A special time but not for everyone

With the festive period fast approaching I am very much looking forward to spending more time with family and friends enjoying the unique atmosphere of this time of year. It is a special time with parents and grandparents doing their best to make sure children have a truly memorable festive period.

For some, however, this time of year can also be an incredibly stressful particularly if they do not have resources to make the festive period all they would like to. Or if they do get the opportunity of time off work as they are having to do extra hours just to make sure the all the extra goods and products are available for the rest of us to buy. And for people in war torn areas of the world such as Syria then Christmas will be the least of their concerns.

Of course for those of us with the luxury of being able to shop around for the goods we want, many will be looking for the biggest bargains of the year online. However, while we want to enjoy these deals, we also need to be very vigilant.

Christmas is supposed to be a time of goodwill. Unfortunately, this is not always the case when it comes to the online world with cybercriminals seeing the festive period as the perfect time to prey on unsuspecting members of the public who are looking to buy gifts online for loved ones.

If your instincts tell you that something is “too good to be true”, then it probably is, so be sure you don’t give away any personal details or payments – after all it’s better to be safe than sorry.

There are a number of simple steps consumers can take to protect themselves from online crime. These include paying with credit cards, shopping only with brands you know and trust, never sharing your password with anyone, and installing virus protection software.

And the SNP Scottish Government is doing what it can, as we enter into the winter season, to help those who are less fortunate to keep their homes warm. Families across Stirling Constituency are set to benefit from £335,000 of additional funding to keep their homes warm this winter. Housing associations and councils in Stirling area will be given a share of a £9 million national fund to help improve the housing of those most in need, and help to ensure that social housing meets energy efficiency standards – making it easier for tenants across the Stirling area to heat their homes.

In total the Scottish Government is dedicating half a billion pounds to tackle fuel poverty and to improve energy efficiency, which making it easier and cheaper for people to heat their homes. It is vital that we continue this action and target it in a way that makes a difference to those who need it most.

Scotland’s NHS is also preparing as we to head into winter thanks to the amazing effort of all the hospital staff who work all year round to make sure that our health service is one of the best in the world.

We have the best A&E performance anywhere in the UK, however, there is no room for complacency and we know that winter presents significant challenges for our health service. An additional £3 million is therefore being allocated to local NHS boards to help support their preparations for winter. The funding will support the on-going efforts of health boards to improve patient flow through A&E, hospitals wards and support people back to their homes as soon as possible.

As ever if have any issue you wish to discuss you can contact my constituency office at; Unit 111, John Player Building, Stirling Enterprise Park, Stirling, FK7 7RP or by telephone on 01786 471899 or by email at bruce.crawford.msp@ parliament.scot

If your instincts tell you that something is “too good to be true” then it probably is