Michelle Thomson for Falkirk East

Following the devastating impacts of Storm Eowyn last week, I began this week by seeking further investigation into reports that Forth Valley Royal Hospital back-up generators failed for a period of time. The Cabinet Secretary gave assurances this matter would be investigated. You can watch the full debate at the following link, with my contribution at 14:47: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/.../ministerial...

I also asked the Acting Minister for Climate Change, Alasdair Allan, what further actions the Scottish Government can take to protect the future of the Grangemouth Chemical Cluster. You can watch my question, supplementary question and the responses from the Acting Minister at 11:59 here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/.../general-questions...

The Finance & Public Administration Committee, of which I am a member, have been scrutinising the upcoming 2025-26 Budget proposals. Growing the economy is a key part of the budget, and that must include growing the tax base to fund vital public services. I believe the proposals will deliver a good and clever budget, with many other committees agreeing their reports. You can watch the debate on the Finance & Public Administration Committee’s scrutiny of the Scottish Budget 2025-26 here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/.../finance-and-public...

This week I met with Crohn’s UK and Ofcom. Crohn’s UK offer advice and support to those living with gut issues, including Crohn’s disease and Colitis. 1 in 103 people in Scotland live with Crohn’s or Colitis. Recently IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease) has been more supported, with work being undertaken to re-design IBD Services across NHS Scotland. I also met with Ofcom this week to discuss proposals for Central FM to expand their DAB radio services further across Falkirk East. Following a consultation, if progressed, around 50,000 people could gain coverage with no material impact on small-scale multiplexes in other areas.

roundup jan 2

I began this week by visiting Sacred Heart Primary School in Grangemouth. It is always a pleasure to visit the local schools in Falkirk East. The Primary 6 & 7 pupils were very well prepared and asked some brilliant questions! I also visited Strathcarron Hospice. The care and dedication shown by staff was outstanding. As a charity, they rely largely on donations to keep services running. It was impressive to see the renovations put in place to help patients feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible, and to hear about the initiatives staff are putting in place to support patients and their families.

On Thursday, I asked a General Question and also held a Members’ Business Debate. At General Questions, I pressed the Minister for Employment and Investment on how the additional £34 million allocated to culture and heritage in its draft budget will assist in the preservation of any small, yet key, Scottish heritage sites under threat of closure, such as Kinneil museum. You can read the full question and answer at https://www.parliament.scot/.../meeting-of-parliament-23...

My Members’ Business Debate focused on Promoting the Role of Women in Scotland's Journey to Net Zero. It was an interesting debate with several notable contributions from my fellow MSPs. You can listen to the full debate here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/.../members-business...

BODYWORKS hosted an exhibition stall in the Scottish Parliament throughout this week. After meeting with women’s groups to talk about their views about the marks on their bodies, both natural and acquired, BODYWORKS created an exhibition, including sculptures, textiles, books and poems, based around these conversations and the artists own personal experiences.

roundup jan 1

This week I visited the charity One Parent Families Scotland based in my constituency. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to learn more about the support OPFS provide. You can read more from my previous post: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1054740326461933&set=a.377949410807698

I was pleased to meet with Vodafone ahead of a roundtable discussion I am sponsoring. Their merger with Three will enable them to greatly expand their network and rollout of 5G.

I also met with Rise this week. Rise, a coalition of thirteen stakeholders, are currently proposing a site for manufacturing sustainable aviation fuel in Grangemouth. I will continue to engage with them as their proposals progress with the appropriate decision makers.

In the Economy & Fair Work Committee, Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray was questioned about the Scottish City Region and Regional Growth Deals. As you can see from my previous post, I was able to get the Secretary of State for Scotland to confirm that funding would continue despite the issues with the poor performance of the UK economy.

On Tuesday this week I spoke in the ‘Scotland's Support to the Culture Sector’ debate in the Scottish Parliament. Music plays an important part in my life, and I look forward to the additional £34million allocated to the Culture sector in the forthcoming Scottish Budget, including for musical projects such as Sistema and Youth Music Initiative.

In recent weeks I have also been working closely with Friends of Kinneil House as Falkirk Council moves forward with various reviews. The site is an important strategic asset and we need to explore all options.

A busy first week of 2025 in Parliament this week. Budget scrutiny was well underway in the Finance and Public Administration Committee and Economy and Fair Work Committee looking closely at the detail of the Scottish Government’s 2025/26 Budget. The Deputy First Minister attended Economy Committee where I took the opportunity to ask her, among other things, about the impact of the budget on women’s employment particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors.

I spoke in the Finance Committee debate on the National Performance Framework – Review of National Outcomes, particularly raising the issue of the value of democracy and good data collection in delivering effective policies for people across Scotland.

On Thursday, I highlighted increasing business confidence in Scotland and asked the First Minister how the Scottish Government’s 2025/26 Budget will further increase this positive trend.

I sat on the BBC’s Politics Scotland panel and discussed a variety of topics, including Scottish Labour’s failure to engage with budget discussions. An episode of the Holyrood Sources podcast I participated in was also published this week. I also submitted a motion to the Parliament recognising good work in our community.

In 2024, my team and I handled 1,642 constituent cases and have opened a further 16 so far in 2025.

As the Scottish Parliament breaks off for Christmas recess, this week has seen a variety of commitments.

There were two important debates this week in the Scottish Parliament. The first, Stage 3 of the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill, mitigates the ability for elected representatives to stand in both the Scottish Parliament and Westminster seats at the same time, as well as other important aspects of elections including improving candidacy and campaigner
safety. The second, Stage 1 of the Education (Scotland) Bill, introduces the establishment of a new Qualifications Body called Qualifications Scotland and creates a Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland. The Bill will now go to committee scrutiny before it comes before the Chamber again at Stage 3.

I also met with Carolyn Currie of Women’s Enterprise Scotland this week. Carolyn is fundamental to the running of the Cross-Party Group on Women in Enterprise within the Scottish Parliament, which I convene on a regular basis. This week I met with her to discuss future topics for the CPG to progress in 2025 following the AGM last month.

On Wednesday I asked a question on mental health support for people living with long-term conditions at Health & Social Care Portfolio Questions. A recent report by IBD UK on Crohn’s and Colitis Care in Scotland found inadequate provision of psychologists and 4 in 5 people being treated for Crohn’s and Colitis in Scotland were not asked about their mental health. You can listen to my question and the answer from Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, Maree Todd MSP in my previous post on Wednesday.

The final Finance & Public Administration Committee meeting of 2024 involved scrutinising the recently announced Budget 2025-26 and looking at the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill’s Financial Memorandum. As the work around formally presenting the Budget before the Scottish Parliament again in the coming months, the Finance & Public Administration Committee will continue to take evidence on the proposals. I look forward to continuing this work in 2025.

Over the last few months, the talented Choir group in the Scottish Parliament have been practicing for our annual Carol Service, which took place on Wednesday evening. I started up the Choir group to bring MSPs and staffers from across the political parties together and encourage a love of music in others. We have had a tremendous turn out and we all thoroughly enjoyed our performance – I hope others enjoyed watching too!