July - 2018

News

Apprentice For The Day

IT apprentices in Edinburgh shared their knowledge of the IT profession with local MSP, Gordon Macdonald, as part of a national initiative, to help promote the benefits of work-based learning. The Edinburgh Pentlands MSP spent time at IT Centric as part of the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) ‘Apprentice for the Day’ challenge. IT Centric is one of Edinburgh’s leading Managed IT Services companies, offering IT Project and Consultancy in from everything from network infrastru

Community Gathers for a Blooming Great Tea Party

MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands has teamed up with Marie Curie to fundraise for the charity’s care and support by hosting a “Blooming Great Tea Party”, in his constituency office. Inspired by a growing love of baking, the Blooming Great Tea Party, is part of a campaign by Marie Curie that encourages people to get together with family, friends, or colleagues to serve cakes and cuppas to raise funds for people living with a terminal illness. The funds raised helps Marie Curie to e

MSP Raises a Glass to Scottish Gin

Ahead of the opening of Pickering’s first ever dedicated gin and seafood bar in Beijing - on Saturday 21 July 2018 - Gordon Macdonald MSP visited Pickering’s Gin distillery to hail the success of the Scottish Gin. The brand-new venue, which will be located in the popular Chaoyang District of Beijing, showcases Pickering’s gins alongside fresh Scottish seafood. The bar is part of a long-term export strategy for the award-winning Edinburgh distillery, with plans to open Picker

Gordon MacDonald MSP To Visit Pioneering Dementia Research Lab In Edinburgh

Tuesday 17 July, Member of The Scottish Parliament Gordon MacDonald will see first-hand the innovative research taking place to find life-changing treatments for dementia when he tours the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. As part of this tour, the MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands will visit with Dr Jill Fowler, an Alzheimer’s Research UK Senior Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Dr Fowler is leading a pioneering project investigating

Council To Impliment Framework For families Of Missing People

Gordon Macdonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, is calling on the Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council to implement the National Missing Persons Framework for Scotland. The Scottish Government launched this new framework in April 2017 which included guidance on support for families, as well as laying out responsibilities for professionals to support missing children and adults. According to the missing persons’ charity, Missing People, the framework’s success will

MoD Cuts Over 500 Jobs In Edinburgh Over 6 Years - Redford Barracks Closure Threat Signals More Pain

The Ministry of Defence has cut 580 military and civilian jobs in Edinburgh since 2012, with communities in the Capital bearing the cost of misguided Tory policies. Successive UK governments have hammered Scotland’s armed forces and systematically dismantled Scottish regiments with a proud military past, rooted in local communities. These latest figures provided in a response to a Freedom of Information request by the SNP show a 12.3% reduction in the MoD headcount across a r

Edinburgh MSP Challenges Davidson Over Welfare Cuts - Tories In Turmoil Following Councillor Resigna

SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon Macdonald, has written to Tory leader and Edinburgh Central MSP Ruth Davidson challenging her to follow the lead of Ashley Graczyk and to stand up against callous Tory cuts across the capital. Councillor Ashley Graczyk resigned from the Tory party this week in protest at cuts to disability benefits – just a month after it was revealed that over 1,200 disabled people across Edinburgh had lost vital support following UK government cuts, t

Schools Swindled by Labour's Toxic PFI Legacy

COUNCILS SPEND 8% OF SCHOOL BUDGET PAYING LABOUR’S DEBTS Schools across Scotland continue to count the cost of Labour’s toxic PFI legacy – which will see councils spend nearly 10% of their school budgets servicing the debts that Labour left behind over a decade ago. New research into the toxic PFI legacy which continues to plague Scotland’s public finances shows that of the total spend on schools across Scotland by councils this year, 8% of that money will be used paying