Calls for extension to lockdown help
Extending the £20 Universal Credit uplift and the furlough scheme are among the Scottish Government’s asks ahead of this week’s UK budget.
In a letter to the Chancellor, Scotland’s Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has urged the UK Government to support Scotland as lockdown measures are set to be eased over the next six weeks.
Forbes said research showed ending the uplift would lead to 500,000 being pushed into poverty.
She said: “I therefore reiterate my call for the UK Government to do the right thing and make the uplift permanent and extend it to legacy benefits in order to provide meaningful and effective longterm support as the effects of the pandemic continue to be felt.”
Professional singer Emmanuelle, 35, moved to Glasgow from Montpellier, in the south of France, three years ago looking for a change. She started studying for an HND in music business, and found Scotland’s biggest city to be so warm and welcoming she now doubts she’ll ever leave. In fact, she calls Scotland home and considers returning to France as a holiday.
“I always wanted to live in the UK because I just love the music culture here. Three years ago,
I was working full-time as a singer in France and, having never studied or lived abroad, I decided to take the plunge and move to Glasgow. I had no husband, no kids and no ties, so I thought, ‘Why not now?’
“I’m not surprised the Scots have rekindled their love for French culture as, ever since I moved here, whenever I tell someone I’m French they get so excited – ‘Oh you are French, how fantastic!’ they’ll say. France, in a way, represents good taste, food and fashion, and I think people have this perception that we are very chic. And, with people watching Lupin and Emily in Paris, they have more access to French culture, too. A lot of French people were offended by Emily in Paris but I felt it’s very real. Of course, not all Parisians are the same, but it’s actually quite close to reality.
“Being from the south of France, the first question that people ask me is, ‘What do you do with this weather?’ but there’s so much more to Scotland than the rain.
“For example, when I arrived here and I told people I was a singer, straight away people started giving me advice, sharing tips on who I should meet to get started with gigs. In France,
people tend to keep their connections to themselves, and it’s harder to break into certain professions. French people are friendly, but it’s nothing compared to people in Glasgow.
“To be honest, there’s not much I miss about France. I can really get everything I want here in Glasgow – even my favourite Camembert.”
A motorist who was clocked at one of the highest speeds ever recorded on a Scottish road has been banned from driving for 14 months.
Ryan Hardy admitted travelling at nearly double the national speed limit by driving at 132 miles per hour on the M90 on May 2 last year.
Hardy, 34, of Ballaugh, Falkland, Fife, admitted driving his Audi A4 S Line Quattro TDI dangerously on the road between Perth and Edinburgh.
He appeared at Perth Sheriff Court on Friday where he admitted driving in darkness and whilst overtaking, passing a slip road and approaching another flyover, after being clocked by a police speed trap.
The incident took place at Craigend on the outskir ts of Perth and Hardy was banned and ordered to resit the extended driving test before getting his licence back. Sheriff Neil Bowie also fined Hardy – whose car had the personal plate RY04HDY – £750 and ordered him to pay it off at £50 per month.
In a separate case, Andy Mckenzie denied clocking 111 miles per hour on a nearby stretch of the same motorway on August 15 last year.
Mckenzie, 50, of Edinburgh, denied speeding on his motorbike on the M90 Perth to Edinburgh motorway at Gairneybridge.
He denied driving a Suzuki GSX R750 dangerously and at excessive speeds up to 111mph and undertaking other vehicles. He will face trial later this year.
Last year, a speeder admitted he was driving his Mark 2 Ford Focus dangerously at 153mph on the Aberdeen bypass.
Michael Gray, 26, admitted driving the Focus dangerously by speeding on the A956 Cleanhill to Charleston stretch, near the junction with the A92.
In 2009, biker Neil Purves was convicted of dangerous driving after hitting the fastest speed ever recorded in Scotland – 106mph above the limit.
Purves, who was clocked travelling at 166mph near West Linton, Peeblesshire, was jailed for nine months.