Allan Wilson’s New Weblog (Blog)

Welcome to my new Weblog.
This is the first post in this new Weblog (blog) which will run along side my older one and has been deliberately backdated to establish and check out the “Archive” function of this new program.

This Weblog will be used for more general comments but otherwise operates in much the same way as does my old one.

You may make comments against any post, however be aware that this weblog has more advanced security to prevent spamming.

Your comments will only appear after they have been reviewed and passed by our moderator unless you have been granted special pre-clearance.
A sample comment has been attached to this post.

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North

24th August 2005

A report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has found that most regular smokers aged 12-15 have little difficulty in accessing cigarettes and regularly buy them from shops. Around 80 per cent of 15 year olds say alcoholic drinks are very or fairly easy to obtain.

While most underage drinkers tend to obtain alcohol though friends or relatives, a “substantial minority” say they buy their own and by the age of 16-17, most drinkers usually buy alcohol themselves.

The report went on to recommend that an increase in the price of cigarettes and alcohol could reduce demand for them although its authors conceded that measures to control the street supply of illicit drugs would appear to have had little impact on their price.

This is an issue requiring further investigation and I welcome any comments you may have to offer.

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North

Scotlands two nuclear power stations are to have their own dedicated teams of armed police to protect them from attack by terrorists.

Armed guards will be stationed at the power stations at Hunterston in Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian, which between them produce about 40% of Scotland’s electricity.

The new teams of guards will be in place at the two power stations from early next year at the latest.

The move has been ordered by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS), which decides on security at atomic power stations.
The step had been ordered before the London bombings as a general move to boost security at Scotland’s nuclear plants in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and that it was not related either to the London attacks or any specific intelligence of a direct threat to the Scottish stations.

During the 12 months ending April 2004, OCNS recorded more than 40 security breaches, including eight incidents it classified as “failures of security leading to unacceptable or undesirable consequences.”
The OCNS report said at least one attempt to gain access to restricted sites was foiled when two individuals with forged papers were turned away as they tried to enter a rail yard.

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North

Should There be Financial Obligations Between Not Married Co-Habiting Couples?

Popular opinion is out of kilter with new Bill.

Members of the public believe that co-habiting couples who are not married should not be financially obligated to one another in the event of break-up, despite some measures included in the proposed Family Law (Scotland) Bill.

When two cohabiting partners with different levels of income and no children, 57 per cent of respondents said that the partner with the lower income should not be entitled to financial support from the other person.

The Bill allows for a court to order one partner to pay a sum to the other partner in the event of a relationship break-up. It also makes the presumption (which can be argued against in court) that houshold goods should be divided equally between the partners.

While the Bill will introduce some measures to protect an “economically vulnerable” partner, it will not as yet confer the same financial protection as marriage.

What is your oppinion?

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North
Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning

Phishing (pronounced “fishing”, which is what it is)

If you ever wondered whether the threat of phishing and identity theft is being overblown by security companies, the National Hi Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) has revealed the real cost of these scams, after two men were sentenced for their part in a multimillion pound crime syndicate. As part of an ongoing investigation into an international crime ring, specialising in identity theft through phishing campaigns, the NHTCU helped arrest US citizen Douglas Havard and British Lee Elwood in Leeds and Glasgow. Havard and Elwood have now been sentenced to six and four years respectively.

The pair were using identity and credit card information sent to them by organised gangs in Eastern Europe which had collected pools of such data through the use of phishing scams. These dupe victims into giving away valuable credentials through the use of spoofed banking and finance sites.

The men were also key members of underground websites dedicated to defrauding people through stealing identities and financial information. A quick search on Google showed that forged credit cards are being offered for as little as $40 a pop. However the website through which this was advertised is now unavailable.

You should ensure you have a good firewall installed and keep it updated.

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North

Executive seeks Views on Violent Porn Ban
30th August 2005

The Scottish Executive has launched a consultation in conjunction with the Home Office to find out if the public agrees that there should be laws banning the downloading of violent pornography from the Net.

Under the proposals, it would be an offence to be in possessions of images depicting serious sexual violence.

The types of material that could be banned are already illegal to publish in the UK under the Obscene Publications Act, but these laws have not yet been extended to cover material published electronically in the UK from abroad.

The Executive is looking for people’s views on how the current law could be changed to include Internet material, exactly what kind of pornography should be included in a ban, and what the penalties for possession of such images should be.

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson commented: “Violent pornography is abhorrent. As we have always made clear, the Scottish Executive is committed to tackling abuse and discrimination wherever it appears in our society. We have already increased the penalties for possession and distribution of child pornography.”

“If it is found that the law can be strengthened to cut violent pornography from our society, then we will take action.”

The consultation is being carried out jointly as Internet publication is not limited by geographical borders, but if there is a need to legislate, the Executive will do so separately in Scotland.

