MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon MacDonald, has welcomed the announcement that new legislation which requires all homes in Scotland to have interlinked smoke and carbon monoxide alarms will be delayed until February 2022. The Scottish Government yesterday confirmed that it will ask Parliament to approve a 12-month delay in the deadline to carry out this important safety work. If the delay is approved, the new regulations, which extend the standard which currently applies to private rented property and new-builds to all homes in Scotland, will be moved back to February 2022. The Scottish Government has already made over £15m of loan funding available for Social Landlords to procure and ins
Gordon MacDonald MSP has welcomed a new rail card that will allow Scottish veterans to claim a 34% discount on travel. The veterans rail card being introduced for purchase from today, initially priced at £21 per year, allows holders to travel across the country at reduced fares. To encourage uptake, the Scottish Government is also funding a further discount scheme whereby anyone resident in Scotland registering between now and 31 March 2021 will be eligible for a £6 rail voucher making the initial cost just £15. Commenting, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon MacDonald said, “Veterans are an asset to our communities here in Edinburgh and deserve the best possible care and support. “It is imp
MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon MacDonald, has welcomed an announcement that the Scottish Government will further extend its funding support for Scotland’s bus operators. Announced today by Scotland’s Transport Secretary, the Scottish Government will invest up to £52.6 million in maintaining Scotland’s bus services between November 2020 and January 2021. This latest announcement is in addition to the £109.7 million in funding that the Scottish Government has been providing since June to support bus services. Bus travel typically accounts for just under three quarters of all public transport journeys. This funding is to cover the anticipated loss of fare-paying passenger revenue that oper
SNP MSP Gordon MacDonald has urged constituents who face financial hardship due to being asked to self-isolate to apply for a £500 self-isolation grant offered by the SNP Government. The new Self-Isolation Support Grant will help people across Edinburgh who would lose income if they needed to self-isolate, such as those unable to work from home. This grant is for those who will face financial hardship due to being asked to self-isolate and will be targeted at people who are in receipt of Universal Credit or legacy benefits, with some discretion to make awards to others in financial hardship. Applications for the Self-Isolation Support Grant opened on 12th October and will be delivered throu
