Austin Sheridan MSYP Welcomes more help for Young Carers

I would just like to start of by congratulating the Scottish Government in introducing the very first Young Carers Strategy in the UK. The Scottish Youth Parliament supports more help for young carers as do I, in fact it was in my manifesto and I have done work in my constituency with young carers and have worked with elected members and organisations to make sure that I champion the views of young carers who in my view, are often the unsung heroes of our society.

Many people across Scotland will know someone who is a Young Carer or are one them self. We all know how they can struggle to do simple things that other young people take for granted such as going out to socialise regularly, going to school, being able to go onto further education etc the list goes on. I am sure that Young Carers across Scotland will welcome this.

This also makes you wonder if the UK Government will introduce any Government Strategy for young carers south of the boarder. I think this shows once again that the Scottish Parliament is leading the way and is more in touch with people than Westminster is. It is time that Westminster caught up with the times and got it's act together.

Maybe David Cameron should shadow Alex Salmond for a couple of weeks and see how it's done.

Until then, well done to the Scottish Government!

Scottish Government Young Carers Strategy Link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/07/23153304/0

Posted by Austin Sheridan MSYP
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This Article can be found at: www.AustinMSYP.co.nr (Blog Section)

New Constituency Office

My Current Constituency office will close on the 28th July.

The new Constituency office will be moving into a larger office with the new Glasgow Life office (who currently run MSYP constituency offices).

The new Address will be:

Austin Sheridan MSYP
Constituency Office
Glasgow Life
Pavilion 2
Rowan Business Park
5 Ardlaw Street
Glasgow
G51 3RR

This office should be operational by Monday 2nd August.

If you have any questions please e-mail me at: austin.sheridan.msyp@sypmail.org.uk

Posted by Austin Sheridan MSYP
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This article can be found at: www.AustinMSYP.co.nr (Blog Section)

Busy times

I have been very busy with a number of events lately. I have been doing lots of constituency work recently by visiting all different kinds of groups in the area ranging from youth clubs to local radio stations and task forces for relating to youth services. I have also had loads of case work on university funding and SAAS grants/loans. It can be surprising the stuff that people come to you for help with but I am always happy to help with anything.

I have also been asked to be part of a task force which is being set up by staff at Local News Glasgow (a local media outlet) which aims to raise awareness of Human Rights, or the lack of it, in The Gambia. The task force will also lobby MPs, MSPs about the current situation in The Gambia. I will keep you updated in future blogs about how the task force is getting on.

I have also been really busy with arranging our visit to Malawi. We are currently in the process of getting the last minute things done and making sure we have everything we need before we go. While we are in Malawi we will be delivering workshops on Youth Participation and Youth Democracy. This will hopefully help the Youth Council of Malawi set up it's own Youth Parliament of Malawi. We will also be visiting Schools, Hospitals and Prisons while we are in the country for 3 weeks. Again, I will keep you updated on our progress, and while I am in Malawi I hope to post a few entries.

If you have any questions please e-mail me at: austin.sheridan.msyp@sypmail.org.uk




Posted by Austin Sheridan MSYP
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This Article can be found at: www.AustinMSYP.co.nr (Blog Section)

Vigil for Florence and Precious Mhango

Tonight I was in Glasgow City Centre at a vigil for Florence and Precious Mhango. The family, originally from Malawi, have lived in Scotland for the last 7 years. It was a very emotional event with some fantastic speeches from friends of the Mhangos. We heard how the UK Border Agency (UKBA) have intimidated a wheelchair dependant friend, who is the Godmother of 10 year old Precious, and a single mother in front of her child. I think that kind of behavior is an absolute disgrace.

I was pleased with the high turnout as it showed the UK Government that the people of Glasgow do not agree with the decision taken by the Home Office. The Mhangos have been good citizens of Scotland for 7 years now and have fully integrated with Scottish society. To take a child away from what is now her home and away from her friends is unacceptable in my view. The fact that they had to wait 7 years to be told no you can't stay is not good practice. After 7 years they have built a life in Scotland and have stability and are now being told they have to give it up. I hope that the UK Government have a look at the policy regarding this and I hope the bully organisation UK Border Agency are investigated by the police for their disgusting behaviour.

I will be writing to the Home Secretary, Theresa May MP, to express my concerns surrounding this case. If the people of Glasgow have anything to do with it, the Mhangos wouldn't be going anywhere!

Posted by Austin Sheridan MSYP
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This article can be found at: http://www.austinmsyp.co.nr/ (Blog Section)

Picture The Change

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) have now launched the Manifesto that will shape the way the SYP campaigns over the next two years. The Manifesto is called Picture The Change (www.picturethechange.org) and is split in to 5 sections as you will see on the website. We are aiming to reach 15,000 responses which is an ambitious target but a target we will achieve together if we work hard.

As a Glasgow MSYP, I hope we can get the most responses as we are the most populated local authority and we send the most MSYPs (20, 2 per Scottish Parliamentary constituency).

I think that the manifesto overall is a very good one. The good thing is, after the consultation anything that is unpopular amongst young people will be dropped from the Manifesto. So make sure you have your say on the Manifesto and make sure it represents your views!

So if you are ages 14-25 and you live in Scotland please fill in the 5 surveys at: www.picturethechange.org

If you have any questions please contact me at: austin.sheridan.msyp@sypmail.org.uk

Posted by Austin Sheridan MSYP
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This article can be found at: www.AustinMSYP.co.nr (Blog Section)