Today I was delighted to invite a group of Primary 7 pupils from Kirkcaldy West Primary to my office in Carlyle House. The pupils were able to see how my office works and I was able to answer their questions on being a MSP and on Scottish Politics in general.
The class are currently studying a new topic based on the Scottish Parliament and it was great to see the class engaged in politics and able to ask good questions on the subject.
This week I continued my campaign for the Great Tapestry of Scotland to come to Kirkcaldy after holding a productive meeting with Fife Cultural Trust. The meeting followed questions I raised in Parliament highlighting the popularity of the Tapestry and calling for the nationwide tour to visit Fife.
The Great Tapestry of Scotland was immensely popular when it was exhibited at the Scottish Parliament with crowds queuing out the building and around the corner. I’m pleased that my campaign to bring the exhibition to Fife has been positively received so far and there is a clear will for the tapestry to come to Fife.
It was great to be able to pop along to the open day at CLEAR Buckhaven and hear about the work that they carry out throughout the local community as they hosted an open day for the public to open their new office on 36 College Street Buckhaven.
The Fife based community group was established by local residents interested in improving the surrounding area in Buckhaven along with the local environment with the aim to build a better Buckhaven.
Last month one of only two drug courts in Scotland heard its final case as Fife Drug Court closed. The court, which sits at Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline sheriff courts, was opened in 2002, following the setup of a similar initiative in Glasgow.
It was reported in the national newspapers that one of the reasons behind the closure of the drugs court in Fife was due to lack of court capacity. This follows proposed changes to the court service in Fife which will see the end of jury trials in Kirkcaldy and the closure of the sheriff court in Cupar.
I am deeply disappointed that this decision has been taken Continue reading
Carers in Fife have missed out on vital support to the tune of over £6 million according to charity Carers Scotland. The report, which puts the number of carers failing to receive their full allowance across the Kingdom at over 2,000.
Whilst we are currently in a cost of living crisis every little helps and it is vital that carers throughout the Kingdom are receiving the help and support that they deserve.
Many carers take on that role not through choice but due to a sense of duty and love. For over £6 million to sit unclaimed whilst carers face making tough decisions between heating and eating must be addressed. It is not acceptable that nearly half of carers are cutting back on food and heating when they are carrying out such an invaluable role. Continue reading
The other week I signed up to the Living Wage pledge at a lobby of Parliament organised by the Scottish Living Wage campaign, alongside the Scottish Trade Unions. The campaign was organised to push for a living wage to be implemented at the heart of procurement policy in Scotland.
At a time where so many households across Fife are facing a cost of living crisis it is important that we take all opportunities to ensure that work pays by having employers adhere to the living wage.
Yesterday in Parliament I called for the Scottish Government to use its Climate Change Fund to help low income households tackle fuel poverty and address climate change targets.
During General Questions I asked the Minister for the Environment what meetings had taken place between the Minister and his Housing counterpart to discuss measures to tackle fuel poverty. Continue reading
Yesterday in Parliament I met with StepChange Debt Charity as they launched their Scotland in the Red research report. The report found that Scotland has the highest volume of payday lending among Stepchange Debt Charity clients in the UK. It shows that over 10% of total client debt in Scotland was the result of payday loans, and almost 20% of clients had at least one payday loan.
In Fife, Cowdenbeath and Dunfermline’s average debt was much higher than the Scottish average by £6,778 and £1,700 respectively. Both areas also join with North East Fife in having an above average payday loan debt. Kirkcaldy is also a cause for concern with more people there taking out a pay day loan than average across Scotland.
Today in Parliament I joined with members of the retail union Usdaw to campaign for respect for shop workers as part of the Freedom From Fear Campaign, which seeks to prevent violence, threats and abuse directed at retail staff.
Too often retail employees are confronted with violence, threats and abuse and it is really important that the people of Fife stand together and ask people to ‘keep their cool and respect shopworkers’. That is why I support Usdaw’s call for a change in the law to provide stiffer sentences for those who assault workers across the Kingdom.
Last week during Health Questions I quizzed the Public health minister on the issue of food banks within the region after reports of a high demand for Levenmouth Foodbank since it was launched in September.
I asked the Government what action they would be taking to target resources to address health inequalities after concerns were raised that a number of people referred to food banks also suffer from other health conditions such as mental ill health. Continue reading
