A school breakfast café for pupils and parents at St Kenneth’s Primary School in Ballingry was hailed as inspirational this week by MSP Alex Rowley who brought along Scottish Labours spokesperson for early years Daniel Johnston MSP to see the work and speak with pupils, teachers and parents. Mr Rowley was also joined by Fife […]
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley has joined the growing calls for the Scottish Government to bring forward an action plan to address the worrying shortage of nursing staff in the care sector in Scotland. Two reports published by Scottish Care have highlighted warnings of intolerable nursing shortages. 28% of nursing posts […]
A rail fare rise planned for January should be cancelled and a yearlong freeze on fares introduced. That is the proposal being put to the Scottish Government by Scottish Labour this week and First Minster Nicola Sturgeon has said she will consider the proposal. Speaking this week to the Times Scottish Labour deputy leader Alex […]
This week I spoke in the debate on “The Future of Social Security in Scotland”. As part of the Scotland Act 2016, the following social security powers are to be devolved to Scotland: Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independent Payment, Industrial Injuries Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Cold Weather Payment, Funeral […]
Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Alex Rowley spent time this week answering questions and having a discussion with pupils of Queen Anne High School, Dunfermline. As part of an ongoing programme whereby politicians of all parties speak and answer questions, Mr Rowley discussed issues ranging from poverty in Scotland, the USA elections, Brexit to LGBT rights. […]
A Dunfermline advice hub providing free, impartial and confidential advice and support has been praised by Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley as a model of ‘best practice’ providing much needed access to services. Based at 7 Douglas Street in the town centre, the Hub is a partnership of local groups including Citizens […]
This week I spoke in a debate in the Scottish Parliament calling on the Government to re-set the target for addressing fuel poverty. I also highlighted the advances on energy efficient homes made by local councils and housing associations, and argued that action must be taken to introduce similar standards in the private rented […]
Given the scale of the cuts to local councils we need to move beyond rhetoric and address the impact on jobs, on staff and on those who depend on the services. That is what I asked the Minister to address. The Scottish Government have had their budget cut by 6% through failed Tory austerity, […]
Last week in the Scottish Parliament we saw the difference in approach from the political parties to the funding of local public services. The SNP proposed changes to the upper bands for Council Tax. Whilst Scottish Labour did not oppose the proposal that would make the tax a little more progressive, we were very […]
Today is Equal Pay Day, it marks the symbolic point where women effectively earn nothing from today to the end of the year because of the gender pay gap. It is shocking that despite the Equal Pay Act, which was enacted 46 years ago, we still see women earning less than men in 2016. […]