my regular blog from

Click here to link to The Scottish Parliament website

Dear Constituent

Welcome to my website and the regular update on my work.


Events in Parliament over the last couple of weeks have been dominated by the Budget Bill. I know a great number of my constituents have followed this issue closely, and I welcome the agreement that was reached with the SNP to include Labour's proposals in this year's budget. With the current economic climate, Labour felt it was vitally important that apprenticeships for Scotland's young people should be a key part of the budget. The Scottish government has agreed to an extra 7,800 apprenticeships in the coming year, taking the total of new starts to 18,500. We asked for investment in PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) for retraining for those who have lost their jobs and there is now an extra £50m allocated to this, as well as a £60 million Town Centre Regeneration Fund, which has long been a Labour objective.

Throughout the process we have approached negotiations in a constructive and positive manner and the budget could have been settled earlier if everything we have now negotiated had been on the table. However we welcome the positive response from the SNP over the last few days. In these tough economic times it is crucial that everyone works together.

I opened and closed the Debate on the Scottish Government’s Gaelic Language Plan. I agree that we should have equal respect for Gaelic and English and we must explore other ways of communicating in Gaelic using the internet, radio and television. The approved Labour amendment supported the Government’s position and expressed our support for expanding the provision of Gaelic-medium education as well as reiterating our view that BBC Alba should be available on Freeview.


I took part in The Evening Times newspaper investigation into how Glasgow fares in it’s funding from Central Government. I am proud of Glasgow City Council's record on museums and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in particular, and I led a debate some years ago on Glasgow's Galleries and Museums. It seems extraordinary that only Edinburgh receives central funding for its Galleries and Museums while Glasgow does not. I also believe that Glasgow receiving a share of Business Rates would raise additional resources to be spent towards regeneration and reducing poverty.


My Constituency Surgeries in both Townhead and Partick recently have been extremely busy and I am glad that I have this opportunity to communicate directly with my constituents in this way.


I continue to be involved in finalising the details of the Edinburgh Direct Aid Scotland to Gaza convoy which is heading to Gaza with much needed medical supplies and equipment. With the closing of the Rafah border on 5th February, our plans may be delayed slightly while we confirm an alternative route. All of us involved in the convoy remain committed to taking this aid effort to the people of Gaza as soon as it becomes clear how this can be done.


The issue of how the Scottish Government is contributing to the aid effort in Gaza was raised at Question Time and I had the opportunity to ask a supplementary question regarding Government support for the convoy.

On the same day, the convoy truck was at the Scottish Parliament to acknowledge the work that MSPs have done to support the convoy and photos from this event are on the right-hand side of this page.


Thanks for stopping by.


Pauline McNeill MSP
for Glasgow Kelvin

Updated 9 February 2009

Click here for the blog archive