Parliamentary Contributions

Oral Contributions:

• 21.10 – Mandatory Digital ID – I raised concerns around the Scot card functioning as a form of mandatory ID, in all but name
• 22.10 – Heathrow: National Airports Review – I urged the minister to consider the impact that Heathrow expansion will have on Edinburgh ( rail and airport networks)
• 22.10 – Devolution in Scotland – I delivered a speech highlighting the SNP government’s failures to make the most of the devolution settlement, in sectors ranging from health to house building
• 23.10 – NHS Workforce Levels: Impact on Cancer Patients – I delivered a speech praising the NHS workforce plan, in England, and highlighting how Scotland is in urgent need of a similar plan, to tackle the unacceptably high cancer mortality rates in our poorest communities

Written Questions Answered:

• Motability – a written response to the Reverse Gear report
• Motability: Finance – how much DWP paid directly to the Motability scheme in 2024-25.
• Mental Health Services – progress on re-establishing a central capacity for co-ordinating preventative mental health work
• Universal Credit: Disability – impact of changes to the Universal Credit Health Element on poverty among disabled people
• Universal Credit: Young People – plans to publish the decision making process behind the proposal to restrict access to the Universal Credit Health Element for under-22s
• Work Capability Assessment – reason for prioritising Work Capability Assessments for new benefit claimants over reassessments
• Work Capability Assessment – steps to reduce delays in Work Capability Assessments for existing claimants who have reported a deterioration in their health
• Work Capability Assessment – how many existing claimants are awaiting a Work Capability Assessment; what the average wait time is; and when the backlog will be cleared
• Bus Services: Concessions – steps to improve access to concessionary bus travel for disabled people
• Parental Leave: Terminal Illnesses – assessment of the potential merits of reducing the time to consult on Hugh’s Law to ensure earlier legislative consideration
• Access to Work Programme – assessment of the social return on investment of the Access to Work programme
• Agriculture: Supply Chains – how to ensure that farmers and workers in global supply chains earn a living wage.
• Poverty: Children –  impact of the two-child benefit cap on child poverty levels in Edinburgh South West
• Poverty: Children – impact of the two-child benefit cap on child poverty levels in (a) working families and (b) minority ethnic groups
• Electric Vehicles: Charging Points – capacity of the national grid to support projected growth in electric vehicle charging demand over the next decade
• Carbon Capture and Storage: Finance – plans to (a) publish a revised timeline for the track-2 cluster sequencing process and (b) provide funding for non-pipeline carbon capture projects
• Energy: Waste – plans to help prevent waste leakage offshore
• Motor Vehicles: Edinburgh – how many vintage cars were registered in Edinburgh in each year since 2010
• Drugs: Israel – what medicines procured by NHS England are imported from Israel
• Pensions: Trusts –  terms of reference are and delivery schedule for pension trustees consultation
• Coral Reefs –  potential policy implications stemming from the research undertaken by the University of Edinburgh into the use of corals harvested from subsea structures to establish artificial reefs as part of seabed restoration projects
• Social Security Benefits: Children – potential impact of the two-child benefit cap on incentivising employment among affected families

Media Mentions:

• 20.10 – The Times covered my role in a rare pond mud snail release conducted by the conservation unit at the RZSS – Forget lynx and wolves, meet Scotland’s smallest rewilding species ; Thousands of rare snails released in Pentland Hills as part of conservation efforts 
• 21.10 – The Evening News covered my participation in a parliamentary event to mark 21 years of parkrun- Edinburgh MP reveals how parkrun ‘changed his life’ and celebrates charity’s 21st birthday in Westminster
• 21.10 – After my successful lobbying of supermarkets in ESW, Ian Murray achieved a similar result in Edinburgh South, read more here – Edinburgh Bonfire Night: All major stores in Edinburgh South promise not to sell fireworks
• 22.10 – I spoke to the Evening News about the roadworks problem in Edinburgh, and my solution: lane rental schemes – Edinburgh roadworks: council should have powers to charge utility firms up to £2,500 a day, says MP
• 23.10 – Good local coverage of an upcoming community meeting I will be hosting, on the topic of dangerous driving on dirt bikes- Local MP to host meeting on “dangerous” use of e-bikes and off-road bikes in southwest Edinburgh; Edinburgh community event on anti-social bike use to be held as incidents “on the rise” in the city
• 24.10 – An excellent profile piece in Politics Home, focused on my Rare Cancers Bill – “I Can Actually Say I’m Doing Something About This”: Scott Arthur On His Rare Cancers Bill
• 24.10 – The Daily Record picked up on one my recent written questions to the DWP, which revealed that for the 2024/25 financial year, the total value of benefits transferred by the DWP to the Motability scheme was £3,074,920,421.67 – Motability Scheme issues new update for people on PIP or all other disability benefits
• 25.10 – A series of outlets picked up on another one of my written questions to the DWP, this time focused on the decision to restrict access to UC for those under the age of 22 – DWP issues update over Universal Credit ban for one age group ; DWP explains ‘reasoning’ for decision to restrict Universal Credit for young people ; DWP could ‘restrict’ Universal Credit access to people in certain age group; DWP breaks silence over banning one age group from claiming Universal Credit