Parliamentary Contributions

Oral Contributions:

• 17.11 – Social Media Posts: Penalties for Offences – I argued in defence of prosecuting racial hatred online in the same way we would prosecute it in the real world; provisions must be in place to prevent people from inciting violence against any ethnic group
• 17.11 – UNESCO: 80th Anniversary – I highlighted Edinburgh’s unique position as the first official UNESCO city of literature, and called for the Scottish government to commit to supporting libraries in schools in Scotland (replicating UK government policy)
• 18.11 – ExxonMobil: Mossmorran – I probed the Scottish government’s role (or lack thereof) in supporting the workers at Mossmorran/saving the future of the plant
• 20.11 – International Men’s Day – I highlighted the importance of supporting men’s mental health and wellbeing, name-checking a couple of Edinburgh-based organisations that do great work in this area

Written Questions Answered:

• Heart Diseases: Women – steps to help improve women’s heart health.
• Geothermal Power – support for the development and rollout of low-cost, ecological, alternative carbon heating systems using geothermal energy from flooded coal mines or sewer systems.
• Cycle to Work Scheme –  the potential impact of the Cycle to Work tax exemption initiative on the economy.
• Geothermal Power: Scotland – discussions with the Scottish Government on support for the development and rollout of low‑cost, low‑carbon mine water geothermal heating systems in Scotland.
• Diabetes: Medical Treatments –  steps to publish guidance on managing hypoglycaemia.
• Blue Badge Scheme – merits of introducing standardised eligibility for the Blue Badge scheme across local authorities.
• Supported Housing: Young People – annual cost to the public purse of young people in supported housing working reduced hours due to the interaction between Housing Benefit and Universal Credit taper rates.
• Environment Protection: Apprentices – steps to ensure that businesses can increase the supply of apprenticeships in response to increases in levels of regional demand for green jobs.
• Shipping: Exhaust Emissions –  potential impact of ship emissions at berth on disadvantaged communities living near ports.
• Cancer: Health Services – steps to help tackle issues relating to sarcoma diagnosis, treatment and care.
• Infected Blood Compensation Scheme: Inheritance Tax – merits of extending the inheritance tax exemption for payments made by infected blood compensation schemes to cover payments received by the surviving spouse of a deceased recipient.

Media Mentions:

• 24.11 – Wester Hailes organisations unite behind £20m regeneration bid – deadline news covered the bid we (my office, in partnership with the local community) recently submitted for Pride in Place funding
• 19.11 – Development company submits proposal for new student accommodation in Fountainbridge – deadline news also covered a new housing proposal for the Fountainbridge area, which I have been sharing with residents, online
• 17.11 – Edinburgh North-South tramline: Scott Arthur says new line is ‘essential’ and will boost economy – the Evening News covered my blog post on the proposed new North- South tramline