Financial Crisis Support Special

I know that many people are worried about the global financial crisis and whether their savings or pensions are safe or whether they can get a loan or pay their mortgage.

The situation is constantly developing, but as you will have seen in the news the Government has acted to introduce a wide ranging package to try to deal with the problems. Because it works on a number of fronts it has been welcomed across the political spectrum and is being viewed as a model response which is being reproduced by other countries across Europe.

To outline the key measures in the package, for banks it provides them with loans, requires them to increase their capital so they can meet debts and will guarantee their borrowing for a limited time to get credit flowing again to deal with the ‘crunch’. But it is important that there are also conditions attached for banks taking on this help, on issues such as bonuses and dividend payments.

One measure the banks will be required to take is to support lending to homebuyers and small businesses to minimise the impact on all of us. I also think it is vital that the Government has acted to protect the tax payer by taking preference shares in return for this assistance.

We are all concerned about what these global economic problems will mean for our daily lives, but the Government has taken steps wherever there has been a risk of people losing out – from Northern Rock, to the Icelandic banks – and this shows that we will do whatever is necessary to help people through these difficult times.

Icelandic Banks

I know that some people in our constituency  have been affected by the collapse of a number of Icelandic banks as a result of the global financial crisis and that they were worried about what this would mean for them. The Government recognised this and acted quickly and decisively to protect savers and ensure financial stability.

The Chancellor has guaranteed that retail depositors in the Icelandic banks will receive their money in full and is doing everything it can to help councils and charities, along with other wholesale creditors in the UK.  This response should send a signal that the Government will do all it can to help ordinary savers.

We are working to ensure that any money people have in these organisations will be recovered as quickly as possible and the assets these banks have in the UK have been frozen to make sure people will get their money in full. The Government is also committed to helping Local Authorities and charities who may have money tied up in this in any way possible and this is one issue a UK delegation is discussing with the administrators.

Because the Government in Iceland was only bringing in protection for its own savers, in a way which discriminated against UK depositors we had to act swiftly on this. The crisis has shown that we need a Government which is prepared to step in on behalf of ordinary people.

Constituency Concerns

Over the summer I met a number of different people and groups in the constituency to discuss how I can help them in Parliament. One group who came to see me was the After School Club at the Yoker Resource Centre.

The Performers’ Rights Society visited the Resource Centre over the summer to demand money for copyright when its users listen to music or watch DVDs. As a not for profit organisation they simply cannot afford this and the youngsters from the After School Club are compiling a petition against the fee which I will present to Parliament.

The centre operates on tiny margins and provides much needed services for the community which are being hit by this charge. It’s clear to me that voluntary community groups for children or the disabled aren’t destroying the value of copyright by allowing their users to enjoy their own music or DVDs in public and these are the sort of organisations we should be safeguarding and supporting, not hitting with huge bills.

I raised the issue with Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State in the House of Commons. He agreed with me that young people should not face these sorts of barriers to using these services and he undertook to look into the Yoker Resource Centre’s case. I have also met with the head of UK Music, a body representing the major record companies, to discuss this and I am optimistic that we can secure a solution for the Centre’s users in the forthcoming months.

Additionally, I have held meetings with the Edrington Group and with the local police Chief Superintendent and Superintendents for the local divisions (picture below), based at Partick, to discuss issues with them that are raised at surgeries. Edrington is a Scottish company and is controlled 100 per cent by The Robertson Trust. This charitable trust supports a wide variety of charitable causes, largely in Scotland. Last year, the Trust gave £8.4 million to charities.

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