Stuart McMillan MSP
16th September 2013
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Use
McMillan questions accuracy of Councillor McCabe's Statement about Parliamentary Inquiry
Stuart McMillan MSP SNP has today (Monday) highlighted the correspondence which indicated that Inverclyde Councillors were indeed invited/requested to attend a committee meeting at the Scottish Parliament on the issue of regeneration.
Mr McMillan, today publishes the letters that were sent to both Councillor McCormick of the Environment and Regeneration Committee and Councillor McCabe, Leader of Inverclyde Council to attend the Local Government and Regeneration Committee in relation to their inquiry on the Delivery of Regeneration in Scotland.
Inverclyde Council was the only local authority out of the five in attendance which did not send a councillor to give evidence to the committee. Those who did send representatives were Angus Council, Highland Council, South Lanarkshire Council and West Dunbartonshire Council.
Mr McMillan said:
“I read with interest that Councillor McCabe insisted that Inverclyde Council co-operated fully with the Parliamentary inquiry. However, it’s quite clear from correspondence that councillors were indeed asked to attend the committee meeting to give evidence on the subject of the Delivery of Regeneration in Scotland.
"This runs contrary to the claims and assertions of the Council Leader last week in his attempt to defend his administration.
"Councillor McCabe was contacted once and Cllr McCormick was contacted twice and responded to say that he couldn't attend.
"I appreciate that as Cllr McCabe has stated he has a full time job as well as being a councillor and council leader so possibly couldn't attend event if he had wanted to. Nonetheless, it was unfortunate that the other four local authorities in attendance were able to send councillors alongside officials to discuss the issues at hand.
"At the end of the day, public bodies that receive public money should rightly be scrutinised. I don't know anyone who thinks this is unreasonable. Riverside Inverclyde have received some £60m so it's legitimate for questions to be asked.
“I was pleased however to learn from the officials in attendance that it’s their intention to make as much of the mid-term review public in due course. I'm sure this will help in gaining a better understanding of what has went on at Riverside Inverclyde".
Ends
Notes for editors;
Attached are copies of letters sent from the Local Government and Regeneration Committee to Councillor McCormick, Convener of the Environment and Regeneration Committee and Councillor McCabe, Leader of Inverclyde Council to attend the recent meeting.
The Official Report of this week’s meeting of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee has been published and is available here: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28862.aspx?r=8485&mode=pdf
Aubrey Fawcett: Thank you, convener. I have to say that we are entirely transparent. As Mr McQuade said, our intention is to make available as much of the report as possible—apart from the commercially confidential elements. (page 33, bottom left corner)
Iain Fraser
Office Manager to Stuart McMillan MSP
Unit 3003, Mile End Mill
Abbey Mill Business Centre
12 Seedhill Road, Paisley, PA1 1JS
0141 889 9519
THIS MAN IS NOT FIT TO BE AN MSP [ USING THE TELEGRAPH NEWSPAPER TO ATTACK POLITICIANS. GET ON WITH YOUR JOB MR MCMILLAN AND PROVE WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR INVERCLYDE RATHER THAN WORKING ON THIS DRIVEL
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