Brendan O'Hara MP
Member of Parliament for Argyll and Bute
My Week 21st January – 27th January 2019
Brendan on Facebook
A new campaign encouraging people to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as soon as they are eligible launches today.![]()
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The ‘Roll your sleeves up’ campaign will emphasise the importance of the vaccine and its safety, as well as the prioritisation list set out by Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to ensure those most at risk are vaccinated first.![]()
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Vaccination will be offered to 4.5 million people in Scotland and is currently underway for residents of care homes for older people and their carers, frontline health and social care workers, and those aged 80 years and over. Local delivery is being led by NHS boards, who will contact those eligible to arrange their vaccination.![]()
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Those aged 70 and over and the clinically extremely vulnerable, including those on the shielding list will receive their first vaccine dose by mid-February, those aged over 65 will receive their first doses by the beginning of March, and vaccination of the wider adult population will commence once the remainder of the JCVI priority groups are complete by early May.![]()
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Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said:![]()
“Vaccination offers us greater protection against COVID-19 and it offers us hope that this year will be a brighter one. It is another vital tool in our work to suppress the virus, but other measures including testing, and lockdown restrictions remain absolutely essential to suppress COVID to the lowest possible level in Scotland.![]()
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“These three critical actions will help us protect the NHS and save lives, towards a brighter year ahead. However, we don’t yet know how well vaccination stops people transmitting the virus to others – which is why it’s essential people protect the progress we’ve made, and continue to follow the restrictions currently in place, whether they have been vaccinated or not, while vaccine delivery is rolled out across the country.”![]()
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Interim Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Dave Caesar said:![]()
“No matter which vaccine you receive, each has passed a rigorous three-phase testing process, reviewed by independent regulatory and advisory bodies to ensure it is safe and effective. Your local NHS health board will be in touch with you to arrange your vaccination appointment when you are eligible, and I encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible to do so.![]()
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“However, vaccination on its own it won’t be enough to win the race against this virus. Each one of us needs to do all we can – following the guidance, abiding closely to the restrictions, washing our hands, wearing face coverings, maintaining 2m distance from each other – everything we can to slow down the spread of the virus and suppress its prevalence as low as we can, so that increasing vaccination can do the job we need it to do. Doing all of that will help you protect yourself, protect the NHS and save lives.” ![]()
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For more information visit nhsinform.scot/rollupyoursleeves or call 0800 030 8013.
nhsinform.scot
Scotland, it’s time to roll up our sleeves, vaccinations for COVID-19 have begun. When offered the vaccine please get it.
This is a press release I issued earlier today following the Tories' failure to support calls to continue the £20 Universal Credit uplift for families and individuals who badly need this extra income just now.![]()
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The SNP has repeated calls for the UK government to maintain the £20 boost to Universal Credit and extend it to legacy benefits after a welfare expert warned that ending it in March would be "too punitive a policy right now" and it is “not the right thing to do.”![]()
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Dame Louise Casey, a former homelessness adviser to the UK government, has repeatedly echoed the SNP’s calls to strengthen welfare protections and previously warned that the UK faces a "period of destitution" where families "can't put shoes on" their children.![]()
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The renewed call comes after a growing backlash from the third sector towards the Tory government after it failed to oppose plans to cut the Universal Credit uplift in yesterday’s vote. While the SNP voted against the cuts, Scottish Tory MPs abstained - despite Douglas Ross previously backing an extension uplift.![]()
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Commenting, the SNP’s Inclusive Society spokesperson, Brendan ![]()
O’Hara MP said:![]()
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"If the UK government won't listen to the SNP and the countless anti-poverty campaigners then it must listen to its own former homelessness adviser - who has warned cutting the Universal Credit uplift is ‘not the right thing to do.’![]()
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“The Chancellor must make the Universal Credit uplift permanent and roll it out to legacy benefits, if we are to protect the incomes of six million people in the middle of an economic crisis and global pandemic. And he must commit to this now to stop the uncertainty and stress for millions who are finding it impossible to plan with the UK government’s sporadic decisions and U-turns. People cannot continue to live their lives like this.![]()
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“It will take more than maintaining and extending the uplift to fix the damage done to millions of families – the UK social security system needs a total overhaul - but it would be a start.![]()
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“Dame Louise Casey said pushing ahead with cuts to Universal Credit would see the Tory party viewed as the ‘nasty party’ – unfortunately many families in Scotland and across the UK already view them as such after suffering from a decade of Tory austerity cuts and/or being left out of available coronavirus support for months.![]()
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“And the spineless six Scottish Tory MPs have done nothing to change the people in Scotland's minds on this. They abstained on the vote to cut Universal Credit yesterday and have consistently failed to stand up for Scotland. They cannot be trusted to protect Scotland's interests.![]()
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"Scotland shouldn't have to wait for Westminster to act. Westminster’s repeated failures have proven that the only way to secure a strong, fair and equal recovery is for Scotland to become an independent country - with the full powers needed to build a fairer society."
