This week has been an exciting week between Constituency and Parliamentary work.
On Thursday, it was a pleasure to welcome S6 pupils from Bo’ness Academy to the Scottish Parliament. First, they were given a tour of the building and learned some interesting facts about the Parliament, how the building was built and how it works. The pupils got tickets to see First Minister’s Questions, then finally we met for lunch and a great Q&A session. I was thoroughly impressed by the range of questions the S6 pupils asked, including climate change, how committees work, what a typical week in Parliament looks like (if there ever is one!), cost of living, supporting neurodivergency in schools and local issues affecting Bo’ness.
The Finance & Public Administration Committee met earlier in the week in private, with a further debate on Thursday outlining the pre-budget scrutiny carried out by them and other Committees across the Parliament. You can watch the full debate here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/finance-and-public-administration-committee-debate-scottish-budget-2024-25-february-1-2024
The situation regarding PetroIneos in Grangemouth remains fluid. Last week I raised the issue in the Scottish Parliament a number of times, and this week I met with Holyrood Magazine in Grangemouth. The situation is extremely complex and, as you may have seen in last week’s chamber contribution, some options to keep the site open and save jobs require co-operation from Westminster. I continue to ask for updates from both the Scottish Government and stakeholders regarding the matter.
