It has been announced that the Scottish National Party MP for Glasgow East, John Mason, is to take up his party’s Work & Pensions portfolio with immediate effect.

The East End’s representative in the House of Commons has shown a keen interest in this subject since he was sworn in on 6 October, having put down parliamentary questions on subjects such as pensioner poverty, the level of unclaimed benefits, and automatic benefit payment to those who are entitled.

Speaking about his new role, John Mason said:

“In my first speech to the House of Commons I said that I would judge all the Government’s proposals on whether they narrow or widen the gap between rich and poor. The struggle against poverty – both at home and abroad – is one of my priorities, so the Work & Pensions portfolio is a pretty good fit for me.

“Some progress is being made in making it easier for pensioners and others to claim the benefits to which they are entitled, and I welcome that. But there is much more work to do.

“The message I am carrying from the East End to Westminster is that we need real action to help families to meet their gas and electricity bills this winter. I will continue to push the UK Government for a VAT holiday on energy bills for all households.”

Glasgow East MP John Mason has welcomed the announcement that the Post Office will retain the Post Office Card Account (POCA) contract.

The decision had been subject to long delays since the summer, causing huge uncertainty for postmasters and their customers.

Across Glasgow, hundreds of people had signed up to show their support for the Post Office retaining the contract and that level of people power appears to have had an impact.

In recent days speculation had been rife that the contract had been awarded to Paypoint but the decision to allow the Post Office to continue supplying the service is long overdue relief.

Commenting on the decision the SNP’s John Mason said: “Local people can be rightly proud of the part they have played in putting pressure on the Government to allow Post Offices to continue providing this service.

“This decision has been long overdue and after the way in which the Post Office network has been treated in recent years by the Government this is at last some much needed relief.

“The uncertainty caused by months of delay in awarding this contract created a great deal of unnecessary worry for Post Offices, particularly as it comes in the wake of a controversial contraction of the Post Office network.

“There is still work to be done keeping pressure on the Government to actively promote the Card Account service to benefits customers an I will certainly be pursuing that issue.”

The Scottish National Party MP for Glasgow East, John Mason, has given his backing to fire-fighters lobbying the House of Commons over concerns about rising crew fatalities.

According to the Fire Brigade Union (FBU) eight fire-fighters died in the line of duty throughout the UK during 2007 – the worst year since 1985. There has also been a sharp rise in fire deaths in the last five years, with the 22 deaths since 2003 being significantly higher than preceding five year period.

Speaking after meeting local fire crew at the House of Commons, John Mason said: “Deaths of fire-fighters on duty have risen sharply over the last five years, and this is a trend that must be reversed.

“The public in Glasgow, and throughout Scotland, are extremely proud of our fire professionals, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for the risks they take to protect our families and our homes.

“The FBU is calling for a new UK Fire and Rescue Service body.  It would be in charge of implementing changes to the service resulting from recommendations based on serious incidents or fatalities.

“I will be contacting the Scottish Government in order to ensure that the FBU’s recommendations are considered in a local context.”

Notes:

The FBU is calling for a national Fire and Rescue Service body. It would be in charge of implementing changes to the service resulting from recommendations based on serious incidents or fatalities.

John Mason, the SNP MP for Glasgow East, has expressed concern over the failure of benefits to keep up with the rising cost of living. He has called on the UK Government to bring forward implementation of the planned 6.3% rise in Job Seekers Allowance.

Speaking earlier today, John Mason said: “Losing a job is never easy but, as food and fuel prices rocket, the next few months will be even more difficult for those trying to cope on benefits.

“While growing the economy and getting people back into work must be the focus of Government action, steps also need to be taken to ensure benefits allow a basic standard of living.”