On the road

Last week was the first time since lockdown that I had travelled to London as, being in a high- risk category for Covid- 19, I had followed the advice to remain at home.

I had secured the opportunity to bring a Private Member’s Bill but it would have fallen at the first hurdle after Jacob Rees- Mogg and the UK Government excluded any MP from debates who do not attend the Chamber in person.

There are estimated to be over 100 MPs who have been excluded, due to shielding which, given the technology available, is unjustifiable and leaves their constituents partially disenfranchised.

My Bill, the Public Interest Disclosure ( Protection) Bill, aimed to provide better protection for whistleblowers who often end up driven from their jobs for raising an issue of public safety or dishonesty.

The most common sectors to generate such cases are Financial Services and the NHS and Social Care, with many scandals such as Mid Staffordshire Trust or Gosport, becoming household names.

Despite politicians often praising whistleblowers, little has changed and, earlier in the pandemic, we saw staff in NHS England threatened for raising concerns about a lack of PPE.

While Scotland now has the Independent National Whistleblower’s Office to set standards and provide better protection for whistleblowers in healthcare, the UK legislation applies to other sectors.

Sadly, despite cross- party support, including from many Conservatives, the UK Government wouldn’t support the Bill and so it cannot progress.

I also took the opportunity to speak against the controversial Internal Market Bill which, as well as undermining the Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, takes power back to Westminster from the Devolved Parliaments.

Instead of infrastructure funding for devolved policy areas, such as health, education and the environment, being decided in Holyrood, the UK Government is specifically taking control.

The Bill also states that if one UK nation sets lower food or product safety standards, those goods MUST be accepted by the other three nations.

This will prevent Scotland sticking to higher food safety or environmental standards despite the wishes of our Parliament and the majority of people in Scotland.

On a more positive note, I was delighted to see South Ayrshire Council named as one of the eleven local authorities in Scotland which are still proceeding with full provision of the 1140 hours of Early Learning and Childcare in this academic year.

Apart from two sites where extension work is being completed, all other centres are up and running. This additional provision will help give more children greater access to early education as well as helping reduce the costs of childcare for many families.