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18 September

REID CALLS FOR URGENT UPGRADE OF TOBERMORY WATER TREATMENT WORKS

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute has written to Scottish Water's Chief Executive, Richard Ackroyd, calling for the Tobermory Water Treatment Works to be upgraded as a matter of urgency following water supply problems on the island at the peak of the tourist season.

Mr Reid said,

"I have written to Richard Ackroyd and told him that the Tobermory Water Treatment Works must be upgraded as a matter of urgency. Because water was being tankered from other parts of the island to Tobermory, there were also shortages in Craignure and Lochdon. We can't have the tourist season on Mull disrupted again next year by a water shortage. People running B&B's were in despair because they could not provide water for their guests."

18 September

REID SLAMS CONDITION OF MULL ROADS

On his visit to Mull last week, after driving round the potholes, Alan Reid MP slammed the appalling condition of the roads. He said,

"The roads on Mull have always been in a terrible condition, but they are even worse than ever after all the heavy rain we've had this summer. All the roads on the island desperately need repaired. The road to Fionnphort is in an absolutely appalling condition. Even stretches that were resurfaced recently have huge potholes. Overseas visitors on the bus to Iona must wonder what third world country they have visited. With increasing rainfall predicted in the coming years, the situation will only get worse.

"To add insult to injury the Council are proposing to impose weight restrictions on the islands' roads. This is not the solution - proper repairs are the answer. The Council sent out a letter, dated 1 September, but not delivered to some addresses until 9 September, giving people only 14 days to object. This is complete nonsense at a time when the mail is being held up by the ongoing dispute. The Council should abandon their weight restriction proposals and repair the roads. I have submitted an objection against these weight restrictions.

"The Scottish Government cannot ignore this problem any more. The Keep Mull Moving campaign made Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson fully aware of the serious problem at their recent presentation in Oban.

"The Scottish Government must, as a matter of urgency, give the Council more money to repair the roads properly. Scottish Government Ministers wouldn't tolerate the street where they live being in the same appalling
condition as the Mull roads. Urgent action is needed before travel on the island becomes impossible."

17 September

REID PRAISES A83 WORKERS WHO AVERTED DISASTER

Alan Reid MP met Scotland TranServ at the Rest & Be Thankful yesterday to discuss the management of the recent landslide and ways of giving advance warnings of future landslides.

TranServ revealed that, as a result of the Met Office's Heavy Rainfall Warning, a Landslide Patrol had been activated on the morning of the landslide. The patrol identified instability on the hillside and switched the traffic lights to red at 12.20pm. Ten minutes later the landslide occurred.

Following the meeting Mr Reid said, "Disaster was avoided by 10 minutes. I am full of praise for the workers who went out on the hillside in terrible weather at a risk to themselves, used their local knowledge to identify that a landslide was imminent and switched the traffic lights to red just in time.

"TranServ did a good job putting diversions in place quickly and reopening the road two days later.

"TranServ told us that they are investigating new high-tech systems to detect ground movement and give advanced warning of future landslides. Since we can't stop landslides, no expense must be spared putting early warning systems in place. Disaster was only averted by 10 minutes this time. Earlier warnings are essential in future.

"Building an alternative route on the opposite side of Glen Croe where there is already a forestry track must also be looked at."

14 September

REID WELCOMES NHS HIGHLAND CLIMBDOWN ON MORTUARY CHARGES FOR BEREAVED FAMILIES

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, welcomed the rapid climbdown by NHS Highland from their plan to charge bereaved families for storing the remains of their loved ones at Lorn & the Isles Hospital in Oban and Dunaros on Mull.

As soon as Mr Reid became aware of the plans he wrote to NHS Highland Chief Executive Dr Roger Gibbins, urging the Board not to proceed with the charges. The next day, NHS Highland issued a press statement saying that they would look at the issue again.

Mr Reid said,

"These charges would be a severe blow to families mourning the loss of a loved one. I am pleased that the Health Board promised so quickly to look again at these charges. I hope that they will confirm soon that they will not be going ahead with them. If they had got away with introducing them in Oban and Mull, I am sure that they would have quickly introduced them at other hospitals in Argyll & Bute."

