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My Week in 5 : October 2nd - 8th 2023

This week was the final week before the October Parliamentary recess.
 
I attended both my Education, Children and Young People Committee and my Finance and Public Administration Committee. In my committee work, I thoroughly enjoy being able to ask pertinent questions of those in the decision-making processes. While my Education, Children and Young People Committee was not broadcast on Scottish Parliament TV, you can watch my contributions to the Finance and Public Administration Committee here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/.../finance-and-public...
 
I was pleased to be able to speak in a range of business in the Chamber this week. Following uncertainty over the funding within the arts and culture sector, I asked the First Minister for clarification on funding for Creative Scotland this year and in future. You can hear my questions and the First Minister’s responses here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/.../first-ministers....
 
I also raised a Portfolio Question on Social Justice and contributed to the Protection of Scottish Parliament Powers debate. You can see my contribution to the debate on a previous post.
 
The Scottish Parliament showcases exhibitions throughout each week, sponsored by an MSP. This week, I met with artist Ian Whyte and The Larder. Ian’s art is extremely thought provoking, highlighting the plight of refugees and he aims to establish the differences in the use of the terminology ‘migrant’ or ‘refugee’. The Larder exhibited their ‘Innovative Responses to Poverty’ stand, which provided some valuable information about tackling poverty, giving example of what is being done in West Lothian.
 
Grangemouth was named as a Green Freeport project earlier this year. I attended the Forth Ports launch on Wednesday evening to learn more about Forth Ports Limited’s plans to reach net zero by 2042, including the Green Freeport in my constituency. It was an interesting evening, with my colleague Mairi McAllan speaking at the event in her capacity as Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition.
 
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September 2023 - Newsletter

It has been a busy month since Parliament returned from summer recess. As you read through my monthly newsletter, you will find out more about my work within both the constituency, the Scottish Parliament and even further afield!

Each year, the first week back after summer recess focuses on the Programme for Government. 11 Bills will continue their journey through the Scottish Parliament this year, and a further 14 Bills will be introduced to the Scottish Parliament for the first time. 18 Bills were passed last session.

Much of the Programme for Government 2023/24 centres around equality, opportunity and community. With the Westminster Tory government repeatedly introducing disastrous initiatives and policies, the Scottish Government finds itself having to siphon off large amounts of its funding from Barnett Consequentials to mitigate many of these damaging Westminster proposals. Instead of allocating funding to improving a whole host of devolved responsibilities, the Scottish Government is having to re-allocate huge amount of funding to introduce initiatives which buffer the effects of Tory mismanagement and try to combat the increasing costs seen in England, Ireland and Wales.

It should not be the case that Scotland relies on Barnett Consequentials from a calamitous Tory led Westminster for funding, funding which is then used to combat the lamentable actions of that same Tory government. The people of Scotland deserve better, and only with independence can we strive to control our own finances for policies and initiative which benefit the people of Scotland.

I was delighted to receive the Holyrood Magazine : Political Hero of the Year Award, which were held at the start of September. The Awards also recognised the work of the Finance and Public Administration Committee in winning the “Powering Change” award. My sincere thanks to Holyrood Magazine for a very enjoyable event and to everyone who voted.

 

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My Week in 5 : 25th September - 1st October 2023

My Week In 5
 
This week I was pleased to sponsor the “Peace at the Heart” exhibition in the Scottish Parliament, showcasing the many elements and benefits of a “Peace Education” approach in Scotland’s schools. You can read more about the travelling exhibition & further work of Quakers in Scotland here : https://www.quakerscotland.org/news/peace-heart
 
During this week’s Education Children & Young People’s Committee, I focused my questions to the Cabinet Secretary Jenny Gilruth on how a resetting of relationships and the new fiscal framework under development between Scottish Government and Cosla will assist in providing clarity on ring-fencing & directed spend in Education for local authority budgets. You can watch my contribution and responses on the following link :
 
On Tuesday, I was delighted to host the parliament’s Cross Party Group on Music where all members were enthusiastic to hear about last weekend’s first ever Scottish Folk Day which took place alongside European Folk Day and resulted in many successful events held across Scotland. It was a pleasure to submit a parliamentary motion on this recently which you can find the detail of here:
 
Returning to committee work, during the Finance and Public Administration Committee I was able to question Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, on the conditions around legislation and delivery of the National Care Service. This is a critical piece of legislation which has many challenges and requires careful scrutiny by parliament as well as detailed planning to be successfully delivered to meet its objectives. You can watch my contribution and responses on the following link https://bit.ly/3RF6F4j
 
As well as quite a variety of meetings across the week, I very much enjoyed dropping into the Colleges Scotland Parliamentary Showcase where it was a pleasure to catch up with Forth Valley College Principal Kenny MacInnes and also to attend a roundtable event hosted by my colleague Ivan McKee, with members from FinTech Scotland and Scottish Government discussing innovating opportunities in enabling Fintech exports.
 
