP, cabinet secretary for justice and home affairs, admitted that COSLA, councils and even their partners in government, the Greens, were left in the dark about the plans to freeze council tax.
The lack of transparency and proper process in Humza Yousaf’s decision to freeze council tax has undermined local authorities once again, which are struggling to fund vital services.
I have repeatedly called for a fair funding deal for councils so that councils do not have to choose between cutting services and increasing council tax.
Councillor Alastair Redman, Kintyre and the Islands ward.
Scottish Ambulance Service committed as ever
The Scottish Ambulance Service has welcomed the announcement of £50 million funding by Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care.
This funding will allow us to invest in frontline staff, ambulances, vehicles and our 999 call centre operations. We know that winter will be challenging but the service, and our committed staff, are working hard to meet those challenges.
We have a whole range of initiatives which will come into place over winter to help us meet the increased demands on our services, including work to ensure we provide the quickest possible response to our most critically ill patients and we continue to support, where appropriate, less seriously ill patients to be managed at home or in the community, avoiding unnecessary A&E visits.
Our patients and our staff are our most important priorities, and this investment will ensure we can continue to deliver the very best to our patients whilst supporting our staff who play such a critical role in their care.
Michael Dickson OBE, chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service
Help to shape the delivery of winter payments
From winter 2024, the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, which will be an annual payment, will replace the UK government’s Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland.
The Scottish Government are consulting people across Argyll and Bute to understand who should be eligible for this payment, when and how it should be delivered, and what measures can be put in place to support those living off the gas grid. The consultation closes on January 15 2024.
The new Pension Age Winter Heating Payment delivered by the SNP Government will help over a million pensioners in Scotland with their heating costs, including thousands in Argyll & Bute.
The SNP Government is committed to helping the most vulnerable through the difficult winter period – but it is vital people make their views known of how this payment can best be delivered.
Since setting up a devolved social security system with compassion, fairness, and respect at its core – 13 benefits, of which seven are unique to Scotland, have been established.
Social Security Scotland is set to deliver £5.3 billion in devolved benefits in 2023-24 alone, supporting over 1.2 million people as the SNP continues to deliver every day for the people of Scotland.
The consultation can be completed at: Pension Age Winter Heating Payment – Scottish Government consultations – Citizen Space
Jenni Minto, MSP Argyll and Bute