“These constitute a firm commitment to safeguard and expand public services. We introduced national concessionary travel, and we will protect and expand it.

“We will introduce a National Care Service and put an end to the postcode lottery of provision.

“We know how much we owe to the 657,000 unpaid carers in Scotland, and we want to improve the support they get and to enhance the opportunities that are open to them.”

Cathy called for national concessionary travel in the first parliament. It became a manifesto pledge in 2003. Since then she has argued for extensions to the scheme.

As Convener of the Equal Opportunities Committee, she chaired a major Disability Inquiry which made many recommendations for improvements.

She has been Convener of the Cross Party Group on Carers since 2007, working closely with carers organisations to raise carers’ issues in the Scottish Parliament.

Labour’s manifesto for older people includes pledges to:

• Protect the concessionary bus travel scheme for all over 60s and extend to those with mobility challenges and those in remote areas
• End the postcode lottery of care with the creation of a National Care Service
• Establish Scotland first chronic pain centre
• Implement a new boiler scrappage scheme to help older people peoples’ bills
• Introduce a new right to see a cancer specialist and get results within two weeks, halving the current waiting times.

In the manifesto for people with disabilities, Labour pledges to:

• ensure that Scottish Labour’s focus on jobs and training is inclusive and supports opportunities for disabled people;
• support disabled people through the tough economic times;
• ensure a bold shift towards prevention in healthcare;
• deliver better care at the right time;
• improve mobility and access to the concessionary travel scheme for people with disabilities;

Support for carers includes

• support for carers centres;
• measures to prevent carers falling into fuel poverty;
• a guarantee to ensure that the Future Jobs Fund and modern apprenticeship schemes are fully accessible to carers, young carers and those who face the most challenges in accessing the labour market;
• support for young carers, including implementing the young carers strategy, embedding awareness of the needs of young carers in teacher training and in the policies of individual schools, and more flexibility for young carers getting the Educational Maintenance Allowance.

Cathy, who is standing for reelection in Falkirk East, said:

“Young people should not be burdened by tuition fees. We do not want to deter young people from acquiring the the knowledge and skills that Scotland’s economy will need in the future.

“That’s why I wholeheartedly back the ‘Reclaim Your Voice’ campaign campaign, which has been organised by student leaders in Scotland. Access to education must always be based on ability to learn, not ability to pay.”

Noting that Scottish Labour Leader Iain Gray was the first party leader to sign up to this campaign, Cathy added:

“A Labour government will not introduce any up-front or back ended fees in the lifetime of the next parliament. Students have been let down by Nick Clegg’s betrayal and Alex Salmond’s broken promises. For Labour, supporting students is part of our focus on the things that matter.”

Reclaim Your Voice campaign

“I believe that people should have a right to see a cancer specialist and get results quickly. Currently the waiting time is one month.

“That is an agonisingly long time for people and their families to wait. We can reduce it, and I will work to ensure that we do.

“Scottish Labour has made this a manifesto pledge, and will cut the waiting time by half, to two weeks.”

Cathy said that to help alleviate the stress that a cancer diagnosis brings, there would also be support for the programme of financial advice projects for patients at the five main cancer centres across Scotland.

“I know that this is a difficult time for Scotland’s public services, but we can deliver improvements in frontline services based on greater efficiency in NHS organisation and support services. We will protect NHS services and jobs, prioritising the achievement of the highest standards of care for patients.”

Update: You can show your support for a two week cancer waiting time guarantee at http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/cancer

For more information about Scottish Labour’s policies, visit www.scottishlabour.org.uk/manifesto

“This is an ambitious but achievable programme for government,” said Cathy Peattie, adding “We aren’t in the business of making promises that could never be kept – we want to consign that to the dustbin of SNP government.