14 September

REID CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION ON A83 - ALTERNATIVE ROUTE MUST BE LOOKED AT

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, has called for urgent action from the Scottish Government to ensure that the A83 at the Rest and be Thankful remains open to traffic in the future. Speaking after the road was re-opened after being closed from last Tuesday to Thursday, Mr Reid said,

"When the A83 is closed, an hour is added to the journey time to reach many parts of Argyll. This obviously has a severe impact on local businesses. If this happened in the central belt, the Scottish Government would spend millions of pounds solving the problem. They must do the same for Argyll. It doesn't matter how much it would cost - the road must be made safe and kept open at all times. The Scottish Government must examine all options - including building an alternative route on the opposite side of Glen Croe where there is already a forestry track."

14 September

REID CALLS ON FRIDAY'S SUMMIT MEETING TO STOP SHELTERED HOUSING RENT INCREASE

COUNCIL MAKE U-TURN AND ADMIT THEY WITHDREW SUPPORTING PEOPLE MONEY FROM ACHA

URGENT ACTION REQUIRED AFTER HOUSING BENEFIT BOMBSHELL

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, called on Friday's summit meeting between the Scottish Government, Argyll & Bute Council and ACHA to reach agreement on reversing the recent rent increase imposed on ACHA's Sheltered Housing tenants.

Mr Reid was speaking after receiving a letter from the Council in which they admitted that the rent increase had been brought about because they withdrew Supporting People money from ACHA. Mr Reid has also received a letter from Scottish Housing Minister, Alex Neil, in which Mr Neil says that the Scottish Government had paid the Council Supporting People money this year. The Council failed to pass this money on to ACHA. This led to the rent increase. The increase is being phased in over three years. At the end of the three year period some elderly tenants will be faced with paying £40 a week more. They will not get Housing Benefit to cover this.

The Council have refused to pay Housing Benefit to tenants on low incomes to cover the rent increase. This means that a tenant who receives only the basic state pension and pension credit will have to find £40 a week out of a weekly income of £130 just to pay this tent increase.

Mr Reid said, "The Council have, up until now, always denied that they had withdrawn Supporting People money from ACHA. Now they have done a U-turn. They have admitted that they withdrew Supporting People money and that they cannot pay tenants Housing Benefit to cover the rent increase.

"The Council have a lot of explaining to do. The Scottish Government says they gave the Council Supporting People money. The Council failed to pass this on to ACHA. Now they're refusing to give tenants Housing Benefit because they can't pay Housing Benefit to cover rent increases brought about by cuts in Supporting People funding.

"Friday's summit meeting must result in the Council restoring ACHA's Supporting People funding and the £40 rent increase being scrapped. The Council's SNP/Independent Administration have behaved disgracefully, not using Supporting People money for the purpose for which it was given to them by the Scottish Government."

14 September

REID HOPES THAT ESSO HAVE GOT THEIR ACT TOGETHER IN HELENSBURGH

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, hopes that Esso have got their act together and there will be no more occasions on which Helensburgh motorists will be left high and dry without fuel.

He was speaking after receiving a reply from Esso to his complaint about the Esso filling station in Helensburgh regularly running out of fuel. This left Helensburgh motorists without fuel since the nearest filling station is 8 miles away in Dumbarton.

Esso admitted that the filling station had run out of fuel five times between March and June, but have promised to do "everything possible" to stop this happening again.

Mr Reid said, "Helensburgh desperately needs a second filling station. Since Esso obtained the monopoly on fuel in Helensburgh and shut one of the town's two filling stations, the remaining filling station has run out of fuel on a regular basis leaving motorists stranded. I hope that Esso have now got their act together and the remaining filling station will not run out of fuel again. If it does, I urge constituents to let me know so that I can take this up with Esso again."

7 September

REID CALLS ON NHS HIGHLAND NOT TO GO AHEAD WITH CHARGES FOR MORTUARIES

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, has written to NHS Highland Chief Executive, Dr Roger Gibbins, urging him not to go ahead with charging for Mortuary facilities at hospitals in Oban and Mull.

Mr Reid said,

"I have just learnt that NHS Highland intends to start charging for mortuary services to undertakers using the Lorn & Islands Hospital, at Oban and the Dunaros Hospital, on Mull. This will add a minimum of £18 to the cost of a funeral and could cost families as much as £60 for services rendered over the weekends. The charges will be made to undertakers and it is inevitable that they will be passed on to the bereaved families. This is scandalous and puts additional strain on the family at a time when they least need it.

"I fear that the introduction of this charge in Oban and Mull is the thin end of the wedge to introducing these charges throughout Argyll & Bute.

"I have written to NHS Highland urging them not to proceed with these charges to undertakers, which will affect bereaved families".

