Natalie Don supporting Young Carers’ Action Day

Young Carers’ Action Day, which takes place on16th March 2022, is an annual event which aims to raise awareness of young carers and the incredible contribution they make to their families and local communities.

Natalie Don MSP has experience of being a young carer herself and wanted to highlight the contribution that young carers and young adult carers make to support their families and friends.  The theme for this year’s Young Carers’ Action Day is tackling the social isolation that they can experience as young and young adult carers.

In Renfrewshire, there is support available via the Renfrewshire Carers Centre: Young Carers Project which has a range of events including allotment, arts and football groups to help them break down the barriers of isolation.

Natalie Don MSP added:

“With experience of being a young carer myself, I can understand how you can feel isolated from your friends and how it can be difficult to get out and go places.

“However, the support of organisations such as Renfrewshire Carers Centre is invaluable in not only bringing young and young adult carers together but helping them interact with one another and join in with activities to help lessen the isolation that they may sometimes feel.”

To find out more about the support Renfrewshire Carers Centre offer to young carers please contact them on enquiries@renfrewshirecarers.org.uk or call 0141 887 3643

Natalie Don MSP welcomes new bus powers for councils

“This could transform public transport across Renfrewshire and Inverclyde,” said Natalie Don MSP (SNP – Renfrewshire North & West), commenting on Scottish Government plans to allow local authorities to run their own bus services by July 2022. Secondary legislation to enable bus franchising and partnership options will also be introduced before the end of 2023.

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 was designed to help make Scotland’s transport network cleaner, smarter and more accessible than ever before by empowering local authorities and establishing consistent standards in order to tackle current and future challenges, whilst delivering a more responsive and sustainable transport system for everyone in Scotland.

However, work to implement the new bus legislation provided by the Transport Act was paused due to COVID-19 and the need to shift focus and support bus operators in navigating the pressures of the pandemic. As revealed in a Parliamentary Written Answer to Natalie Don MSP, who had asked a question on this issue, it was revealed that the work to enable this legislation had recommenced and the Minister for Transport outlined the next steps in bringing this legislation to fruition.

Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth said:

“Local authorities asked for greater powers to run their own bus services and I’m pleased the Scottish Government will now deliver this.

“As with many aspects of the Transport Act, the provisions empower local authorities with the flexible tools they need to respond to their own transport challenges. Not every local authority will want to run their own bus services – some may opt for a partnership or franchise approach. What’s key is that local authorities will soon have greater tools at their disposal to revitalise bus services where required. 

Natalie Don MSP added:

“Whether it’s local authority run bus services or private operators – there are shared challenges we need to address collectively to put bus at the heart of our green recovery. This is why the Scottish Government is investing over half a billion pounds in long term funding for bus priority infrastructure. This will address the impact that congestion has on bus services, making them quicker and more attractive for passengers.

“This will give local authorities the options of either running their own services, franchising services to a particular operator or establishing a bus service improvement partnership between the local authorities and bus operators – with the aim of improving local bus services.

“There are many communities, both urban and rural, across my constituency of Renfrewshire North & West which feel isolated and cut adrift due to poor public transport.  These new powers will give local authorities the power to tackle this while also tackling climate change by investing in public transport.

“Coupled with the expansion of free bus travel to under 22s and significant investment to encourage a shift to zero emission buses, the SNP Scottish Government is responding to the climate emergency by placing buses at the front of our just transition to a net zero society – supporting our world leading commitment to reduce car kilometres by 20% by 2030.”