Category Archives: Fife News

Claire in Living Wage Call

Posted on by

Recently I joined with party colleagues in calling for the Scottish Government to use their spending power to deliver the living wage for workers in Fife and across Scotland.

The call followed a debate in the Scottish Parliament which will change the way public contracts are handed out to private companies; covering goods and services from the provision of stationary to the delivery of major capital projects, such as the Queensferry Crossing.

Public sector procurement is worth at least £9 billion a year in Scotland and the Scottish Labour Party has called for those employed in these contracts to be paid the living wage, set at £7.45 an hour. Continue reading →

Kinship care postcode lottery continues

Posted on by

The postcode lottery of financial support for kinship carers has remained in place in Scotland after the Scottish Government failed to support Labour’s amendments during the Children and Young People bill that has passed in Parliament last week.

Kinship care, where a member of the child’s extended family looks after the child as the parent cannot, can vary wildly in both eligibility and support depending on where in Scotland you live.

Continue reading →

A92 Concerns raised in Parliament

Posted on by

Last week in Parliament I raised concerns over the safety of the A92 with the Transport Minister during General Questions. This followed the recent tragic fatalities that have occurred on the road.

One serious incident on the road is one too many and our thoughts go out to the families of the tragic fatalities that have occurred over the past few months. Since 2007 the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have spent over £2 billion maintaining and improving Scotland’s trunk roads. Yet despite rising number of fatalities in the A92, the road has only seen under 1% of that spending. Continue reading →

School Visits

Posted on by

Recently I was able to visit three schools within Fife to answer pupil’s questions on being a MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.

I visited Kirkcaldy West and Falkland Primary schools both of which were doing projects on the Scottish Parliament before visiting Glenwood High School in Glenrothes to speak to 4th year pupils ahead of sitting their National 4 exams.

Continue reading →

Totally Locally in Burntisland

Posted on by


Last week I was delighted to be asked to launch Burntisland’s Totally Locally Campaign. The event which was launched with a dance mob and an unveiling of the map of the town aims to promote the high street in Burtnisland.

Totally Locally has been successful throughout the UK having being initially launched in West Yorkshire and will hopefully be a positive experience for the town.  It is a great opportunity to promote local businesses that have signed up and boost footfall in the high street.

Fife must be ‘Clued Up’ on legal highs

Posted on by

Yesterday I was pleased to be able to highlight the good work undertaken by Clued Up, a Kirkcaldy based charity, during a Government debate in the Scottish Parliament on the issue of New Psychoactive Substances, also known as ‘legal highs’.

‘Legal Highs’ are synthetic drugs that can be legally purchased from head shops in the high street or online. Continue reading →

Claire calls for action to tackle the need for food banks

Posted on by

Yesterday in Parliament I raised the challenges facing food banks across the Kingdom during a Member’s debate. Having attended the launch of the food bank in Kirkcaldy I have seen first hand the demand for these services and the vital role they play in helping those that need it most. 

Recent reports that the food bank in Glenrothes is running low on food as it struggles to keep up with demand highlights how important these services are for the Kingdom. Those that have taken the time to help, from volunteering in the banks or donating food whilst they do their weekly shop, deserve our thanks. Without them the situation throughout Fife would be a lot worse.

My full speech can be found on the Scottish Government website.

Continue reading →

Claire votes to end Bedroom Tax

Posted on by

Today I was able to vote on a Scottish Labour amendment to effectively end the much hated bedroom tax in Scotland. The amendment, which was lodged by our finance spokesperson Iain Gray, was voted on during the Scottish Government’s budget debate.

Labour has been consistently calling for the Scottish Government to make the right decision and fully mitigate the impact of the bedroom tax in Scotland. Today they finally listened.

The bedroom tax adversely impacts on those that need help the most. The policy is particularly hurting those with disabilities and those faced with no prospect of downsizing due to lack of housing stock. A Labour UK Government has committed to ending the bedroom tax throughout the UK and it was only when pushed by Scottish Labour that the SNP finally agreed to take at Holyrood.

Labour have been consistent in pushing for the Scottish Government to fully mitigate the bedroom tax in Scotland by providing sufficient resources to make the bedroom tax redundant in Scotland. If the Scottish Government had refused to back Labour’s call my colleague Jackie Baillie had introduced a member’s bill to address the situation but I am glad the Scottish Government has taken action in the budget.

Only last week there was an interim report, released by the Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee, that highlighted the impact the tax is having on society throughout Scotland. The report followed extensive evidence sessions and research undertaken by the committee. The report called for the Scottish Government to explore further ways to mitigate the effect of the tax in the short term.

Thankfully today we saw movement on that issue and I was delighted that I was able to vote on Iain’s motion and support a budget that will effectively end a policy that is deeply unpopular throughout Fife.


Falkland Primary visit Parliament

Posted on by

Today I was able to answer questions from pupils at Falkland Primary School as they visited the Scottish Parliament. Ahead of a tour of the building the pupils from primary 6 were able to quiz me, and fellow MSPs Roderick Campbell and Willie Rennie on the parliament and our roles as MSPs.

One of the many positives of having a Parliament in the capital is that it allows schools from across Scotland to visit and see first-hand how the Parliament works. Continue reading →

Recognising the work of Greener Kirkcaldy

Posted on by

Today I lodged a motion in Parliament to recognise the work of Greener Kirkcaldy. The community based charity works hard to ensure action is being taken to tackle environmental issues in the Kirkcaldy area and I was delighted to attend it’s annual gather the previous week with Councilor Judy Hamilton.

I’m delighted that the motion has already secured enough cross party support that it will be put forward for consideration for a member’s debate. As Scotland continues to attempt to reach its Climate Change targets – and sadly we have missed our first two – the work of such charities as Greener Kirkcaldy is invaluable and should be highlighted in Parliament.