26 August

REID DEMANDS URGENT ACTION FROM SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT AFTER REPORT SLAMS PRISONER CONDITIONS AT OBAN SHERIFF COURT AS "DREADFUL"

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, has demanded that the Scottish Government act immediately to improve prisoner conditions at Oban Sheriff Court. He was speaking after Dr Andrew McLellan, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, published a report which slammed prisoner conditions at the Sheriff Court as "dreadful".

The report revealed that, following a lengthy journey from Greenock, prisoners are required to wait in the cramped prison van for their trial. They can be held in the van for over 8 hours before their trial is held. The toilet facilities for prisoners are filthy and the toilet has no door. There is no place for prisoners to have confidential discussions with their solicitor. The report also pointed out that there are cells in the nearby police station which could be used to hold the prisoners, but the police do not allow this.

Mr Reid said,

"It is appalling that prisoners are being held in such dreadful conditions in this day and age. The Scottish Government should be ashamed of itself for allowing this situation to develop. They must take immediate action to build decent holding facilities for prisoners at the Sheriff Court. In the meantime, empty cells at the nearby police station should be used. These prisoners are facing an important trial. They should have the right to prepare properly for this, not be kept all day in a van without access to decent toilet facilities and confidential talks with their solicitor. The Scottish Government must act immediately to end this disgraceful state of affairs."

NOTE: The report can be found here on pages 17-18.

24 August

REID CALLS ON CHANCELLOR NOT TO GO AHEAD WITH 2 PENCE FUEL DUTY INCREASE DUE ON 1 SEPTEMBER

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, has written to Chancellor Alistair Darling urging him not to go through with the planned 2 pence a litre fuel duty increase due on 1 September.

Mr Reid said,

"In his Budget speech the Chancellor hinted that, if oil prices rose, he would not go ahead with September's 2 pence fuel duty increase. The price of a litre of unleaded petrol at the pumps has gone up by 10 pence a litre since the Budget.

"In view of this shocking price increase the Chancellor must cancel the increase in fuel duty. The high price of fuel is having a very serious impact on the economy, particularly in rural areas. I have written to the Chancellor urging him to cancel the planned increase."

NOTE: According to AA surveys, the price of a litre of unleaded at the pumps was 95 pence in April and 104.9 pence yesterday (23 August).

In his Budget speech the Chancellor said,

"I will continue to monitor oil prices, but I expect that fuel duty will increase by 2p per litre in September."

17 August

REID CALLS ON SNP TO STOP £40 A WEEK RENT INCREASE FOLLOWING ACHA BOARD DECISION

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, called on the Scottish Government and Argyll & Bute Council to step in and stop the rent increase of up to £40 a week faced by tenants of ACHA's sheltered houses.

ACHA's Board met on Thursday 13 August and decided to go ahead with their plans to increase the rents of their sheltered housing tenants, in some cases by as much as £40 a week. The ACHA Board decided to phase the rent increases over a three year period. They have increased rents by £10 a week starting from today. A meeting is to take place between ACHA and the Council regarding the Supporting People funding which the Council stopped giving ACHA last year.

Mr Reid said,

"I am very disappointed that the ACHA Board have gone ahead with this rent increase. I hope that, when they meet the Council, the Council will agree to re-instate the Supporting People funding which they stopped last year, so that this rent increase can be reversed."

"The SNP are in power in both the Scottish Government and Argyll & Bute Council. They are the party with the purse strings. They should restore ACHA's Supporting People grant and stop the rent increase. When the Council transferred its housing stock to ACHA, they promised tenants a better service, not cuts in the warden service and £40 a week rent rises.

"The Council's SNP/Independent Administration are now threatening to privatise all their elderly care services. I hope that the reductions in the warden service and the huge rent increases are not a taste of what other elderly people will be faced with if the SNP go ahead with their plans to privatise all the Council's elderly care services. I have written to the Council asking for assurances that this pattern will not be repeated for other elderly care services should the SNP privatisation plans go ahead."

NOTE:

The sheltered houses affected are at

  • Caledonia Court, Ardrishaig
  • Chalmers Court, Inveraray
  • Cragroy, Port Riddell, Dunoon
  • Dunmar Court, Oban
  • Elder Crescent, Bowmore
  • Ferfadd Court, Rothesay
  • Ford Spence Court, Benderloch
  • MacDougall Place, Bunessan
  • McCracken Court, Lochgilphead
  • Wallace Court, Sandbank
  • Lochgair Place, Tarbert

10 August

REID CALLS FOR CROFTING BILL TO BE ABANDONED

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, called on the Scottish Government to abandon its draft Crofting Reform Bill and listen to the clear voice of crofters about the way forward.

