News

On Monday this week, I held my Cost of Living event in Grangemouth Town Hall. We had a fantastic range of third-sector organisations ready to provide support on issues relating to the increasing cost of living. Thank you to those who came along to the event, and I hope you were able to access some useful information. It was also lovely to see so many groups using the opportunity to network with each other!

The Cross Party Group on Music met this week, and as Convenor I was delighted to lead discussions around Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding, the threats and opportunities of AI in Music, and local authority cuts to Instrumental music services.

Following the music theme, I also sponsored the Forget Me Notes Project performance in the Scottish Parliament. Building a sense of community and tackling isolation, the project uses music and dementia-friendly values, but is open to anyone. The Project held a small reception for MSPs before their performance in the Parliament’s Garden Lobby. I was heartened by many reactions to the performance. You can find out more about the Project here: https://www.forgetmenotes.org.uk/

At General Questions, I asked the Acting Minister for Climate Action, Alasdair Allan MSP about what further engagement the Scottish Government has had with Ineos, following recent reports of additional redundancies related to the closure of the refinery. Providing assurances that workers of Ineos Olefins & Polymers UK would be supported in the event of redundancies, the Minister also confirmed that next week will see the much-anticipated publication of Project Willow. You can watch the clip of my contribution on my previous post, or watch the full debate at: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/.../meeting-of-the...

Finally, the Finance & Public Administration Committee which I am a member of, took evidence this week from Douglas Ross MSP as he introduced the Financial Memorandum of his proposed Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill. Currently at Stage 1 in the process, the Bill aims to establish a right in law to treatment for addiction for anyone in Scotland who is addicted to either alcohol, or drugs or both. You can watch the Committee, including my questions, at https://www.scottishparliament.tv/.../finance-and-public.... While still a long way to go, I will watch with interest as to the progress of this Bill in due course

At the beginning of this week, I sponsored a fantastic event by B-Corps & B-Local Scotland. It had an excellent turnout, providing lots of networking opportunities for those in attendance. You can find out more about B-Corps & B-Local, as well as the event itself, in my previous post.

Social Enterprise Scotland are a member-led, independent organisation supporting social enterprises from across Scotland. Delivering on a specific social or environmental aim, social enterprise profits are invested back into their cause. I was delighted to meet with them at their exhibition stall this week to find out more about their efforts.

This week is Apprentice Week 2025. Apprenticeships are a fantastic way for our young people to gain hands-on experience of work as an alternative to further education. I met with Forth Ports, Syngenta and Malcolm Group in Falkirk East to talk to their apprentices about their experiences.

Finally, the Cross-Party Group on India met this week to witness a motion of understanding between FinTech and FICCI. FinTech Scotland supports a number of financial technology firms, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India supports business building and promotion. The motion of understanding will develop co-operation between Scotland and India in business.

On Monday 10th, I will be holding a Cost of Living event in Grangemouth Town Hall between 3.30pm and 6.45pm. We have lots of fantastic third-parties attending, so do pop down if need any assistance.

On Monday I met with officials at Paragon Housing Association to discuss matters around the Housing Bill, Transition to Net Zero and a number of topics brought forward by local residents.

On Tuesday I spoke in the Scottish Budget Bill and contributed to Topical Questions addressing the critical need for policy certainty around future industries at Grangemouth. I called on the UK Government to provide urgent clarity on its stance regarding Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage, the Acorn Project, and Sustainable Aviation Fuel, as well as ensuring the recently announced funding streams are accessible to companies wishing to invest without prohibitive delays.

On Wednesday I chaired the Cross Party Group on Women in Enterprise where we focused on business support available to women in key economic sectors & its importance in enabling businesswomen to make a growing contribution to Scotland's economy.

On Thursday I asked the Minister for Education and Skills about the vital role of Forth Valley College in the Skills Transition process and how Government is supporting them to ensure financial sustainability and success.

On Thursday evening I had the opportunity to sponsor a Parliamentary reception to mark Victims’ Awareness Week 2025, coinciding with the 40th Anniversary of Victim Support Scotland. This was a fantastic opportunity to bring together volunteers, MSPs and those advocating for positive changes to the criminal justice system in Scotland. The work of Victim Support Scotland is incredibly important in supporting those who have been affected by crime, and it was a privilege to host them and celebrate the valuable work they do.