Commenting on the figures, Sir Menzies Campbell said:

“The good news is that the vast majority – nearly three quarters – of people who sign on for jobseekers allowance in North East Fife manage to find a job in less than 6 months, with the average claim being less than three months.

”However, what these figures also clearly show is that there is a significant minority who are finding it much harder to find work. Being out of work for a long period of time has a huge impact on an individual, their dependents and the wider community. Every support must be given to those trying to get back into employment to bring these numbers down.”

“Indications that services will only remain in public hands until 2011 do not go far enough. The East Coast Main Line should remain in public ownership for three to five years to demonstrate how a franchise should be run. We need to see passenger-focused targets to drive up standards.”

Sir Menzies said:

“Time and time again we are being caught short by nature and it is going to take a substantive range of measures to properly address this problem.

“We must be proactive with flood defence as opposed to continually reacting to its damage.

“Work needs to be done to identify properly the problem areas and to determine what is required to alleviate its effects by utilising the best expertise available.

“This will be neither cheap nor quick but is entirely necessary.”

“The weakness in the Prime Minister’s case is that it depends not only on President Karzai’s good faith but also his competence, neither of which have been much in evidence in recent times.

“To succeed with Karzai, the allies will have to be willing to “hold his feet to the fire”. The position is most certainly not helped by President Obama’s long deliberations on a new strategy. He has left a vacuum at a time when decisiveness is essential.”

The Group share the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons and have come together on a cross party basis to work towards that end.

Commenting on the launch of the Group, Sir Menzies said:

“The opportunity for multilateral nuclear disarmament has never been greater. A number of events have brought this about, not least President Obama’s decision to make multilateral disarmament a priority and the focus provided by the 2010 Review Conference for the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.

“This is a debate in which Britain needs to play a part. The accumulated experience of our group will inform and direct that debate.”

Commenting, Sir Menzies said:

“I am proud to add my name to such an important campaign as this.

“Climate change is a massive problem, affecting every part of the globe, and it’s easy to feel powerless to do anything to stop it. What this campaign emphasises is that if we act together, with each individual making small changes to their lifestyles, we can take a huge step towards reducing Britain’s harmful carbon emissions.

“I would encourage everyone – businesses and schools included – who is interested in combating climate change to sign up to the campaign. By using energy more efficiently, turning off electrical equipment when they’re not being used and recycling more, we can save money and improve our personal carbon footprints.

“Together, we can send a clear message to the British Government that people want immediate and ambitious political action on climate change.”

“Some common sense shown but more needed.

“The Government’s hasty retreat was almost inevitable, cheese paring of the Territorials made absolutely no tactical or strategic sense. The TA could have been irretrievably damaged. What they need is investment, not cuts.”

Since its establishment in 1985, the Lloyds TSB Foundation has made over 12,000 awards to charities across Scotland, at a total cost of almost £85 million. North East Fife charities that have received funding from Lloyds in the recent past include the Heat of Fife RDA and both Families First and Homestart East Fife are currently supported.

The decision to suspend grants was made after the Foundation and the Lloyds Banking Group were unable to reach agreement on the terms of a new funding agreement. The charity has pledged to honour existing commitments in full, but will accept no new funding applications after the final round of awards are confirmed in December. It is thought that the suspension of these grants will see Scottish charities miss out on at least £6 million a year in funding.

Sir Menzies said:

“Charities have found it increasingly difficult to secure the funding they need to survive since the beginning of the economic downturn.

“Although the news that existing funding commitments will be met will come as a relief to those organisations here in North East Fife that had secured financing from the Lloyds TSB Foundation in previous funding rounds, the suspension of these grants is likely to have a profound effect on the services that non-profit groups all over Scotland will be able to provide in future.

“We must hope that the Foundation and the Lloyds Banking Group can reach agreement on the terms of a new funding agreement and that the grant application process is resumed as soon as possible.”

Sir Menzies Campbell MP has today added his support to a parliamentary motion calling on the Government to reverse its decision to freeze funding for the Territorial Army.

It emerged last week that Territorial Army units such as the 71 Engineer Regiment at RAF Leuchars and the C Squadron Yeomanry based in Cupar will be forced to stop training as a result of cuts to this years Army budget.

Commenting, Sir Menzies said:

“Pressure must be maintained on the Government to reverse its short-sighted decision to freeze TA funding if long-term damage to Britain’s military capabilities is to be avoided.

“For the thousands of volunteers, including many from North East Fife, who sacrifice so much to be part of the Territorial Army, the message from the Government is clear: money before morale. Without regular opportunities to train and maintain their skills the number of TA volunteers will inevitably drop. The effect on the regular army, which is so well served by the support of the Territorial Army, can only be detrimental.”

“After eight years, what confidence can we have that the strategy announced today by the Prime Minister has any better chance of success than the strategies previously announced by this Government?”

In his response the Prime Minister said that unless you have a strategy for Afghan people taking responsibility for their own affairs “you cannot see a way through this that doesn’t involve British or other troops there for many, many years”.

He added, “The importance of what we are saying today is supported by NATO itself. It is very much in-tune to what General McChrystal is saying. He has reconsidered the American strategy, he says he is moving from counter-terrorism to counter-insurgency and focusing on people and winning their support rather than alienating them. I believe it is the right strategy as it gives us a way forward.”

Commenting after his exchange with the Prime Minister, Sir Menzies said:

“The Prime Minister did not answer my question. I have lost count of the number of occasions I have heard the “Launch” in the House of Commons of new strategy. The fact that eight years on yet another strategy is required tells you all you need to know.

“Barack Obama is engaged in a wholesale review of US strategy and such is the subordinate position of the United Kingdom that we will have to conform to his ultimate strategic decisions. It’s not what General McChrystal says that counts but what Barack Obama decides.”

ENDS