He said, "The verdict from crofters on the SNP's proposed reforms is emphatically clear. The Scottish Government's draft Bill only offers ill-thought through regulations and new costs for crofters in registering their land.

"I hope that the Scottish Government will understand how badly it has misunderstood the kind of reform which crofting needs. For crofting to have a future it must be made more attractive to young people and be able to use the available resources - especially from Less Favoured Area status - to boost productivity.

"The Scottish Government should abandon this Bill, go back to the drawing board and discuss with crofters the changes are that are required to give crofting a sustainable future."

NOTE The consultation ends on Friday 12 August 2009. Responses should be sent to Future of Crofting Team, Scottish Government, Area 1-D, Pentland House, 47 Robb's Loan, Edinburgh EH14 1TY. Email futureofcrofting@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.

10 August

REID WELCOMES RECOMMENDATION ON SUPERMARKET OMBUDSMAN

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute welcomed the recommendation from the Competition Commission to Lord Mandelson that he appoint a Supermarket Ombudsman.

Mr Reid said,

"I am pleased that the Competition Commission have recommended to Lord Mandelson that he appoint a Supermarket Ombudsman to oversee the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP). Lord Mandelson must appoint an Ombudsman as soon as possible. The new Ombudsman's first job must be to investigate the huge gap between the price that farmers receive for their milk compared to the price on the supermarket shelves. The dairy farming industry will not survive unless farmers get a fair price for their milk."

4 August

REID CALLS ON WHYTE & MACKAY TO THINK AGAIN ABOUT JURA JOB LOSSES

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, called on Whyte & MacKay to re-think their plans to make two workers redundant at their Jura distillery.

Mr Reid said, "Two job losses are a severe blow to a small community like Jura. I hope to speak to Whyte & MacKay's Chief Executive, John Beard, later today and try to persuade him not to go ahead with these redundancies.

"I warned the Government during the recent Budget debate that their whisky duty increases and their plans for inflation busting duty increases every year would cause immense damage to the whisky industry. It gives me no pleasure in saying that these warnings have been proven correct as Whyte & MacKay have given 'punitive tax legislation' in the UK as a major reason for these job losses.

"The Government must stop taxing the whisky industry to death."

3 August

REID CALLS ON SNP TO STOP £40 A WEEK RENT INCREASE

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, called on the Scottish Government and Argyll & Bute Council to step in and stop the threatened £40 a week increase in rents faced by tenants of ACHA's sheltered houses.

Mr Reid was speaking after receiving a reply from the Council to his plea for the Council to restore the Supporting People grant that it used to give ACHA to help pay for the cost of running its sheltered houses.

Alan Reid said,

"I am very disappointed that the Council are refusing to help. Their reply to me was more interested in trying to find out who had complained to me about the proposed rent increase than in trying to help the sheltered housing tenants.

"The SNP are in power in both the Scottish Government and Argyll & Bute Council. They are the party with the purse strings. They should restore ACHA's Supporting People grant and stop the rent increase. When the Council transferred its housing stock to ACHA, they promised tenants a better service, not cuts in the warden service and £40 a week rent rises.

"The Council's SNP/Independent Administration are now threatening to privatise all their elderly care services. I hope that the reductions in the warden service and the huge rent increases are not a taste of what other elderly people will be faced with if the SNP go ahead with their plans to privatise all the Council's elderly care services. I have written to the Council asking for assurances that this pattern will not be repeated for other elderly care services should the SNP privatisation plans go ahead."

NOTE:

ACHA has consulted its sheltered housing tenants on the proposed rent increased of up to £40 a week. The final decision will be taken at their Board meeting on 13 August 2009.

The sheltered houses affected are at

  • Caledonia Court, Ardrishaig
  • Chalmers Court, Inveraray
  • Cragroy, Port Riddell, Dunoon
  • Dunmar Court, Oban
  • Elder Crescent, Bowmore
  • Ferfadd Court, Rothesay
  • Ford Spence Court, Benderloch
  • MacDougall Place, Bunessan
  • McCracken Court, Lochgilphead
  • Wallace Court, Sandbank
  • Lochgair Place, Tarbert

27 July

REID DEMANDS EXPLANATION FROM TRANSPORT MINISTER FOR DELAY IN IMPROVEMENTS TO A82 AT PULPIT ROCK

Following revelations that the completion date for improvement work on the A82 at Pulpit Rock has been delayed by a year, Alan Reid has written to Scottish Transport Minister, Stewart Stevenson, demanding to know the reasons for the hold-up.

