Perthshire Advertiser Monthly Article

28 April 2008

For those of you out there who take a keener interest in Politics, you may have noted recent debates on Ticket Touting taking place at Westminster last week.  This is an issue which I pushed hard to eliminate when I was first elected.  As our constituency hosts the famous T in the Park festival, I have been working closely with event organisers such as DF Concerts and Government to ensure that music and sports events are open to genuine fans and not just those who are keen to make a profit.  The Government has called for a voluntary code for organisers and promoters and I will be watching these debates very closely to ensure we do all we can to protect cultural events here in Scotland.

Sticking with the issue of T in the Park, my staff and I have been working over the last few months with event organisers and local Community Councils to ensure that proper procedures are in place for this year’s event so that disruption to the local community is minimal and that those attending the event can have the best possible experience.  After last year’s event I received letters from some angry constituents complaining about unacceptable levels of anti-social behaviour, noisy vehicles and other issues.  I hope that recent meetings will help to ensure this year’s event passes without incident and I know that some new proposals will be implemented this year which will go some way to achieving that objective.  If any constituents would like further information on the Government’s proposals to eliminate ticket touting or to hear about this year’s planning for the T in the Park event please feel free to contact my office who will be happy to provide you with details.

It would have been difficult to have written my column this week without mentioning what has been one of the big political stories of the last few weeks – the 10p Income Tax debate.  As you will know the Government has faced some pressure, both publicly and privately on this issue.  I have working on personal contact with Government Ministers on this issue to put my point of view across and that of constituents who have raised this matter.

I did meet with both the Prime Minister and Chancellor privately last week to put these views across.  However, I am writing this article before the vote in the House of Commons which is scheduled for Monday night, but I believe at this point the moves made by Government in the last week or so are positive, but it remains vital in the coming weeks that more information on content and timescales for the compensation package are released.  Monday’s vote will not be the last time that these issues will be debated in the House of Commons this session and I hope that progress will be made before then.