Michelle Thomson for Falkirk East

I began my week with a busy day in the constituency, including my evening surgery in Stenhousemuir where I was able to assist a number of constituents with ongoing enquiries. Please watch my FB page for details on upcoming surgeries.

Parliament returned from a 2 week recess on Tuesday with my Finance and Public Administration committee taking evidence on the role of Commissioners in Scotland, particularly focusing around proposals to create a commissioner for Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity.

This theme continued in Wednesday’s Education and Young People’s committee, where I was also pleased to ask Scotland’s Children & Young People’s Commissioner a number of questions including on their role in protecting children’s rights in light of the Cass review. You can watch this exchange here :

Following some enjoyable musical performances outside Parliament earlier in the day, I was delighted to host a round table discussion on behalf of the The European Movement in Scotland whose 'Face the Music' campaign is in direct response to the challenges facing touring musicians as a result of Brexit.

I will be visiting Stenhousemuir tonight, followed by Grangemouth and Brightons in the coming weeks. I hope to see you there.

The Scottish Parliament has been in recess for the last fortnight and will return on Tuesday 16th April.

Over the last two weeks, I have continued to meet with local and Scottish businesses, including those whose viewpoints I can consider in upcoming Bills in the Scottish Parliament. I have also been busy arranging future meetings with constituents and local groups.

Following on from my ‘Meet Your MSP’ event in Bo’ness on 22nd March, I have been finalising preparations for my next surgery in Stenhousemuir on Monday (15 April). Please do pop along if you have an enquiry you wish to raise with me.

Despite the Scottish Parliament being in recess, my team and I have had another busy week assisting constituents with their enquiries and local issues. My team and I also raised two Parliamentary motions this week celebrating local community groups receiving National Lottery Community Funding and Elite Evolution qualifying for the All Star World Event next year.

I am looking forward to the next Parliamentary term beginning next week which will see us up to the summer recess.

This week, I held another constituency surgery in Bo’ness. Thanks to those who came along. I will be holding more extra surgeries over the coming weeks, so please keep an eye on my social media and the Falkirk Herald for further details. Don’t worry if you cannot attend - simply contact my office for help and they can arrange personal meetings when required.

I also met with the group taking forward the consultation on the Grangemouth Transport Study. The survey is still open until 7^thApril if you would still like to put your views forward here:

https://participateplus.falkirk.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/grangemouth-transport-study?fbclid=IwAR2UoCxM7Uv_PmlL-m4BjFEEmUnD_LBb1cjqdyAyChWduRRT0MhTgIUAZKQ

It has been another busy week in the Scottish Parliament. I contributed in both the Finance and Public Administration and the Education, Children and Young People Committees. I also participated in the Education debate ‘Widening Access – Equality of Access to Higher Education’ on Tuesday. I welcome the new report from the Scottish Government published this week.

On Wednesday I met with the Institute of Directors. As someone who has worked in large businesses and run my own small businesses I regard it as very important to speak with business groups regularly.

On Thursday I met with Christiane Hullman, the German Consul General. I have met Christiane through my work in the CPG on Germany, however it was valuable to catch up with her separately on political developments in Scotland.

The Scottish Parliament is now in recess for a fortnight. I hope everyone has a lovely Easter, and the school holidays provide a well-earned break for all.

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.