October eMag

Read the October edition of my monthly eNewsletter.

You can subscribe here.

Welcome to the October edition of my monthly eMagazine.

It has been a really busy month in Parliament and the constituency, with the shadow of Brexit looming over everything. With that in mind I have spoken in the chamber several times this month on Brexit alone as well as Lords reform, Heathrow Expansion and Aleppo. I am also now on the Scottish Affairs Select Committee and the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, both of which are examining in detail aspects of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

In light of my EU information leaflet, which went round the constituency in the last couple of months, I am now doing a Brexit survey which is asking people ‘what should Brexit mean?’ You can click the button below to take the survey. It only takes a few minutes and will help inform the work I do in Parliament.

Take the Survey

The Boundary Commission for Scotland also released proposals this month which will see the Edinburgh South constituency spilt in two. For more details see the boundary section below.

As ever please get in touch if you would like assistance with anything. Also, feel free to give me some feedback on the eMagazine. I have included a new contents page which should let you jump straight to sections that interest you however this may not work across all devices and platforms. Hopefully this will be improved in future editions. Enjoy!

You can read all my previous eMagazines at: http://www.ianmurraymp.co.uk/e-magazines

Casework

Constituency

Westminster

Guest Blog

Boundary Review

Planning

Despatch Box

Select Committees

Media

Notice Board

A selection of my recent votes in Parliament:

Voted for House of Lords Reform
Voted for Right to Remain for EU nationals currently in the UK

These are just some of the issues I have voted on. For a complete breakdown visit the public whip website. You can also contact me at any time on the above details to share your views of a piece of legislation, or Government policy more generally.

The Boundary Commission’s for each constituent part of the UK have now published proposals for new constituency boundaries for UK Parliament seats. This is part of the Governments gerrymandering of the boundaries and to reduce MPs in way which is most favourable to the Conservative Party. They want to cut elected members to reduce the cost by £12m a year whilst stuffing the unelected House of Lords with their own supporters which will cost in excess of £34m a year.

Here in Edinburgh South the Boundary Commission for Scotland have effectively split the seat in two- fracturing communities in an illogical way. The new South West and Central seat stretches from the top of Leith Walk to Capelaw Hill. I will be submitting sensible proposals which are in-keeping with the Boundary Commission’s objectives whilst retaining continuity with the existing boundaries.

I will be publishing more details of my proposals in my next eMagazine. For more information on the new boundaries please contact me via email or call my office on: 0313 662 4520.

Edinburgh Rugby (16/04715/FUL) – the proposal by Edinburgh Rugby to temporarily erect 2 stands at Myreside to allow them to play home fixtures there are currently on the Council Planning Portal. You can submit comments in support or opposition to the proposal until 11th November.

Cala Homes, the UKs largest private house builder has been approached by a Chinese company for talks over a potential takeover. As I understand it the talks are in their infancy but progressing well. Definitely one to keep an eye on.

Let me know if there are any planning applications near you and I will highlight in my next eMagazine.

You may remember I advertised the Aviva Community Fund Project in the last eMag. The fund has now closed but I am pleased to say that several local groups have applied.

You can now vote for projects you would like to see funded. Voting is open until 18^th November and winners will be announced in January.

If you want to see who has applied in Edinburgh please click here and type your location in the “find projects near to” box to get a full list.

Scottish Water has launched its winter campaign to encourage customers in communities across Scotland to protect their pipes, and keep the water cycle running smoothly, during spells of extreme cold weather.

Scottish Water winter advice advises anyone with a home, holiday home or business premises to take action to heat, insulate and protect their properties.

Visit www.scottishwater.co.uk/winter where you can find winter information, downloadable poster and leaflet, films and advice. If would like hard copies of our leaflet, please email customermarketing@scottishwater.co.uk details of your request.

Further information can be found online about your pipework responsibilities, visit www.scottishwater.co.uk/responsibility

Follow Scottish Water on twitter @scottish_water and facebook.com/scottishwater

Your local Council services are changing. The City of Edinburgh Council are transforming services to make better use of technology, working with partners and involving communities to deliver services and meet needs.

This is made extremely difficult as the Scottish Government are intent on cutting local government budgets.

Click here to have your say on what services should be prioritised.

City of Edinburgh Council Winter Weather Update:

During severe winter weather the Council will provide regular updates on which roads and pavements we will salt and when. We will also tell you about any school closures, disruption to traffic, help available to vulnerable people, where you can find salt bins and what you can do with your rubbish and recycling if normal services are affected.

You can get information from our website at any time and during severe weather you can get the latest updates from our Twitter account or local radio. www.edinburgh.gov.uk/winterweather and www.twitter.com/edinburgh_cc

Crisis are now recruiting volunteers for Crisis at Christmas 2016!

Crisis at Christmas is a lifeline for homeless people in Edinburgh, offering support and companionship during the festive period and the opportunity to leave homelessness behind for good. More than 347 people went to Crisis at Christmas Edinburgh in 2015. This is only made possible through the generosity of thousands of volunteers, individuals, community organisations and companies like you who donate money, time, skills, goods and services.

You can visit the website below to see how you can help out this Christmas.

http://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/crisis-at-christmas-edinburgh.html

Please email the Christmas team if you would like any more information or would like to discuss how you can work together over Christmas.

Falcon Bowling and Tennis Club

Falcon Club is hoping to win AVIVA funding, additional to a CEC grant, towards upgrading the Clubhouse – specifically the rooms, disabled toilet and storage at the rear of the building. This project and the funding campaign, initiated and planned by Ian Ross, are now up-n-running and online. Ian and the Club would welcome your votes in support.

Please HELP by VOTING ONLINE – also by enlisting friends’ support – and of course by tweeting and sharing this on Facebook. Here’s the link: https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/16-2806

Falcon Club caters for all ages in bowls, tennis and boules. It offers coaching to all members and visitors, and its facilities for the use of a local care home. It is priced so as to enable everyone to have a chance of participating in sport and fun and has a large junior section.

Project Description: Falcon Club currently has a very outdated disabled toilet that sits in the middle of the clubhouse restricting the use of the rooms around it. It would not meet the current regulations governing such fixtures. The club wish to create a new disabled toilet compliant with current regulations by creating a new room in part of a store room. This will free up space to permit expansion and upgrading the kitchen facilities which will in turn make the clubhouse much more usable. The current kitchen is an old sink and a kettle. This upgrade will allow members and visitors the ability to cater for teas and coffees in a more suitable environment and also permit functions and parties to be held with proper facilities.

Edinburgh Southern Labour Party campaigning all year round!