A9 upgrade welcome, and concern for Woolies staff

Dec 23 2008 by Our Correspondent, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

IT is that time of year again to wish all readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope that 2009 will be a successful one for all, writes Pete Wishart MP for Perth and North Perthshire.

It is always said that a week is a long time in politics, that is what makes an end of year article even more difficult!

2008 began with the sad death of my council colleague, Eleanor Howie. Eleanor was a fantastic stalwart for the Pitlochry, and subsequently the Highland ward on Perth and Kinross Council and I pay tribute to her hard work. I know that her reputation and commitment to hard work has been continued by her sister, Kate, who was elected to Eleanor's seat.

Among the many issues which have been ever present throughout 2008, have been post offices, the safety of the A9, employment in Perthshire and the economic prosperity of Perth and Perthshire.

It was fantastic to see the recent announcement that there is now a concrete proposal to dual the A9. This has been a long standing commitment for the SNP and I am thrilled that my colleagues in the Scottish Government recently made this key announcement.

One of the first duties when I was elected as Member of Parliament for North Tayside was to chair the meeting in Ballinluig, following the tragic death of five Israeli tourists on the A9. This led to the campaign for an improved junction, which was completed by an SNP government.

When the new government came to power in 2007, there were simply no plans to upgrade the A9, now the Strategic Transport Projects Review details how this work can be taken forward. Already in Perthshire, the Ballinluig junction has been made safe, and junction improvements will take place over the next four years. This is important work that will help make the road safer in advance of the complete dualling.

The safety and efficiency of the A9 is vital for our constituency's success and its role in tourism, business, agriculture and connecting communities is unparalleled. Whilst I have always been convinced of the compelling economic benefits of such investment in the A9, we must also remember that this development will make this road, known across Scotland for its record numbers of fatalities, a significantly safer and pleasant road for all to use. I am delighted that this investment was secured by the Scottish Government for the people of Perth and North Perthshire, as well as the vast track of Scotland it serves.

I was bitterly disappointed to see the failure to rescue the Woolworth's chain. This means the closure of the Perth and Blairgowrie stores. These stores have been a prominent feature of these places for a number of years. Their loss will be felt by local residents and visitors alike. This was the worst possible result for workers in Blairgowrie and Perth and took place just weeks before Christmas. I am particularly concerned now for local employees who will have to seek work in an extremely challenging retail environment. I hope that they will be well provided for in the event of redundancies.

It was great to see Perth Concert Hall winning 'Venue of the Year' at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards. The venue was up against a strong field of competition and I am delighted that it came out triumphantly. Perthshire's arts and cultural calendar has gone from strength to strength in recent years and Perth Concert Hall's contribution to this growth cannot be underestimated. Artists, exhibitions and conferences that might have otherwise chosen to take their business to Edinburgh and Glasgow are now coming to Perth.

Congratulations are also due to Jim Malcolm and piper Ross Ainslie who were nominated in the Scots Singer of the Year and Live Act of the Year categories respectively, as well as to Dougie MacLean, who was the well-deserved recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Perthshire groups were also well to the fore with the Bill Black Dance Band, the folk band Session A9 and the Blackford Fiddlers all receiving nominations. The awards were a great night to showcase Perthshire's talent.

Another blow to Perthshire was HM Revenue and Customs' confirmation that it is to close more than 90 offices across the UK, including Perth's HMRC Office. I was closely involved in discussions surrounding the future of the office and held several meetings with local Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) representatives and members of staff at Perth HMRC.

This closure has been one of calculation and stealth, which has slowly, but surely, stripped this centre back to the bone. The loss of this facility will be felt by our local business community. Individuals in Perthshire will also suffer from this flawed decision. This closure could not have been confirmed at a worse moment - at such a challenging economic time when many households are facing a financial storm and are in dire need of assistance with tax and revenue issues.

I have fully supported the PCS campaign to stop the heart being ripped out of public service provision. What people want, and quite simply what works, is being able to speak to people face to face, rather than being shunted onto telephone lines to centralised teams that are based many miles away. This move will see a loss of a range of employment opportunities and I think it is a bitter blow to lose these high quality civil service jobs from Perthshire. This closure threatens to disadvantage the most vulnerable, whether it is for Tax Credits, benefits or many other government services and this course of action can only degrade these services to constituents in Perth and North Perthshire.

PA readers will be well aware of my firm commitment to our local Post Offices. I was therefore delighted that in November, we saw the announcement that the Post Office will continue to operate the Post Office Card Account (POCA). This was something that I campaigned on for many months and undertook a petition campaign. The Post Office is a lifeline service in Perthshire and beyond and I hope that UK Government recognise the social value of the network and its services.

This was an issue that was of great interest to constituents in Perth and North Perthshire. I received some 2,000 objections to the privatisation of the Post Office Card Account and it was one of the biggest campaigns I have been involved in since becoming a Member of Parliament. This was a real victory for people power and I thank everyone in the constituency who took the time to phone, email or write to me about this important matter. In these days of financial uncertainty, the Post Office is uniquely placed as a trusted and accessible local service, and there is a real opportunity to secure the networks future as an essential local service.

I was extremely pleased to hear of the plans that Norwich Union's parent company, Aviva, have for expansion in Perth. It is quite clear that Perth is firmly back on the map as a key financial centre. Aviva is to have seven Centres of Excellence in the whole of the UK, with two of them in Scotland. There will be around 1500 staff at Pitheavlis and an ongoing need for the recruitment of 170-180 people a year, many of whom will come from the surrounding area. There will be a genuine opportunity for people to build a career in Perth, progressing to an extremely high level in the insurance industry. The operation at Norwich Union is set to grow considerably and we are looking at a net increase of 3-400 jobs for Perth, many of them very high quality at substantial, professional level salaries.

The Fair City is very much an insurance city. Perth gave birth to one major insurance company and with these plans it is clear that Aviva has plans that will return Perth to the very top of the insurance tree.

This is just a snapshot of my activities over the past year. I have been involved in a number of visits throughout Perthshire, as well as assisting a great number of constituents via my Perth and Blairgowrie offices. I look forward to serving all of my constituents over the forthcoming 12 months.