“We are committed to abolishing youth unemployment in the next Scottish Parliament and creating 250,000 jobs and apprenticeships in the next decade. We want to create a new Scottish economy, built on high-tech engineering and modern green manufacturing. Labour will freeze the council tax, halve cancer waiting times and end the postcode lottery for care of the elderly. We will put literacy teachers back in classrooms, and there will be no price tag on university education.”

“There is much more in our manifesto, including a living wage of £7.15p, a National Care Service, help for first time buyers and housebuilding, protecting workers and support for business. I look forward to making our case in the weeks to come.”

Cathy Peattie has raised concerns over local youth unemployment after figures showed over two thousand 16-24 year olds in the Falkirk area are jobless.

Commenting on the statistics compiled by the GMB, Cathy said:

“I am very concerned that so many young people don’t have a job. We must get Scotland working again and tackle youth unemployment. This will be a priority for Labour.

“The SNP government haven’t done enough to create opportunities, and further damage has been done by the Tory Liberal coalition who have axed the Future Jobs Fund.

“Scottish Labour’s plan for growth will give young people who have been out of work for six months the chance of a real job. We will also guarantee an apprenticeship for all suitably qualified youngsters.”

Cathy said:

“It was good to have Iain meet local people. We had a very positive reception on the doorsteps.

“It was also good to have Iain visit Campbells, which has been a very welcome development for the area. They told Iain how much they appreciated the support that Craig Martin, Michael Connarty and I had given them when they were relocating.”

Purple Day began in Canada in 2008 and in just 3 years it has taken off in a big way, with over 100 countries taking part worldwide. This year, in partnership with Falkirk FC, local charity Epilepsy Connections held Scotland’s biggest Purple Day celebration to date. At the match were Cathy Peattie MSP and Richard Simpson MSP, who’ve championed epilepsy in the Scottish Parliament for many years, and Gordon Banks MP, lending their support for the 2,700 people in Forth Valley who have epilepsy.

Cathy Peattie said: ”I’m very pleased to be involved in this event. It is really important that people have a better understanding and awareness of epilepsy. It is great to see Falkirk FC and Epilepsy Connections getting together to do just that through Purple Day.”

Richard Simpson MSP said: “I’m delighted to take part in Purple Day to get people talking about epilepsy. As a GP, I know that although epilepsy is a common neurological condition, it’s still much misunderstood. I’m delighted that Falkirk FC and Epilepsy Connections brought their supporters together to raise awareness of epilepsy and of the valuable work that Epilepsy Connections does to support local people affected by it.”

Gordon Banks MP said: “I am delighted to show my support for epilepsy and through Purple Day I hope that awareness will be raised significantly. The organisers and Falkirk Football Club should be congratulated on this initiative. By raising awareness we better understand the condition and can better support those affected by epilepsy”

Shirley Maxwell of Epilepsy Connections said “We were delighted with the welcome and support we got from players and fans on Purple Day. We got people talking about epilepsy and let them know about our local epilepsy information and support service that helps hundreds of people with epilepsy and their families every year. We’re facing a funding cut of at least 9% this year, and the funds we raised from our collection at the match will help keep this vital service going here in Forth Valley. Purple Day also gave us the chance to say goodbye to Keir Grajewski, the first and only Epilepsy Specialist Nurse in Forth Valley. We believe that access to an Epilepsy Specialist Nurse is vital and improves the quality of care for people with epilepsy. Our epilepsy fieldwork team have worked in close partnership with Keir over the last 6 years and he will be sorely missed by the hundreds of patients he treated during that time and by Epilepsy Connections. We’re looking forward to welcoming Keir’s successor later in the year to continue the extremely valuable and highly successful service he developed. We wish Keir and his family well in their new life abroad.”

