Fabiani welcomes 1st April measures to provide help in hard-pressed times

Central Scotland SNP MSP Linda Fabiani has warmly welcomed a range of key Scottish Government measures which kick in today, Wednesday 1st of April, and which will provide crucial assistance during current economic difficulties.

Scottish Government policies that come into action today include:
• A further drop in prescription charges from £5 to £4 for a single prescription and £48 to £38 for a 12 month pre-payment certificate
• Full implementation of the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which will see dozens of East Kilbride businesses have their rates either slashed or abolished altogether
• Scotland’s national training programme for unemployed adults ‘Training for Work’ is being made available to people at 13 weeks unemployed instead of the previous 26 weeks unemployed
• Section 11 of the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Act 2003 comes into force, placing a new duty on landlords and creditors to notify the relevant council when they take action to recover possession of a property or when they call in the mortgage.

Strathaven-based Ms Fabiani commented:
“In the East Kilbride area, as elsewhere in the country, many people are facing the prospect of hardship over the coming months. These measures from the SNP Government will provide help when people need it most.

“I am particularly pleased by the new early warning system that will help people who are facing the potential loss of their home to access the advice and support they need to prevent homelessness. The loss of a job is difficult enough to cope with, but homelessness is a tragedy from which it can be extremely difficult to ever fully recover, so I am delighted that the SNP Government has taken decisive action to help people avoid having to find themselves in that position.

“These crucial measures, combined with a second year of council tax freeze in South Lanarkshire, come at just the right time and will make a real difference to families and communities.”