Michelle Thomson for Falkirk East

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year. My constituency office in Newhouse Business Park, Grangemouth is open again and Parliament returns next week. Please phone ahead on 01324 357373 to check we are open before visiting.

Last year, my team and I took on a total of 1103 cases from constituents in Falkirk East. Covering a whole breadth of topics from education to health, business to devolved social security, it was a privilege to help so many constituents. Around June my annual report will be delivered through doors in Falkirk East and will detail everything I got up to from June 2023-May 2024, so keep your eyes peeled!

Since my office returned on Wednesday, we have already dealt with a number of enquiries, including the proposed relocation of the Grangemouth Post Office. You can view my previous post for details on the consultation. I have contacted Post Office Ltd for further information about the proposals, and I am also currently awaiting further correspondence from Royal Mail regarding the temporary closure of the sorting office.

When Parliamentary Business begins again next week, I will also be welcoming visitors to The Scottish Parliament. We are currently arranging for several schools to visit over the coming months and I look forward to offering out more dates to interested groups throughout the year. If you are part of a group who would be interested in visiting The Scottish Parliament including a tour, chat with me and tickets to a Chamber debate, please get in touch. Contact details for my office can be found on the 'Contact' page.

On Monday I was delighted to drop off a selection of toys kindly donated to my constituency office as part of the Salvation Army Big Toy appeal. Many thanks to everyone who donated to this great cause.

Met with Falkirk Council officers and their advisors to discuss the progress of the Grangemouth Flood Defence Scheme (GFDS)

Took part in the Scottish Government’s budget debate highlighting the crucial importance of certainty around funding for the GFDS not only to Falkirk East constituents but for our national as well as local economy.

Led the Scottish Parliament Choir during the Parliament’s annual Christmas Carol Service

Continued to assist constituents with a wide variety of casework, taking the annual total to over 1100 cases. My thanks to my excellent constituency team for all their hard work throughout the year.

On Monday I visited Westquarter Primary School & Barleystone Care Home and was delighted to hear about the intergenerational community work connecting them both.

In parliament it’s been a busy week on the education front, with an interesting discussion on the role of AI during ECYP committee. I also made a number of contributions in the chamber throughout the week, including in the debate on the performance of Scottish Education, which you can watch here

Finance & Public Administration committee heard damning evidence from the OBR on the UK Tory Government’s financial mismanagement of the Economy and the impact on Scotland’s budgets. You can read more on this here and watch my contribution to committee on this link

After only a few weeks of rehearsals, on Thursday our Parliament choir were in fine voice for our debut performance and enjoyed a warm reception from colleagues.

The CPG on Music also had its AGM this week and I was delighted to be re-elected as convener. We were treated to some excellent musical performances from Alena Bulatetskaya & Moteh Parrott setting a festive tone for a productive meeting.

Along with submitting motions celebrating good news in the local community and processing multiple new enquiries, I have had a few exciting ventures this week.

I met with pupils from Larbert High School, Bo’ness Academy and St Mary’s Primary School in Bo’ness.

Larbert High School pupils have been working on the Future Asset project and we met at their reception in the Scottish Parliament. Visiting local schools and hearing from learners of all ages is always enjoyable and all the students kept me on my toes!

The African Space Delegation visited the Scottish Parliament earlier this week. I was delighted to join Angus Robertson and Beatrice Wishart to welcome them. Few people know Glasgow is the 2nd biggest producer of satellites after California and Scotland has 20% of all UK jobs via the space sector. Our roundtable discussion focussed on satellites and AI, and the financing at scale of satellite projects.

The Scottish Carbon Capture & Storage Conference was held in Edinburgh on Tuesday. As a keynote speaker I explored what the Scottish Government and local authorities are doing to address the need for greener energy.

My Week in 5

Another eventful week both in the parliament and across my Falkirk East constituency. Here are a few highlights in what was certainly a busy end to the month:

Had a really engaging visit with higher students from Braes High School who had some very interesting questions for me. Great contributions as ever from a fantastic school.
Delighted to visit Bo’ness Food Pantry and meet local volunteers working hard to support others in need. My office team got together a lovely selection of items for their Christmas hamper appeal and I was also happy to pass on a monetary donation to support their work. https://bit.ly/3t1X6lV
On Tuesday it was a pleasure to host an event led by the Institute of Analytics looking at the topic of AI and the need for wider recruitment in the world of data technology. I was also delighted to welcome the “Star of European Unity” to the parliament and provide an opportunity for MSPs to discuss Scotland’s place at the heart of Europe. https://fb.watch/oFn6rHdJvT
Both my committees held their sessions in private this week but on the floor of the chamber I was pleased to make an important contribution to the debate marking 16 Days of Action against Gender-based Violence. You can watch my speech in full in earlier posts. https://fb.watch/oFuNNc-Aob/
We certainly marked Scotland’s national day in style this week with a lively event in the Scottish Parliament, hosted by the CPG on St. Andrew’s Day, which I convene. More details in earlier posts here https://fb.watch/oFn5vSD4CI/