Mr Reid said, "I am bitterly disappointed that this work is to be delayed for a year. Pulpit Rock is a notorious bottleneck. The improvement work at Pulpit Rock is essential to reduce delays on the road and improve safety. This project was initiated by Tavish Scott when he was the Liberal Democrat Transport Minister in the previous Scottish Government.

"In May 2008 the new SNP Government announced that the work would be completed in 2001/12. They recently posted on the Transport Scotland website an updated programme document which stated that the completion date had been postponed by a year.

"I have written to the Transport Minister demanding an explanation for this postponement. I have also urged him to work with the local Councils along the A82 to ensure that this and other essential improvements are completed as soon as possible."

NOTES:

20 July

REID CONDEMNS SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT FOR DOWNGRADING VALE OF LEVEN HOSPITAL

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, condemned the Scottish Government for downgrading the Vale of Leven Hospital. The Scottish Government have removed anaesthetics cover from the Vale.

Following the announcement, Mr Reid said,

"The Scottish Government have downgraded the Vale by removing anaesthetics cover. They are forcing 2,000 seriously ill patients a year to go on the long journey to Paisley for their emergency operation. This is unacceptable. This service should be provided locally. Transferring patients to Paisley will put further strain on the ambulance service. Any services that cannot be provided safely at the Vale should be provided at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank, not as far away as Paisley.

"The Scottish Health Minister has tried to disguise her announcement on downgrading the Vale by combining this announcement with a recycled announcement about an increase in outpatient services at the Vale. This increase in outpatient services was announced last year. The increase is welcome, but doesn't disguise the fact that the Scottish Government are downgrading the hospital by removing anaesthetics cover.

"The Scottish Government have postponed a decision about the future of adult mental health services at the Vale. These services should definitely remain here and not be transferred to Glasgow."

"The SNP have broken their election promise not to downgrade the Vale."

15 July

REID HITS OUT AT THREATS TO ARGYLL & BUTE COURTS

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, has hit out at a Scottish Government threat to the court service in Argyll & Bute.

Leaked documents, prepared for the Scottish Court Service Strategic Board and seen by the "Herald", state that the Scottish Government is thinking of closing more than a third of Scotland's courts.

Following the leak of the document, Alan Reid said,

"None of the courts in Argyll & Bute should close. People must have the right to access justice without having to travel vast distances. Public transport is few and far between in Argyll & Bute and all of the existing court buildings are essential to give people access to justice. I will oppose attempts by this SNP Government to close any of our courts."

NOTE: See "Justice on the cheap as courts face threat of closure" for details.

14 July

REID WELCOMES CHANGES TO SHEEP ID RULES

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, welcomed concessions made by the European Commission today regarding their proposals for sheep electronic tagging and movement reporting.

At a meeting of the Standing Committee for Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) in Brussels today, the following amendments were made to the regulations:

  • electronic reading of ear tags can take place at critical control points such as markets and slaughter houses instead of at each single farm;
  • a simplified procedure for electronically tagging purchased store animals that live beyond 12 months; and
  • reduced information for the annual inventory.

Alan Reid said,

"I have been calling on Agriculture Ministers to put up a fight in Brussels to get the impractical European proposals for sheep ID changed, so I welcome today's concessions. However, despite these improvements, the scheme will still be very costly and bureaucratic to operate on Scottish hill farms, and I will keep supporting Scotland's sheep farmers in their efforts to persuade the Commission to change these proposed regulations to make them workable."

NOTE: EU regulation 21/2004 means that electronic identification of sheep will be required from 1 January 2010. Movements of all sheep from 1 January 2011 will have to be accompanied by a movement document recording the individual identities of every sheep moved and the originating holding and destination. There will be limited derogation for some classes and ages of sheep.

13 July

REID HITS OUT AT SHELTERED HOUSES RENT INCREASES

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, has criticised the Scottish Government and Argyll & Bute Council for making cuts in the money that they give to ACHA (Argyll Community Housing Association) to manage their sheltered houses.

ACHA used to receive a Supporting People Grant to help pay the costs of managing their sheltered houses. However, the Council stopped paying this grant last year leaving ACHA with a shortfall. The Council blamed the SNP Government for the cuts. At the same time the Scottish Housing Regulator has told ACHA that it cannot use rents paid by other tenants to subsidise the extra costs involved in managing sheltered houses.

