Food Train is lifeline for the housebound

It was Parliamentary recess last week and I usually like to spend this time catching up with organisations across the constituency.

On Thursday I was delighted to join Food Train volunteer James Miller on his regular delivery run in Dunblane and I’d like to thank him for showing me the ropes.

The Food Train is a service, delivered by volunteers, that provides weekly deliveries of fresh groceries to some of the most vulnerable older people in our communities across the Stirling area.

Many of the users of this service are effectively housebound and experience difficulties doing their weekly food shopping so the Food Train helps ensure that they can eat, live and age well.

It also helps to tackle the issue of social isolation which affects many elderly people. The Scottish Government recently launched a consultation looking at the causes of social isolation and loneliness and how they can be addressed.

Views are also being sought on how communities can build on the work of the SNP Government and lead on ensuring those at risk of becoming lonely or isolated have access to the right support networks. The consultation forms part of the development process of a new national strategy to tackle loneliness and isolation - one of the first in the world.

Loneliness is linked to both poor physical and mental health and can have wide-ranging consequences on so many aspects of our lives. I would encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in shaping the strategy, since we all have a role to play in reducing loneliness here in our local areas and across Scotland.

The consultation will run until April 30 - see www.consult.gov.scot/ equality-unit/connected-scotland.

Since 2008, the Scottish Government has substantially increased the number of new apprenticeships in Scotland from around 10,500 to more than 26,000 in 2017. Over the last year there has been tremendous progress against the Developing the Young Workforce targets, hitting the headline objective of reducing youth unemployment by 40 per cent, four years ahead of schedule. Despite this success, it is vital we continue to develop Scotland’s young workforce to meet the emerging needs and opportunities of our employers and economy.

This is why I was delighted at the recent announcement from the Scottish Government that at least 28,000 new apprentices will be trained in the year from this April which will allow even more people the opportunity to access a wide variety of vocational skills and training.

As well as growing the Modern Apprenticeship programme, the SNP is committed to enhancing and widening the apprenticeship offering, ensuring that more people than ever before can benefit from work-based learning through the expansion of Foundation and Graduate Apprenticeships.

I would encourage young people across Stirling and Clackmannanshire to have a look at www.apprenticeships. scot/become-an-apprentice/ graduate-apprenticeships/ to find out more about what it means to become an apprentice and existing apprenticeship opportunities on offer. I’d like to finish by congratulating Dunblane BID on their successful application for funding from the Big Lottery Young Start Fund.

The grant of £39,600 will help develop a programme to support young people in Dunblane into work by expanding their opportunity to develop practical skills and work experience. This is an exciting project and I look forward to seeing it develop over the coming months.