For more information about epilepsy contact Epilepsy Connections:
Tel: 01324 624000 ext 6022
Email: info@epilepsyconnections.org.uk
Website: www.epilepsyconnections.org.uk

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Cathy noted that she was “proud of the new Forth Valley royal hospital for which I, my constituents and wider Falkirk campaigned. I am equally proud that Malcolm Chisholm agreed with us and gave the go-ahead to build the hospital. Forth Valley NHS Board carried out a very good consultation process. In my constituency, one of the major issues that came up was public transport. Although the health board listened and associated with the council to put on a bus, that bus does not serve my constituents. The villages in Falkirk East are left behind, and there is no public transport. Can the minister ask Forth Valley NHS Board to review the service to ensure that my constituents who live in villages have a bus service?”

The Minister said that she agreed with Cathy’s comments “about the new hospital and, more important, those who work in it. I also agree that good transport links to and from the hospital are, as with any hospital, important. She is right to raise such issues on behalf of her constituents.”

Noting that Forth Valley NHS Board produced a travel plan as part of the planning application, the Minister said that the board would have to discuss any changes to the plan with the councils involved, and look at cost, but that she would pass on Cathy’s concerns.

Speaking later, Cathy said: “I have of course already raised the issues with the board, but would welcome the Minister’s intervention. We campaigned for a hospital in that location on the understanding that public transport would make it easily accessible for all. Yet some people still have difficult journeys. This needs to be addressed.”

“I have campaigned for the travel scheme to cover companions for those who are unable to travel alone, whether on bus, rail or ferry, and raised the issue a couple of years ago, when I tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament to highlight the problem.

“Guides can already accompany the deafblind on buses for free, so it makes sense to extend the concessionary travel scheme to the rail network, which will make travelling from the Falkirk area to Glasgow, Edinburgh and so on much easier.”

After unveiling the plans at the Scottish Labour Party Conference, Scottish Labour’s Deputy Leader and Equalities spokesperson Johann Lamont said:

“Deafblind people don’t travel easily. They need a guide to help them get to their destination safely. Giving free train fares to companions will make a huge difference to the lives of one of Scotland’s most vulnerable groups. A Labour government will focus on what really matters and support people in these difficult times. And it is measures like this that will make Scotland a better place to live.”

Drena O’Malley, Resources Manager at Deafblind Scotland, said:

“Travelling on public transport can be a nerve-wracking experience for a deafblind person and many just won’t make the journey without a companion. Giving guides access to free travel by train will make a huge difference to people’s quality of life by encouraging them to get out and about a lot more. We would be pleased to see this policy implemented as soon as possible.”

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, which runs from 1 – 31 March, is an annual health awareness campaign organised by The Prostate Cancer Charity. The theme of the month is a celebration of awareness and The Prostate Cancer Charity Scotland is mobilising people and
urging them to ‘declare they are aware’.

Cathy said: “Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in Scotland. 2,700 men in Scotland are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, and 19,000 are currently living with the disease. Two men die of prostate cancer every day.

“Despite this, we still have a long way to go in terms of understanding the causes and identifying the most effective ways of diagnosing and treating prostate cancer – as well as improving the public’s knowledge of some of the issues faced by people affected by the disease.

“That’s why I was delighted to sign The Pledge for Prostate Cancer during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month 2011. I hope men and women of all ages and all walks of life get behind the campaign and are able to declare ‘I’m aware’ come April.”

Ann Ferguson, Head of Scotland Operations at The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: “It is fantastic that Cathy is showing her support for men and their families affected by prostate cancer. We hope many more politicians will follow suit and back the pledge to ensure prostate cancer remains firmly in the spotlight well beyond Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and that the improvements we are calling for receive due attention.”

Anyone wanting to participate in Prostate Cancer Awareness Month can request an information pack. Please call 0141 314 0050, email aware@prostate-cancer.org.uk or visit the campaign website www.prostateaware.org.uk

Anyone concerned about prostate cancer can call The Prostate Cancer Charity’s free and confidential Helpline on 0800 074 8383. The Helpline is staffed by specialist nurses and is open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and Wednesdays from 7pm – 9pm. Alternatively please visit www.prostate-cancer.org.uk