Dnipro kids’ arrival is a ray of sunshine

This week I am pleased to offer a very warm Scottish welcome to the Ukrainian children and their guardians, who are now enjoying the safety of our beautiful area.

Well done to all those involved, including the charities Dnipro Kids, Magen David Adom UK and Save a Child, as well as Stirling Council and the UK and Scottish Governments.

The incredible generosity shown by individuals, businesses, and communities across Stirling has been truly humbling. This is a little ray of sunshine amongst the appalling news, as Putin repeats in Ukraine the war crimes he committed in Syria.

Putin has no doubt been emboldened by the influence he felt Russian money and gas exports hold on Western democracies. And the UK has topped the list for hiding the money and laundering the reputations of Russian oligarchs, along with other assorted dictators.

The Tory party has taken £2m in donations from Russian oligarchs just since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister.

Questions need to be asked about what sort of influence this money holds over the Tory party.

And now we find from his car crash interview, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is up to his knees in Russian links.

Once again the Conservatives have shown it is one rule for them, and another for the rest of us.

It was not a great week for Sunak.

Firstly, he had to borrow a car to publicise his 5p a litre fuel duty cut gimmick, and then he showed he had no idea how to pay for it at the kiosk!

But that’s not the main issue.

The spring statement was the chance for the Tories to help people across the UK during this cost-of-living crisis. But the response was woeful, and widely condemned by all sides of the political debate.

The Office for Budget Responsibility confirmed that the supposed tax cuts offset just a sixth of the net tax rises introduced by Sunak since he became Chancellor.

And the Resolution Foundation has estimated that around 1.3 million people, including 500,000 children, will fall into absolute poverty over the next year because the chancellor didn’t provide more help for low-income families.

As usual, the Scottish Government will do what can to mitigate the impact of the callous Westminster Government, just as it done with the hideous bedroom tax, introduced by the Conservative / Lib Dem coalition in 2013.

Amongst the measures, 12,000 parents will be supported into fair and sustainable work, backed by £81m this year. Investment of up to £15m in a new fund to tackle the financial barriers parents face when they enter the labour market and immediate steps to mitigate the Tories’ Benefit Cap is backed by up to £10m.

And the Scottish Child Payment will increase to

£25 a week by the end of 2022 as we try to mitigate Tory cuts to Universal Credit.

These actions will result in 60,000 fewer children in Scotland living in relative poverty in 2023/24 compared to 2017. Even with one hand tied behind our backs and a hostile

Tory UK Government, the Scottish Government is improving the lives of children across Scotland. Just imagine what we could do with the full powers independence would bring.

The kindness shown has been truly humbling