It’s time to look to the future
Since March, I have found writing each column more and more difficult.
As we have navigated our path through the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been important to make sure that key public health information has been shared and so much has been focussed on the present and what has been happening immediately around us.
This week, I am pleased to be looking to the future as I listened to the First Minister lay out her Programme for Government at Holyrood.
While it is not time for business as usual, as we ease our way through this time, it is an opportunity for us all to rethink how we do things, to reset our priorities and focus on what is most important.
Covid-19 – the single greatest public health crisis of our lifetimes – has had a profound impact on our health, economy and society – indeed our whole way of life.
I am incredibly proud that this parliamentary year will see the first Scottish Child Payments made.
This is a game-changing benefit that will provide additional support to families here in Renfrewshire South who need it most and help lift children out of poverty.
Applications for this payment will open in November, with the first payments being made in February next year.
In addition to this, efforts to close the attainment gap will be redoubled – with £135million of additional funding this year – and ensure our schools have what they need to deliver an excellent education for all children, in light of ongoing pressures.
With a focus on our young people, the incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child will help to make Scotland the best possible place to grow up.
Secure housing is also so important in creating stability and opportunity for young people.
The Scottish Government will continue to invest in housing, and, for those who are renting I am glad to see that the tenant protection against eviction due to rent arrears has been extended to March of next year.
This is alongside a £10m Tenant Hardship Loan Fund for those who are struggling due to the economic crisis sparked by Covid-19.
I know that this will be warmly welcomed by residents across my constituency.
The current health crisis has also shown the dedication of our care staff and the importance of the work that they do.
I warmly welcome the announcement that there will be a comprehensive independent review of adult social care which will look at immediate changes, and examine and set out options for the creation of a National Care Service.
As the First Minister said: “We will build out of this Covid crisis, the lasting and positive legacy of a high quality National Care Service.”
We also need to ensure that staff are looked after and it’s great to see a package of measures to protect the health and wellbeing of staff will be invested in, recognising the debt of gratitude we owe them, and ensuring they are supported.
A clear focus will be put on mental health and wellbeing and the specific impacts the virus has had on existing health inequalities.
This pandemic has shown that we can move quickly to action positive changes in healthcare.
The Scottish Government will embed Pharmacy First, and accelerate the rollout of Community Treatment and Assessment Centres, and Covid-19 hubs.
The use of digital health services – both physical and mental – will be scaled up to ensure more people can get the care they need in a way that suits them.
I am glad to be looking forward, to seeing the path we want to take and the opportunities that we have to make Renfrewshire South a fairer, healthier and more sustainable place to live.