Home Office Minister Paul Goggins said that the material that would be affected by the proposed ban was “extremely offensive to the vast majority of people, and it should have no place in our society”.

“These forms of violent and abusive pornography go far beyond what we allow to be shown in films or even sold in licensed sex shops in the UK, so they should not be available online either,” he added.

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North

5th September 2005

Communities across Scotland are being urged to talk about the hidden practice of forced marriage and consider if legislation could be drafted to tackle the problem effectively.

A forced marriage is one which takes place without the consent of both partners and today, in partnership with UK ministers, Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm launched a consultation about whether to create a specific criminal offence of forcing someone to marry.

Currently, there is no specific criminal offence relating to forced marriage within the UK.

Chisholm said that was an important distinction between forced marriage and the cultural tradition of arranged marriage, where the choice of whether or not to accept the arrangement remains with individuals.

“In forced marriage there is no choice and victims, be they young women or men, can come from a range of backgrounds with their marriages taking place here in the UK or abroad.”

“Here in Scotland, we can already take action against people involved in crimes associated with forced marriage, but we are asking whether people feel there should be a specific criminal offence. I am keen that we consider the benefits and the risks of a legislative response by hearing directly from those who have been affected by this issue.

He said that he hoped women’s and victims groups, statutory agencies, community and faith organisations would all get involved in the discussion.

The deadline for consultation responses is 5 December.

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North

Polish dentists being recruited to work in Scotland
19th October 2005

Polish dentists will be recruited to work within the Scotland to alleviate problems with NHS dental waiting times and access, Deputy Health Minister Lewis Macdonald announced yesterday.

The first 12 dentists of the 32 being recruited will arrive in Scotland by the end of January 2006 and will provide treatment for around 20,000 patients.

Macdonald also confirmed that a number of health boards are in discussion with an independent dental services provider – Integrated Dental Holdings – to provide NHS dental treatment in areas where there are currently difficulties in accessing NHS services.

“Our aim is to restore the balance so that patients who want to access NHS dental services can do so, wherever they live in Scotland. Building up the salaried dental service is one way in which we can achieve this. It will allow increasing numbers of patients to choose not to pay extra for the privilege of seeing the dentist.”

“We expect NHS Boards to be looking at innovative ways of recruiting staff to their area and sourcing high-quality staff from outwith Scotland is an excellent way of doing this. I am also pleased to be able to confirm that talks are proceeding with Integrated Dental Holdings to provide services in areas where access to an NHS dentist has become a problem for many. While IDH is a privately owned corporation, they will undertake NHS work directly and will have no financial interest in de-registering NHS patients,” he said.

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North

Free bus travel all around Scotland for older and disabled people
24th October 2005

Free bus travel all around Scotland for older and disabled people took a step closer to becoming a reality today when Transport Minister Tavish Scott announced the beginning of the public consultation on the scheme.

Over 500 concerned stakeholders will be asked to comment on the proposed national concessionary scheme which is set go live on 1 April 2006. The scheme will see the current restricted local bus entitlements extended to provide unlimited Scotland-wide free bus travel at any time of the day. In addiction, older and disabled residents of Scottish islands will receive two free return ferry trips a year.

Scott commented: “The devolved government of Scotland is committed to giving our older and disabled people free travel across Scotland’s entire bus network. We’ve worked very closely with the bus operators, local authorities, currenmt local concessionary schemes and the Mobility Access Committee Scotland (MACS) to develop what the national scheme will look like.”

The consultation closes on 5 December

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North

Plan to consolidate benefit services by June 2007 from 145 local offices across Scotland to eight centralised processing centres.

15th November 2005
PCS Opposes Benefit Processing Factories

The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union has attacked plans to deliver welfare services in Scotland from remote centres.

The union says that a notice circulated to staff working in the Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Job Centre Plus shows a plan to consolidate benefit services by June 2007 from 145 local offices across Scotland to eight centralised processing centres, five ‘stepping stones’ centres and five others delivering singular benefits.

The PCS says a reduced number of local offices will stay open but provide only a fraction of the services.

Sam Hall, Chair of the PCS Scotland Committee said: “The Department of Work and Pensions is already facing 30,000 jobs cuts across Britain as part of Gordon Brown’s civil service jobs cuts programme. Many offices have reached crisis point. Contact centres are not answering up to 80% of calls. The computer system put in to deal with benefits is collapsing with over 50% of claims having to be processed clerically.”

Stewart Dalley, PCS DWP Regional secretary said that Social Fund claimants living in Clydebank will have to telephone Inverness whilst Incapacity Benefit claimants in Dunfermline will need to speak to someone in Glasgow.

“Residents of Lockerbie will have to travel to Dumfries to find out what jobs are available. Those in Nairn will have to travel to Inverness and if you living in Thurso, you will have to make the arduous journey to Wick,” he said.

Allan Wilson MSP
Cunninghame North