Making criminals pay

The damage that those who make their living from criminal activity do to their communities is far reaching and insidious. Whether it is through the supply of drugs or other activities, those affected can spread far beyond the area where criminals live.

There is little more galling to honest, hard-working people than others accumulating money and power at the expense of the law abiding majority. That is why I welcome recently announced figures which show that in the last year more than £5.5 million has been seized from criminals and used to fund worthwhile activities in communities across Scotland.

The Cashback for Communities scheme has seen projects the length and breadth of Scotland receive funds that have been seized from criminals and put to work to benefit the communities that have been blighted by crime. It is an approach that I am sure people support across Scotland, and particularly in those areas that have seen that money used to try and repair some of the damage that criminals have done.

Yet combating organised crime is far from an easy task, which is why Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill recently launched a new public campaign to encourage ordinary people to help make criminals pay for their illegal activities. Where people have suspicions that something just doesn’t add up about a person’s lifestyle and wealth, they will be able to provide information anonymously which could be the vital bit of intelligence that lets the police disrupt a criminal empire.

By sharing information in this way, ordinary members of the public can help make Scotland a harder place for criminals to operate and protect our communities from their illicit activities. The police have made significant strides in the fight against organised crime recently, but with the help of individuals and organisations across Scottish society more can be done to make Scotland a safer, stronger place for everyone to live in.

Record low NHS waiting times

My last column dealt with the importance that the Scottish Government places on protecting the funding that the NHS receives during these difficult economic times. The incredible efforts that NHS staff go to in order to help people across Scotland is something that we have all experienced, but recent statistics show that people are receiving treatment faster than ever before.

They show that 99.5% of patients referred for inpatient and day case treatment are now waiting less than the target of nine weeks; that 99.9% of all patients were waiting less than the targeted twelve weeks for new outpatient appointments; that 99.8% of patients were waiting less than four weeks for key diagnostic tests, compared to the target of 6 weeks and that 96.6% of those attending Accident and Emergency are seen within four hours.

These figures are the best ever performance by the NHS in Scotland and show that waiting times have reached an all time low. When people need medical treatment, it is in nobody’s interest to face the stress and anxiety of unnecessary delays so these latest improvements are welcome news and demonstrate what the resources going to the Health Service are delivering.

The Scottish Government is determined to build upon this progress and has set even more challenging targets for coming years. However, even in these financially difficult times I am confident that the dedication and professionalism of NHS staff will be able to deliver further improvements to the service that patients in Banff & Buchan and across Scotland receive from the NHS.