Gordon Macdonald MSP

Edinburgh Pentlands MSP, Gordon MacDonald, is urging everyone aged 18 and over, who has not received a first coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination appointment or has missed their first dose for any reason, to sign up to the self registration portal from Monday (28 June 2021). The portal will be open from 8am on Monday 28 June until the initial vaccination programme ends in September. The online system, which was used successfully to encourage unpaid carers and 18-29 year olds to

The SNP has said that Michael Gove’s claims that he “can’t see” Boris Johnson agreeing to a referendum on Scottish independence before the next UK general election are completely undermined by the fact that Mr Gove and his Tory colleagues are clearly preparing for a referendum. Today’s revelations around the misuse of taxpayers’ money to pay for polling on attitudes to the union shows the extent to which the UK Government is preparing for a vote on Scotland’s future. Mr Gove

SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon Macdonald, has expressed his delight as the City of Edinburgh Council is set to receive £846,000 from the Scottish Government to encourage children to play and socialise as part of the recovery from the pandemic. Councils across Scotland will receive a share of £15m to support summer activities that are already in place in certain areas. The support will specifically target those aged up to 25 from low income households who may otherwis

The City of Edinburgh Council has today (15th June 2021) published their intentions for the future of the temporary Spaces for People measures across the city. The Spaces for People measures were first introduced near the beginning of the pandemic to better enable physical distancing. The focus on active travel was a critical component in the Scottish Government’s strategy for managing the demand on public transport and responding to increased rates of cycling as the number o

SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon Macdonald, has expressed his delight as the City of Edinburgh Council is set to receive £846,000 from the Scottish Government to encourage children to play and socialise as part of the recovery from the pandemic. Councils across Scotland will receive a share of £15m to support summer activities that are already in place in certain areas. The support will specifically target those aged up to 25 from low income households who may otherwis

SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon MacDonald, has praised pharmacies across the city for helping to rollout rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) testing kits for people without COVID-19 symptoms. The expansion which began yesterday (Wednesday 9 June) is aimed at encouraging further uptake of testing among people with no symptoms and finding cases which would otherwise go undetected. This is building on current efforts to improve access to rapid lateral flow devices for people wi

Edinburgh Pentlands MSP, Gordon MacDonald, has commended Cue and Review, a talking newspapers daily service in Scotland, on the launch of their new Alexa “skill” app “Talking Newspaper”. The MSP welcomed the app, which allows visually and reading impaired users to access talking newspapers and magazines from all over the UK using their Alexa device, by lodging a celebratory motion in The Scottish Parliament The project was funded with £50,485 from the Scottish Government’s Co

Gordon Macdonald MSP is urging eligible families in Edinburgh to apply for this year’s Best Start Grant School Age Payment, as applications opened Monday 1 June. The payment, which is only available in Scotland, is open to families who get tax credits or certain other benefits and have a child who was born between 1st March 2016 and 28th February 2017. It is part of five family payments delivered by Social Security Scotland that also include: Best Start Foods, Best Start Gran

SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, Gordon Macdonald has welcomed the findings of its Social Justice and Fairness Commission, set up by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to present a route map for delivering a fairer Scotland. The findings of the report are based on the central principle that the function of government is to make life better for everyone and ensure no one is left behind in an independent Scotland. The report calls for a bold approach when it comes to tackling child