Third highest virus infection rate in country
It’s been another busy month of Parliamentary business with, unsurprisingly, much of the focus on Covid- 19.
New, tighter restrictions are coming into place in many areas as cases, hospital admissions and, sadly, deaths have risen to worrying levels in Scotland, the UK and across Europe.
Disappointingly, Ayrshire & Arran now has the third highest infection rate in Scotland which means we could be placed in one of the higher tiers when the new regional Covid system is introduced at the start of November.
With hospitality again hit hard by the latest restrictions, I have been looking at how best to increase ventilation and air purification in indoor settings, to help reduce the airborne spread of the virus. Most of the current precautions are about reducing spread by exhaled droplets, particularly if people talk loudly, laugh or sing, but we now know the virus also persists in the air as tiny airborne particles which means indoor settings are more challenging. Having visited
local company, Sigma Engineering, to learn more about ventilation options, I have called on the UK Government to remove the 20% VAT from ventilation systems and make them tax deductible, so they are more affordable for businesses to install and run. Improved ventilation could help make premises more Covid secure and avoid them being repeatedly closed.
At the start of the month, I was privileged to take part ( remotely) in the inaugural Parliamentarians for Peace project at the Normandy World Peace Forum. P4P is envisaged as a network of parliamentarians who come together to discuss the key drivers of conflict, both domestic and international, and propose solutions and work to build safe, secure, and peaceful societies. I was immensely honoured to be selected as one of only 10 MPs from around the world to participate in this first phase.
I also took part in the Helsinki Women’s Conference on tackling Domestic Abuse. The online format allowed women from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa to attend and share their experiences which, as in the UK, worsened during lockdown. It is appalling that, for so many, home has not been a safe place during Covid and I was, therefore, pleased to see a Bill introduced to the Scottish Parliament which will help prevent the abused partner being driven out of the family home and give security to the parent with caring responsibilities.