http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speecharchive.php Recent Speeches from Alison McInnes en-GB Alison McInnes http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2008 Alison McInnes 2008-05-09T17:27+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000020/national_parks.html I am fortunate enough to have part of the Cairngorms national park in my region. As well as being a world-class area of outstanding natural environment, the park is home to around 17,000 people in a wide range of diverse communities. 2008-03-13T15:53+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000019/borders_railway.html I understand that the Borders railway won the Parliament's backing because it will deliver major economic and social development opportunities and because it represents one of the most sustainable public transport proposals in Scotland. In fact, the minister said last week that its cost benefit ratio has increased even further. 2008-03-13T09:38+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000018/drink_driving_limit.html I thank Dave Thompson for lodging the motion for debate. We should be deeply concerned about the levels of drink-driving throughout the country. In 2005, 30 people were killed and there were 990 casualties from drink-driving related accidents in Scotland. Figures for the four week campaign to tackle drink-driving and drug-driving at Christmas, which was backed by ACPOS, show that 839 drivers were arrested during the period for numerous drink-driving or drug-driving offences throughout the eight police force areas. That figure is unacceptably high and represents only a small reduction from the previous year-by 69 from 908-and it demonstrates that there is no room for complacency. 2008-03-12T17:10+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000017/local_government_finance.html Councils and their communities and partners are always anxious at this time of year as they await the outcome of funding decisions that will directly affect the provision of much-valued local services. That is not a sensible way of going about things. Local councils ought to be able to determine what they need to maintain and develop local services. That is why Liberal Democrats support the replacement of the discredited council tax with a system of fair local income tax. 2008-02-07T16:03+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000016/public_transport.html I welcome the opportunity to debate these important and interlinked issues. Greater accessibility for all will best be delivered by co-operation among and joint initiatives involving the voluntary sector, commercial bus operators, local authorities and the Government. That was the approach of the previous Administration, and it resulted in more investment in new routes, cleaner engines and more accessible buses. It brought greater access, freer movement, less isolation and modal shift. Investment from local authorities and the Government in bus infrastructure, such as bus priority measures, real-time information and park and ride, has demonstrably led to improved provision. We have heard from Des McNulty about the investment of £450 million in new vehicles and the 8.8 per cent increase in the mileage covered by buses. 2008-01-31T12:00+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000015/energy.html There are compelling reasons for ensuring that we have a coherent and comprehensive energy strategy for the UK, including the need to tackle climate change, the ever-increasing demand for energy, higher prices, and the decline in oil and gas resources. We need the right energy strategy for the UK and we need a Scottish Government that is willing to employ its own powers to best advantage. 2008-01-17T10:28+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000010/summary_justice_reform.html Alison McInnes: Of course I, too, fully endorse the desire to speed up the summary justice system and ease the process for victims and witnesses, but I also endorse the idea that access to the justice system needs to be available to everybody in Scotland. 2007-12-06T16:10+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000012/equality_and_diversity.html I welcome today's debate and the varied contributions that have been made. The members who have spoken so far have articulated the scale of the problem that faces our society and have highlighted the range of inequalities that still need to be tackled. Recently, I have been glad to support Patrick Harvie's proposed member's bill on hate crime and Shirley-Anne Somerville's motion supporting the women's coalition's statement of intent, each of which, in its own way, sets out to tackle important areas of inequality. 2007-11-28T15:46+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000002/abolition_of_bridge_tolls_scotland_bill_stage_1.html As we have heard, the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee report recommends that Parliament agree to the general principles of the bill, but it also makes several important recommendations. The report attacks the SNP's simplistic approach and advises that the bill's environmental impacts must be dealt with. The Liberal Democrats support the sensible removal of tolls as part of an overall plan, with careful consideration of the cost, the impact on demand management, the environmental issues and congestion. However, that is not what the SNP is doing. 2007-11-17T15:31+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000006/autism_parliamentary_network.html I commend the National Autistic Society Scotland for its initiative in founding the autism parliamentary network, which will not only be an invaluable resource for parliamentarians, but encourage greater understanding of autism. It will also provide a forum for discussion, which I hope will lead to change and development in the provision of services for those with autism and their families. Surely all of us must be determined to see improvements to health, education and social care services for children and adults with autistic spectrum disorder. 2007-11-08T17:22+00:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000003/police_numbers.html Police numbers concern people throughout my region. Grampian Police, which serves a large area in the region-with a city, towns, and a highly dispersed population-faces particular pressures, because historically it received a proportion of police funding that was lower than the Scottish average. 2007-10-25T11:13+01:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000011/edinburgh_airport_rail_links.html There has been justifiable disappointment and anger in the chamber this afternoon-and not only from Helen Eadie. 2007-09-27T16:35+01:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000001/aberdeen_western_peripheral_route.html The Liberal Democrats, in partnership with the Labour Party in Government, previously made record investment in transport and announced that it would take forward the AWPR... 2007-09-26T17:40+01:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000013/court_services.html Does the minister agree that people in rural areas should have access to local courts and that the centralisation of court services in Aberdeen would be a short-sighted move, whereas the provision of a sheriff court building in Inverurie, along with the retention of the lay court, would be a welcome investment in that rural area? If so, will he intervene to halt the proposal to close Inverurie district court, which would involve all business being moved to Aberdeen? That move is opposed by local people, Aberdeenshire Council and local justices of the peace. 2007-09-20T11:40+01:00 http://www.alisonmcinnes.co.uk/speeches/000007/nhs_waiting_times.html The cabinet secretary said that nearly 2,000 patients with an ASC had waited over a year for their treatment on the ground that they were medically unfit. Will her new statistics, which will be published in March 2008, include those patients who, because they are medically unfit for treatment, have been removed from waiting lists and returned to their GPs untreated? Does she agree that those people will be more effectively hidden than they are under the current arrangements? Surely-in her own words-that is "difficult to understand" and "impossible to explain". 2007-09-19T14:36+01:00