Last night my SNP colleagues and I voted to stop the NHS from being ripped out of public ownership and potentially sold off to the highest bidder as part of the UK Government’s post-Brexit Trade Bill.![]()
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We all know, more than ever just now, that the fundamental principles of the NHS – to provide a free health service accessible to all - is crucial to civil society and our wellbeing. ![]()
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The House of Lords had amended legislation to protect our NHS from being sold to the highest bidder and for NHS workers rights and patient data to be protected , but last night, despite our best efforts, the amendment was rejected by the Tories – including all Scots Tories - who followed their party whip.![]()
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It is shameful that as everyone working for the NHS faces immense pressure just now and everyone of us follows Covid guidance to ‘stay at home’ in order to protect this most vital of services, that the Tories would reject any attempts to protect it.![]()
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They may say the NHS is not for sale, but we have no reason to believe them. They have failed to stick to any other pledge they made, telling us that we’d all be better off after Brexit yet we are seeing day in day out the harm they are doing to across all sectors of business and our everyday lives.![]()
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The government at Westminster has consistently opposed amendments that would enshrine NHS protection in law, including the SNP Private Members Bill that would do just that – proving the Tories cannot be trusted. They have once again put profit over people.![]()
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www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nhs-trade-deal-protections-sell-off-b1789867.html![]()
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You can see how MPs voted here hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-01-19/division/9760772F-C206-4B9A-84B8-64F1FB9DDFC5/TradeBill?...Concerns trade deal with US could open up UK health market
As fish, seafood and shellfish producers from across the Scotland and the rest of the UK take their protest to Westminster today, I have made a direct appeal to Boris Johnson to step up and provide a multi-million pound package of compensation as a matter of urgency. ![]()
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I have written to the PM calling on him to take urgent action to protect the industry which is unable to export to EU markets because of “excessive” Brexit red tape.![]()
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Businesses including those in Argyll & Bute are on the brink after losing thousands of pounds worth of sales since Scotland was forced out of the EU on January 1.![]()
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Despite claims that trade with our most important partners in the EU would be ‘frictionless’ after Brexit, our producers have been plunged into a crisis not of their own making; they are the collateral damage of a Tory party hell-bent on leaving the EU at any cost.![]()
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In a specially convened meeting of SNP MPs and Logistics UK on Friday) I told them I have been contacted by one local seafood company which showed administration and checks on live exports had more than quadrupled since January 1. ![]()
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For them this is almost unsurvivable, they cannot afford the excessive bureaucracy and checks that are now being imposed. Boats are tied up, people haven’t had an income since before Christmas and all because the new process takes too long, is too complicated and this is driving customers in Europe away. This chaos is decimating an industry which was told leaving the EU would provide a ‘sea of opportunity’. Instead, they have been sold down the river.![]()
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At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, the PM agreed businesses would be compensated. Later this week he rolled back on that promise. I have now written to him to demand he takes urgent action to compensate everyone affected by this disaster. At every single turn my SNP colleagues and I warned of the chaos of Brexit, yet the Tories took it to the wire giving those involved in exports no time to prepare. ![]()
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It is thoroughly depressing that we are now in a live test situation where businesses across Scotland are being sacrificed by a shambolic and inept government that disregarded the warning signs. These jobs and livelihoods might not matter to the Tories – but they matter to Scotland and the SNP.![]()
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fb.watch/35i2AGw52a/
Can you help Harvey find his best friend?![]()
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It has been a week since three-year-old black Labrador, Baxter went missing on the Kyles of Bute Golf Course and best friend and uncle Harvey is longing for his return.![]()
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The pair of black Labradors ran off on the golf course, chasing each other and playing as they normally do, however when owners Alex and Alison MacLennan called, unusually only Harvey returned.![]()
Owner, Alex MacLennan said: "It is especially at times like this, when you realise what a massive role dogs play within the family and we all miss him very much. Harvey loves to cuddle up with Baxter and hasn’t spent a night without him for the past three years. We are so thankful for everyone’s support so far and hopefully we will have Baxter back with us soon.”![]()
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If you have any information to support the search to bring Baxter home, please contact pleasehelpfindbaxter@gmail.com or 07927 010362.
