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and thank you for visiting my website. It is designed to provide information for
my constituents and to introduce you to Inverclyde — the
finest Constituency in the land — where I was born and grew up. If you
are unfortunate enough not to live in Inverclyde then you can find
out who your Member of Parliament is through the
House of Commons Information Office.
I share an office in the constituency with
local MSP Duncan McNeil and we hold regular advice surgeries, details avialable
on my contact page. After the boundary
reorganisation in 2005 Port Glasgow, Kilmacolm and Quarrier’s village joined my
constituency and the MSP for this area is Trish Godman
with whom I work closely. Since Devolution, certain matters have been devolved to
Holyrood — click here to see what is
the responsibility of Westminster and the Scottish Parliament. Also on this site you’ll find my
views on various issues, my press releases
(if you’re a journalist) and some photographs of my
activities in the constituency.
MP CALLS FOR MORE ACTION TO HELP UNEMPLOYED OLDER WORKERS
Local Labour MP, David Cairns, has welcomed a £1.7billion boost for Jobcentre Plus aimed at reducing unemployment in the UK but is calling for more to be done to help unemployed, over-50s get back into work. Figures for the past year show that unemployment rates amongst people aged 50 plus have risen faster than for any other age group, and that those wishing to find new jobs have only a 1 in 5 chance of returning to work within 2 years of becoming unemployed. David is backing calls, lodged in a Parliamentary motion by fellow MP Bob Spink, to put measures in place to help tackle unemployment amongst older people.
Speaking on the issue, David said:
“It is, of course, upsetting when anyone loses their job, particularly as it creates uncertainty about the future. It is concerning to see unemployment rising amongst older workers as they are highly valued contributors to the economy and it can be more difficult for them to find new jobs.
“An older man’s chances of finding employment falls by 25% for every year he is out of work and, because of this, I feel there should be more awareness of the plight of older, unemployed people.
“I am calling on the Government to introduce new measures to help older people who have lost their jobs, such as schemes aimed at providing guidance and support to older people within 3 months of them becoming unemployed. More needs to be done to combat the age discrimination and prejudice against older workers that continues to exist in the job market. Nine out of ten over-55s believe it is difficult for older people to find jobs, and 1 in 4 of those asked had suffered some form of age discrimination. This is an issue that the Government must act on.”
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