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My Week in 5 - 12 May 2023

This week saw a busy schedule at Parliament with a wide variety of meetings and committee work ongoing.
 
Tuesday’s Finance and Public Administration Committee provided an opportunity to take further evidence in our enquiry into Effective Scottish Government Decision Making. I was pleased to ask questions of a number of witnesses on themes around culture, transparency and the relationship between accountability and risk, linking in with attitudes to innovation. Those wishing to find out more can do so on the following link:
 
On Wednesday, the Economy and Fair work Committee heard evidence on Scottish Government Policy priorities from Neil Gray MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy. You can watch our exchange in previous posts on my Facebook page, where I continued my line of questioning on the importance of gathering the right data to allow for better decision making, particularly when considering matters in relation to gender and equalities.
 
The committee also continued our enquiry into the Just Transition for a Grangemouth area, hearing from Graham Stuart MP, UK Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero among other witnesses. You can watch previous contributions to this enquiry earlier on my Facebook page, as well as Wednesday’s exchange here :
 
Closer to home I was delighted to see RSPB Scotland in the parliament this week and stopped by to chat, particularly about the fascinating work they undertake at the wetlands reserve down at Skinflats. Staff and volunteers have been working hard to improve nesting habitats for migrating birds in the tidal lagoon and enhance the biodiversity of this precious area. You can find out more about their work locally here : https://fb.watch/ku0E9zBKSE/
 
On Thursday, staff in my constituency office were able to undertake lifesaving training in the administration of Naloxone and learn more about the issues around overdose and preventable drug deaths. This was provided by the Scottish Drugs Forum who deliver general and specialist training on drug-related issues for a range of agencies. Others interested in finding more about training can do so here : https://www.sdf.org.uk/training/
 
I was also pleased to submit a number of motions to parliament highlighting the excellent work of local groups, artists, businesses, schools and organisations.

My Week in 5 - 5 May 2023

Following last week’s British Islands & Mediterranean Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference at Westminster, I was pleased to return to a busy week of committee and legislative work at Holyrood whilst also progressing a variety of issues within the constituency.

Tuesday’s Finance and Public Administration Committee afforded me an opportunity to ask a number of probing questions in our inquiry into effective Scottish Government decision-making. I chose focus on the themes of transparency and influence around data collection and analysis. You can watch committee proceedings back on the following link.

Wednesday’s Economy and Fair Work Committee was held in private session to consider the evidence found thus far in the inquiry into a Just Transition for the Grangemouth area. This is an enquiry I suggested and is vitally important for the area. Detail on the work of the committee thus far can be found here:

I was also delighted to meet with a variety of organisations in parliament this week, including Water Safety Scotland and hear about the important work they do on drowning prevention. Scroll back to previous posts for a range of safety tips and advice links.

On Thursday, I attended the White Ribbon Scotland conference within parliament, highlighting the crucial role men have to play in the elimination of violence against women and girls. You can find out more about the organisation and their work by following links in previous posts. Please encourage men to sign up to their pledge.

Finally, with this week seeing the start of May and therefore National Walking Month, I was happy to sign up to the Paths for All, Step Count Challenge with members of my office team. Falkirk East has some of the most beautiful path networks in the country and I look forward to taking part and enjoying them in what I hope will be the start of a fine Scottish summer in the weeks to come!

https://www.stepcount.org.uk/ 

  1. My Week in 5 - 10 March 2023
  2. My Week in 5 - 03 March 2023
  3. My Week in 5 - 24 February 2023
  4. My Week in 5 - 27 January 2023
  5. My Week in 5 - 20 January 2023
  6. My Week in 5 - 13 January 2023
  7. My Week in 5 - 9 December 2022
  8. My Week in 5 - 18 November 2022
  9. My Week in 5 - 4 November 2022
  10. My Week in 5 - 7 October 2022
  11. My Week in 5 - 30th September 2022
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