My week began with a hugely enjoyable visit to Falkirk Distillery Company, following a congratulatory motion I submitted to the Scottish Parliament in January. It’s been delightful to watch their business grow and see the first whisky distilled in Falkirk in over 30 years being enjoyed by new customers.
This week was the final evidence session of the ECYP Committee’s Additional Support for Learning enquiry. I was pleased to question Cabinet Secretary Jenny Gilruth on the variety of challenges faced by schools and the perceived additional pressures in ASN provision post pandemic. You can watch my contribution to committee here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/education-children-and-young-people-committee-march-20-2024?clip_start=09:40:33&clip_end=09:47:00
In addition to our weekly committee business, Members of the Finance and Public Administration committee also joined with counterparts from the Welsh Senedd to take part in an Interparliamentary Finance Committee Forum held in the House of Commons. This was an invaluable opportunity to explore crucial issues around the interaction of UK and devolved governments in preparation of respective budgets, among many other topics discussed.
I was also delighted to visit an exhibition from the Scottish Book Trust in parliament this week, who are now celebrating their 25th year. It was fantastic to hear more about their mission for every school in Scotland to becoming a Reading School and discuss building sustainable reading cultures.
