I have received a lot of correspondence from constituents who are rightly horrified by the news coming out of Israel and Palestine. What is clear in the increasingly complex situation is that neither Israeli nor Palestinian civilians have asked for this war and the bloodshed we have all witnessed is shocking. What is also clear […]
We Are With You are a charity that offers free, confidential support to people in Scotland who have issues with drugs, alcohol or mental health. The way in which we communicate, seek information and access support has transformed in recent years with the advancement of digital technology. We all now expect expert advice at our […]
Volunteers from 15 local groups came together this weekend in Cowdenbeath to promote the value of volunteering and the work the groups do in the local area to support the wider community. Organised by ‘My Cowdenbeath,’ a community interest company, the drop-in event highlighted the work of 15 voluntary groups and organisations from the area […]
I have raised the need for greater partnership between the Scottish Government and local authorities, businesses and communities on electric vehicle charging infrastructure in a debate in the Scottish Parliament. I spoke of my village of Kelty, which has zero public electric vehicle chargers, during the debate on the Prime Minister’s recent U-turns on key […]
Please see below a letter I sent today to Mairi McAllan the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition calling for the government to intervene on the concerns over health and safety that have led to a walkout by workers at the petrochemical plant. Also please find below that the press release from Unite […]
Community safety is “a secondary consideration” in Fire Service cuts says MSP A Mid Scotland and Fife MSP has said that “community safety is a secondary consideration to budget savings” as a document released by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service shows the extent of budget cuts the service plans to make over the coming […]
I have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health Michael Matheson MSP to raise serious concerns about the latest A&E waiting time figures showing NHS Forth Valley is underperforming the rest of Scotland by a significant margin. The figures, published this week by Public Health Scotland, show that only 47.6% of attendees were seen within […]
A proposed package of massive cuts to Fife’s Fire and Rescue Service is again under the spotlight following calls for an urgent meeting between the Scottish Government and every MSP representing Fife. I have written to the Minister for Victims and Community Safety requesting an urgent meeting with all Fife MSPs to discuss the proposals […]
There has been much reporting in the news of the closure of the Dunfermline Queen Margaret hospice with NHS Fife moving to a new model of palliative care. I have been doing work around palliative care provision for an ongoing period – particularly in relation to my work on the Scottish Parliament Covid-19 Recovery Committee. […]
I attended a drop-in event on Wednesday 31 May 2023 in Holyrood to discuss the need to tackle financial hardship in later life. The event was held by Independent Age, the national older people’s charity, as latest figures show that 1 in 7 older people now live in poverty in Scotland, a 25% rise in […]