Archive for the ‘Employment’ Category
Struan Stevenson MEP campaigning for Scottish food producers
Its great to see Struan Stevenson MEP campaigning hard on behalf of Scottish interests in Europe in particular his robust defence of our farmers and business who produce such excellent locally grown produce. His comments on labelling are essential for consumers to know exactly what they are buying.
Jim Ferguson
First word …
Welcome to the February edition of my Brussels Briefing.This month, in addition to my involvement in the appointment process of the new European Commission, I have been keeping a close eye on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy while striving to seek clarity on the issue of food labelling.
In these tough economic times local businesses and farmers need our support. Locally sourced produce is no longer a fashionable phrase, it now relates to the very survival of local shops and businesses.
In addition, the people of Scotland recognise the quality of home-grown produce and want to buy food that is genuinely Scottish. For too long consumers have been duped by products that have been mislabelled or not labelled at all. It is about time that producers are given clear guidelines for labelling. I will continue to campaign to have existing legislation changed to reflect the choice and clarity that consumers expect.
Join up here to support my campaign and help protect Scotland’s local farmers and businesses.
Best wishes,
Struan Stevenson MEP
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Superfast broadband for the Highlands of Scotland and beyond.
I was particularly interested to see the announcement of superfast broadband which a Conservative Government will introduce. Clearly business and so many individuals now use the internet that it has become an essential way to do business and has opened up so many opertunities especially for home working.
Living in the Highlands of Scotland in a very rural area has its limitations as far as working in relation to the internet and doing business online goes and this announcement is a very welcome one indeed.
This is indeed the way forward and will help boost our economy and market share on a global basis.
Jim Ferguson
Nationwide superfast broadband by 2017
Monday, February 1 2010
As part of our plans to Get Britain Growing, the Conservatives have unveiled plans to help make the UK the first major European country that has superfast broadband in the majority of homes by 2017.
Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said “we are currently one of the slowest countries in the developed world for broadband”, but with the Conservatives “we’ll become one of the fastest”.
He said Britain’s digital and creative industries “must have a proper communications infrastructure” if they are to become “world beaters”.
The Conservative approach to achieving this has three key components:
- We will create a regulatory framework to ensure the roll-out of superfast broadband at speeds of up to 100mbps to the majority of homes across the UK by 2017. This could involve either mobile or fixed line solutions and will be significantly faster than the Government’s proposed target. Our objective is to make the UK the first major European country to achieve this aim, securing its place as a European and global hub for the creative industries.
- We will end BT’s local loop monopoly by allowing other operators to use their ducts and poles thereby encouraging competition in the superfast broadband market. This approach has proved successful in other countries such as Singapore and South Korea: these countries are global leaders in superfast broadband infrastructure.
- We are committed to universal access to superfast broadband speeds. If the market does not deliver this in certain areas we will consider using the proportion of the licence fee dedicated to digital switchover to finance superfast broadband roll out under the new BBC licence fee settlement, starting in 2012. This amount would be leveraged to maximise the investment made, either by making it available as loans or on a matched funding basis.
Under these plans, Hunt said that “high speeds will be available not just in our cities but across the rural areas that have been left behind for too long”.
“These regulatory changes will create the right conditions for sustainable growth and ensure that the digital sector plays a leading role in a competitive, balanced economy”, he added.
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Recovery of Britains economy has a long and difficult way to go
Jim Ferguson
Gordon Brown’s legacy will be the Great Recession
Commenting on the news that the UK is the last G20 economy to leave the recession, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said “Gordon Brown’s promise that Britain would lead the world out of recession lies in tatters”.
“We were one of the first in and now, today, we are the last out. Gordon Brown’s legacy will be the Great Recession.”
Not only is the UK the last G20 economy to leave the recession, but:
- The UK was one of the first countries to enter recession, and the last G20 country out.
- Some countries emerged nine months ago.
- The pound has fallen significantly against other major currencies.
Osborne added that a key reason for this was that “Gordon Brown’s decisions as Chancellor left Britain ill-prepared and his judgements as Prime Minister made the recession even worse.”
The Conservatives have published a document explaining how Gordon Brown made the recession worse – you can read it in full below.
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