On Monday I held a surgery at the Banchory Business Centre. I appreciate my constituents coming out to see me.
On Tuesday, I had a meeting with Roche Diabetes on the development of new innovative technology such as arm implants which provide real time readings of blood sugar levels. I later attended a meeting with John Macneil on the smart meter rollout, they are hoping to have all homes installed with the smart meter by 2020. The Smart Meter is part of a measure to upgrade our energy supply and to tackle climate change. I attended the Ministerial Statement on Fair Start Scotland: Launching Scotland’s new employment support service and welcoming the opportunity for better integration and alignment. In the statement I had the chance to ask about the employment rate for disabled people and what measures Fair Start Scotland would be putting into place to ensure that the "No One Left Behind" policy is tailored to the individual needs of disabled people.
In the evening I attended a cross party group meeting on Autism. I want to extend my gratitude to Annie Wells for chairing the CPG on Autism, the speakers covered many important issues in the group, in particular mental health.
On Wednesday, with the multitude of meetings in the past few weeks the Finance and Constitution Committee did not convene. I attended the Portfolio questions where I was hoping to be able to ask a supplementary question but the chamber was short on time. I will continue to advocate for and question the issues most important to my constituents.
On Thursday, I attended First Ministers Questions(FMQs) before speaking in the Members’ Business Debate on Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2018, a topic close to my heart and I was grateful to have time to speak on this important issue. I dropped in at the Thainstone Residents Group Aberdeenshire meeting.
Later in the day, I attended the Ministerial Statement: Every Child, Every Chance: Scotland’s first Tacking Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22; The Scottish Government debate on Scotland’s support for the (UNESCO) Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage; and finally the Stage 1: Housing (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill before breaking off for Easter recess.
On Friday, I will be attending an update from BP North Sea before heading to Kintore to deliver my annual report and speak to constituents.
I hope everyone has a fantastic Easter break and gets to enjoy some time with friends and family.