Installation of a protective bund next to the Old Military Road at the Rest and Be Thankful is now complete following several weeks of construction.![]()
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The 175m long, 6.6m high bund will act as a protective barrier to provide additional protection to road users of the Old Military Road through Glen Croe. The barrier is formed using a modular system favoured by the military, with individual units stacked together to create a defensive wall across the foot of the vulnerable channel carved by two large landslips in 2020. ![]()
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The bund provides greater confidence in being able to safely keep the Old Military Road open for road users during inclement weather conditions. ![]()
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Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: “I’m really pleased to see this protective bund completed, making the local diversion route more reliable and offering welcome reassurance to local road users.![]()
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“This is important progress towards improving the resilience of the Old Military Road and I would like to put on record my thanks to the teams involved for all of their efforts.![]()
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“Alongside these measures, Transport Scotland continues to explore future works for the hillside to bolster the resilience of this key corridor route.”![]()
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Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative said:![]()
“We’re pleased to see the temporary bund completed on the Old Military Road, meaning we can have greater confidence that we can safely keep the alternative route open for road users when the weather conditions worsen. ![]()
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“This work, together with the successful installation of the in-channel barrier above the A83 which was completed before Christmas, means we’re continuing to strengthen the landslip resilience in the area following two large landslips in 2020. ![]()
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“We’re continuously monitoring the hillside and weather conditions in the area, and we’ll continue with work to progress with further mitigation work on the A83 at the Rest.![]()
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“As ever we thank the local community and motorists for their continued patience while we do everything we can to address the ongoing issues at the Rest.”![]()
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Real-time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland at www.trafficscotland.org, twitter at @trafficscotland or the new mobile site my.trafficscotland.org.
Thanks to the Argyllshire Advertiser for featuring a piece I wrote in conjunction with Hope for the Future and the Time For Change Argyll & Bute group on the impact of climate change on the A83 Rest and Be Thankful.
The SNP has slammed the Tory government for jeopardising Scotland’s international reputation with its 'disgraceful' decision to leave musicians and performers off the list of workers permitted to enter the EU without a visa – despite the EU’s offer to include it in the Brexit deal.![]()
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After four days of denial from the UK government, who tried to place the blame on EU negotiators, it has finally been revealed that a proposal to grant UK performers visa-free tours in the EU in the Brexit deal was rejected by the UK government because they did not want to extend the same courtesy to EU artists visiting the UK.![]()
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The Brexit deal agreed between the UK and the EU provides exemptions to visa rules for a number of workers travelling to different European countries, but does not include artists and musicians, meaning many will have to apply for separate visas for each individual country they visit whilst touring in Europe. Many have voiced concerns that this will increase the cost of touring.![]()
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SNP Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson John Nicolson MP, said:![]()
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“After almost a week of trying to pin the blame on Brussels, the UK Government now admits it made the decision to stop European Union performers coming here without a visa. That means our performers need visas to visit the EU too. ![]()
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“European performers, artists and creatives have enriched the Scottish cultural scene for decades. Our Edinburgh Festivals, Celtic Connections and thousands of events each year are enriched by our European neighbours and will now be impoverished because of a Tory Brexit deal imposed on Scotland against our will.![]()
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“It’s been an incredibly tough year for Scotland’s cultural community. Festivals and venues are counting down the hours until they can reopen. The last thing they need is more barriers. And all fans want is to see their favourite bands here in Scotland. ![]()
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“The UK government must reconsider this decision and help, not harm, performers and musicians. Needless new work visas must be scrapped. ![]()
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“Scotland wants to keep its arms open to the world. This Tory Brexit is the very antithesis of everything the culture sector stands for.”
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