Cathy welcomes Clydesdale £50 combination

Cathy with the new £50 banknote

Falkirk East MSP Cathy Peattie has welcomed the new Clydesdale banknote designs – particularly the new £50 note.

Cathy said: “I am doubly pleased by this new design. On one side, the the note shows Scots doctor and suffragette Elsie Inglis, one of Scotland’s most inspirational women. On the other side is an an image of the Antonine Wall, an important part of my constituency’s heritage.

“It’s great to see the Antonine Wall included in the new design. Given the Wall’s historic importance and status as a World Heritage Site, it deserves greater recognition and exposure. I know that the council is working hard to promote the Wall, and I will be lobbying for more support from the Scottish Government.

“Without a doubt, Elsie Inglis is one of Scotland’s greatest pioneering women, both as a doctor and as a proponent of women’s suffrage and equality. She is famed for her medical work, founding the Edinburgh Hospital and Dispensary for Women and Children - now the ‘Elsie Inglis Memorial Hospital’ – and renowned for her work in the First World War, setting up the Abbaye de Royaumont hospital in France, and a total of 14 medical units across Europe. As an ardent campaigner for women’s rights, she helped to create the Scottish Women’s Suffrage Federation.”

Cathy Backs Dementia Rights Charter

Falkirk East MSP Cathy Peattie, Convener of the Cross Party Group on Carers, helping to launch Scotland’s first ever Charter of Rights for people with dementia and their carers.

Falkirk East MSP Cathy Peattie, who chairs the Cross Party Group on carers at the Scottish Parliament, said that there are “more than 69,500 people living in Scotland who have been diagnosed with dementia, and this is projected to increase to 127,000 by 2031. People with dementia and their carers have the same human rights as every other citizen. However, it is widely recognised that, in addition to the impact of the illness, they face cultural, social and economic barriers to fulfilling these.

“This Charter aims to empower people with dementia, those who support them and the community as a whole to ensure their rights are recognised and respected. In recent years numerous reports have demonstrated that levels of care for people with dementia are simply not at a high enough standard. The publication of a Charter of Rights for people with dementia and their carers is long overdue.”