Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has slammed Renfrewshire Council bosses for withdrawing funding from a service that helps older people continue to live in their own homes in our communities. The Older Person’s Advice Service was established in June 2013 as part of the Scottish Government’s Reshaping Care for Older People’s agenda and was funded by Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership who administered the Change Fund. On hearing of the fun

Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has commended the charity Erskine for providing “unwavering care and support to our ex-service men and women for over a century”. In response to the devastation of World War I and the insufficient hospital facilities to care for our veterans who were wounded in war, Erskine was founded on 29th March 1916 and has cared for veterans from every major conflict since 1916. The hospital was originally known as the Princess

Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has backed a project run by Action on Hearing Loss Scotland which aims to reduce digital exclusion experienced by older people with hearing loss. ‘Online Today!’, which is funded by Big Lottery Fund Scotland, is available to train senior citizens who are deaf or have hearing loss in Paisley and across Renfrewshire how to go online, set up an email address, stay secure when using the Internet and get the most from thei

Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has urged the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to take action to help the 2.6 million women who have been negatively affected by changes made to the state pension. John Major’s 1995 government passed a State Pensions Act that saw both men and women’s state pension age rise to 65 by 2020, while the Coalition Government’s 2011 Act brought forward the changes to 2018 and raised the state pension age to 66 by Octo

Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has responded to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s budget today – saying that it is an attempt to “balance the books on the backs of cash-strapped families, our poorest and disabled”. In his eighth budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed that the UK Government is committed to a further £3.5 billion cuts by 2019/20, that the OBR had downgraded UK growth forecasts and that he had failed to cut the debt-to-GDP

Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has joined calls for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to freeze fuel duty ahead of the 2016 Budget on Wednesday 16th Match 2016. The SNP call – backed by the FairFuelUK campaign – follows warning signs that the chancellor is planning to hike up the petrol tax in a cash-grab on families and motorists to fill in a black hole in his budget. Tax currently makes up 70 per cent of the total price of a tank of petrol or diese

Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has used a speech at Westminster to praise the contribution that the whisky industry makes to the national economy, and has called on the Chancellor to provide more support to the sector. Gavin supported his SNP colleagues and the Scotch Whisky Association in calling for a 2% cut to excise duty on spirits in the Budget next week in a bid to boost the Scotch whisky industry. Gavin also spoke about the vital role that R

Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has welcomed reports which suggest that the new series of cult BBC TV show ‘Robot Wars’ will be filmed in a warehouse next the Westway Park estate in Renfrew. Robot Wars was a shown on the BBC from 1988 until 2001, and was a cult favourite amongst viewers. In January of this year, the BBC confirmed that it would be re-launching this show with Dara O Briain and Angela Scanlon hosting the new series. The new series is set t

Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has used International Women’s Day to repeat calls for the UK Government to ratify the Istanbul Convention as soon as possible. Gavin has submitted an Early Day Motion to the Parliament, which is being supported all the main political parties, which calls for the UK government to commit to tackling violence against women and ratify the European Council’s Istanbul Convention which will legislate for a series of coordin