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Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, has welcomed the announcement that projects in West Lothian will receive £48,000 from the first round of grants from the Scotland Loves Local Fund. The funding, announced this week, is supporting over 100 organisations, who will receive a share of the £1.5 million funding boost to help revitalise cities, town centres and neighbourhoods across Scotland. They will encourage support for local economies which were impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and help restore local tourism, make town centres more environmentally friendly and sustainable, and support communities to refurbish shop fronts and public spaces ahead of the festive season. In West Lothian, funding was awarded to three different organisations. Green Action Trust in Broxburn has been awarded £20,000 to support the creation of a new community park on…

Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, has welcomed the First Minister’s announcement that the Scottish Child Payment will be doubled from April 2022. The announcement will see at least 4,280 eligible children across West Lothian receiving £20 per week per child from spring next year, with more than 106,000 children across Scotland immediately benefitting from the increased payment. Since the launch of the Scottish Government payment on 15 February 2021, 1,143,880 has been issued in payments to families in West Lothian. It is now expected that over 400,000 children could be eligible for the doubled payment by the end 2022, which is when the benefit, which is unique in the UK, will be extended to children under the age of 16. Commenting, Fiona said: “I am delighted that at least 4,280 children across West Lothian will have…

Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, urged the Scottish Government, during First Ministers Questions in the Scottish Parliament on 11th November, to continue the discussions and networking established by the Glasgow Climate Dialogues as COP26 has now come to a close. Fiona asked the Scottish Government if they will use their role as the co-Chair of the Under2 coalition to promote a similar dialogue among members of the coalition and raise important issues such as ‘loss and damage’. The Deputy First Minister responded to Fiona’s question stating the Scottish Government’s intention to continue to engage with the Coalition after COP and highlighted the Coalition’s commitment to Net Zero by 2050 and the importance of a Just Transition. Fiona commented; “I am pleased to have raised this issue in Parliament…

Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, has led a members debate at the Scottish Parliament expressing the importance of listening to the voices of the Global South in our efforts to tackle the climate emergency. Fiona lodged a motion in Parliament acknowledging and highlighting the publication of a communique that set out the conclusions of the ‘Glasgow Climate Dialogues’ –  a series of discussions hosted by the Scottish Government and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland which took place between 6 and 9 September 2021 and provided a forum for civil society and government departments from impacted countries in the Global South to discuss and share their positions on some of the key priorities for action at and beyond COP26. Fiona said: “The effects of climate change are not equal,…

Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop has welcomed the news that Blackburn in West Lothian is one of seven towns in Scotland that has been chosen to tackle the impact of climate change and secure a just transition to net zero. The Climate Action Towns programme will empower communities to come together and engage in collective climate action, taking account of the unique challenges and opportunities each town faces. That might include looking at what action can be taken on switching to more sustainable food or renewable energy. Communities in the seven towns will be offered support to find ways of making changes at a local level that will help tackle the crisis, giving them a voice and engaging those that may not have previously engaged in climate…

Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, attended the COP26 GLOBE Legislator’s Summit for international parliamentarians hosted by the Scottish Parliament on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th of November. The Summit explored the role of parliaments across the globe in the climate emergency and explored issues including how to accelerate climate action, the delivery of a green economy and a fair and resilient recovery from Covid-19. Prior to the Summit in the Scottish Parliament, GLOBE International partnered with the Children’s Parliament to create ‘The Moment’, an event designed to give young people from across Scotland a chance to share their thoughts on climate change with their local MSP. As part of ‘The Moment’, Fiona spoke with modern studies pupils at Linlithgow Academy to hear their ideas on tackling climate…

SNP MSP Fiona Hyslop has said that the Tory UK Government’s budget, announced today, makes it clear that “independence is the only way to give West Lothian a fair recovery from the pandemic.” Fiona has said that the budget – which has been described by the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies as “actually awful” for living standards - is failing the people of Scotland by failing to tackle the cost of living crisis, the Brexit crisis and the climate crisis whilst the Tory Government prioritise cuts to the cost of champagne and giving tax breaks to bankers. Commenting SNP MSP Fiona Hyslop said: “What the Tory UK Government has outlined today does not meet the ambition needed to build a fair and sustainable recovery and to tackle the cost…

Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, spoke during the Scottish Government Debate: Global Ambitions for COP26 on 27th of October, about the importance of a global effort to tackle climate change and highlighted the need for justice and fairness to be at the heart of our ambitions on climate change. Fiona stressed the importance of working with the Global South, where countries who have done the least to cause climate change face the biggest burden, and the need to learn from those who are experiencing climate change now.  Additionally, Fiona highlighted that Scotland has some of the most ambitious climate change legislation in the world and as such has a responsibility to lead by example. However, Fiona stressed that lessons must also be learned from the past, and as…

Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, has raised the issue of the temporarily closed St Michael’s Hospital in Linlithgow in the Scottish Parliament as part of a Ministerial Statement on Winter Planning and Social Care. During his statement the Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, announced a record winter funding package of over £300m in hospitals and the community to help increase NHS and social care capacity this winter and focussed on the use of step down community care. In Fiona’s question to the Cabinet Secretary for Health she highlighted the importance of community based elderly care and nursing. She also sought assurances that the Scottish Government would impress upon West Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership the need for a facility in the north of the county as a…