As a result, new sheltered housing tenants will have to pay about £30-£40 a week more. This will be capped at £10 a week for existing tenants, but even they will have to pay the full amount in three years time.

Mr Reid said, "It is an absolute disgrace that cuts made by the SNP Administrations at Holyrood and in Argyll & Bute Council have forced these extortionate rent increases on frail, elderly tenants.

"Sheltered housing was meant to provide frail, elderly people with a safe and peaceful place to live. Because sheltered housing has extra costs like wardens, lift maintenance, laundry and window cleaning it obviously costs more to manage. Under previous Governments, the Government and the Council made up the shortfall. The SNP should be ashamed of themselves for forcing frail, elderly tenants to pay nearly £40 a week more."

NOTE: The sheltered houses affected are at

  • Caledonia Court, Ardrishaig
  • Chalmers Court, Inveraray
  • Cragroy, Port Riddell, Dunoon
  • Dunmar Court, Oban
  • Elder Crescent, Bowmore
  • Ferfadd Court, Rothesay
  • Ford Spence Court, Benderloch
  • MacDougall Place, Bunessan
  • McCracken Court, Lochgilphead
  • Wallace Court, Sandbank
  • Lochgair Place, Tarbert

13 July

REID WELCOMES SCOTTISH SECRETARY'S SUGGESTION THAT ISLANDS IN ARGYLL &
BUTE COULD BENEFIT FROM PILOT FUEL DUTY DISCOUNT SCHEME

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, welcomed comments made by Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy that islands in Argyll & Bute could benefit from a pilot fuel duty discount scheme. Mr Murphy was speaking during a recent visit to the Western Isles.

Mr Reid had put forward a proposal for a pilot fuel duty discount scheme on one or more islands during a recent meeting with the Scottish Secretary.

Alan Reid had told Mr Murphy that the price of fuel was always much higher on the islands in his constituency than in urban areas. Mr Reid suggested that the Treasury could experiment with a pilot scheme on one or more islands. This pilot scheme would involve cutting the rate of fuel duty on the island(s) in question.

Mr Reid said that other European countries operate remote rural fuel duty discount schemes. He pointed out that there would be no possibility of fraud because it would not make sense for anyone to buy fuel on the island and transport it back to the mainland.

Following Mr Murphy's recent comments Alan Reid said,

"Jim Murphy's comments are encouraging. The Treasury's concerns have always been that motorists would drive into the area covered by the discount scheme to fill up their tanks. However, a pilot scheme on islands would clearly avoid this type of abuse. Nobody would pay the
ferry fare to an island to fill their tank.

"I am pleased that a Government Minister has said that the islands of Argyll & Bute would be their favourite area for a test scheme. I will keep up the campaign to persuade the Treasury to establish a pilot scheme on one or more of our islands. A reduction in the extortionate
fuel prices on our islands would be a tremendous boost to their economies".

6 July

REID CRITICISES SNP GOVERNMENT FOR REFUSAL TO STOP SHIPS BEING LAID UP IN LOCH STRIVEN

Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, has backed local residents in their fight to stop large container ships being laid up in Loch Striven. He has also criticised the SNP Government for refusing to use their powers to stop Clydeport using Loch Striven to lay up ships.

Currently four large container vessels are laid up in the loch and more are expected.

Mr Reid said,

"It is totally unacceptable that large container ships can be laid up indefinitely in an area of outstanding beauty like Loch Striven. Clydeport's area of jurisdiction should be drastically reduced. Sea lochs like Loch Striven should not be the responsibility of Clydeport. In his reply to me, SNP Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson has admitted that ports policy is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government, but, despite this, he refused to intervene. The SNP Government should bring forward legislation to remove Loch Striven and other sea lochs from Clydeport's jurisdiction as quickly as possible."

NOTE: Letter from Stewart Stevenson MSP to Alan Reid MP available.

6 July

REID EXPRESSES SYMPATHY TO RAF FAMILIES

Following the jet fighter crash in Glen Kinglas in which two RAF air crew died, local MP Alan Reid said,

"I wish to express my deep sympathy to the families and friends of the two dead airmen. They were brave men who lost their lives in the service of their country. This tragic accident reminds us that the men and women in our armed forces put their lives at risk on a regular basis.

"More lives would have been lost if any of the debris had struck a house or a vehicle on the road below. We await the outcome of the RAF inquiry to see what lessons for the future can be learned from this tragedy."

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