MP Praises Turriff Posties

Banff & Buchan MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford has praised postal workers after visiting the Royal Mail’s Delivery Centre in Turriff.

Eilidh was shown round the office by local Delivery Office Manager, Murdo Watson, and was introduced to the postmen and women who are working hard sorting and delivering cards and parcels in the Turriff area in the run-up to Christmas.

Commenting, Eilidh said:

“It was great to meet the dedicated, hard-working Royal Mail postmen and women at Turriff delivery office and to see first-hand just how much effort they put into delivering for people at this time of year.

“Postmen and women do such an important job at this time of year. I would like to thank them for their efforts and wish them all the best over the busy festive period.

“At Christmas, more than any time of year, it becomes apparent just how critical the Royal Mail is. We rely on our local posties to receive and send our cards and presents. In a rural area like Banff and Buchan, those same posties are a veritable lifeline.

“I will continue to speak out in favour of a publically owned, universal delivery service.”

Murdo Watson, Royal Mail Delivery Office Manager at Turriff, said:

“Christmas is the busiest time of year for Royal Mail. Our people pull out all the stops throughout the year to ensure mail is delivered quickly, but even more so over the busy festive period. We are grateful that Eilidh came along to see the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.

“Our people do a fantastic job at this time of year to ensure that friends and families stay in touch through their Christmas greetings and gifts. We’d like to remind our customers to post early so that friends and family have longer to enjoy their Christmas greetings!”

The recommended last posting dates for mail are:

• Friday 20 December for 1st Class items
• Wednesday 18 December for 2nd Class items
• Monday 23 December for Special Delivery items

The remaining recommended International posting dates for 2013 are:

• Monday 9 December for airmail to Cyprus and Eastern Europe
• Tuesday 10 December for airmail to Canada, France, Greece, Poland
• Friday 13 December for airmail to USA
• Saturday 14 December for airmail items to Western Europe (excluding France, Greece, Poland)

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Street Pastors Launch Welcomed by Local MP

Banff & Buchan SNP MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford has welcomed the launch at the weekend of the Peterhead ‘Street Pastors’.

The MP attended the launch of the new service on Saturday night where the 15 volunteers had their Commissioning Service and will be a regular sight in and around Peterhead. Street Pastors were pioneered in London in 2003 and have gone from strength to strength with around 250 teams across the United Kingdom.

The Street Pastors in Peterhead intend to work every Saturday night from 10.00pm to 4.00am and describe themselves as “a caring heart, a listening ear and a helping hand”.

After their Commissioning Service on Saturday, the Street Pastors took to the pavements of Peterhead and were positively received.

Commenting, Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP said:

“This initiative is backed by Police Scotland, the Buchan Community Safety Group and the Peterhead councillors and has been demonstrated where it operates elsewhere to contribute effectively to the safety of those using our town centres on Saturday nights.

“I congratulate organiser Frances Scott and her team on getting to this stage. Their enthusiasm for this new project was clearly evident to all who attended Saturday night’s launch and I wish them every success as they move forward with this initiative.”

Sergeant Claire Smith of the Buchan Community Policing Team said:

"It is great to have the Street Pastors joining us in Peterhead. I know they are a great success in Aberdeen, where they started in 2007.

“As police officers we are aware that sometimes the law enforcement approach is not always the best. A support approach can assist greatly with the long term aim to remove the causation factors of anti-social behaviour and incidents of disorder, which can be seen more than often outside and sometimes in licensed premises during a weekend."

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Scotland's Future on Agenda for Fyvie Farmers

Alex Salmond joined 30 farmers from his constituency last night (Monday 2 December) as a special guest at this month’s Fyvie Farmers’ Discussion Group.

Mr Salmond was invited to speak at the Vale Hotel meeting about his life in politics and the opportunities for Scotland’s farming sector in voting for independence next September. A question and answer session followed, with much interest surrounding the recently published White Paper: Scotland’s Future. The group also had particular questions about the challenges and opportunities facing the farming industry of the North East.

Mr Salmond commented:

“I was delighted to be invited to speak to the Fyvie Farmers last night at the Vale Hotel.

“The group – who meet regularly for discussions on a range of subjects – made me feel very welcome indeed. There were some great questions on farming issues, such as CAP funding, and the opportunities for Scottish farming and our country more widely following a vote for independence.”

Monday night’s meeting begins a week of engagement between SNP elected members and North East rural communities. Farmers and those involved or interested in agricultural industries will have the opportunity to put their questions on farming and independence to MEP Alyn Smith and Banff and Buchan MP, Dr Eilidh Whiteford, at events later this week.

The “Question Time” discussions will be held on Friday 6 December in Buckley’s at Deveron Country House Turriff at 7pm and at 10am on Saturday 7 December in the Public Hall, New Deer. Alyn Smith is a member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Development Committee and Dr Whiteford is the SNP’s agriculture spokesperson at Westminster.

Commenting in advance of the Q&A events, Eilidh Whiteford said:

“I’m very pleased to welcome Alyn Smith to Buchan. Alyn is widely-acknowledged as Scottish farming’s voice in Europe and has been recognised for his work with the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Scottish Agriculture’ award from a national farming magazine.

“It’s also a very timely event having just recently met with the NFUS both locally and in Westminster on the issue of CAP convergence payments for Scottish farmers which the UK Government has shamefully appropriated and spread around the entire UK instead of passing it on to the Scottish industry, which was the intended purpose of the money.”

Alyn Smith MEP added:

“I’m delighted to be coming to Buchan so soon after the launch of the Independence White Paper to help explain how Scotland having control of its own affairs will benefit Scottish farming and I look forward to meeting with local farmers.”

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Local MP Meets with NFUS

Banff & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford met with regional officials from the NFUS at Thainstone to discuss current issues. The meeting was part of a series of regular dialogue between elected representatives and NFUS members.

Speaking after the meeting at Thainstone, Eilidh said:

“This was a constructive meeting at which a wide range of issues of concern to local NFUS members were raised.

“I was keen to get feedback from NFUS members following my debate in the House of Commons last Tuesday on the CAP convergence uplift, and I urged them to continue to press the UK Government for a fair settlement.

"By 2019 Scotland will have the lowest per hectare rates of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 funding anywhere in the EU, which is a rotten deal by any standards - the convergence uplift is supposed to mitigate Scotland's low payment rate, and it's vital it's used for its intended purpose.

"Members also raised key issues relating to the inter-linked challenges facing the livestock and processing sectors, and it's clear to me that addressing these will require the kind of strategic investment that rural development funding is designed to deliver. That's why it's so disappointing that Scotland is being so badly short-changed compared our neighbours and competitors in other parts of the UK and EU."

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