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On Saturday 2nd of October, the Opening Ceremony for the sixth session of the Scottish Parliament took place in the Debating Chamber. This year’s ceremony paid tribute to ‘local heroes’ chosen from across Scotland for the part they played during the pandemic in supporting their local community. Fiona Hyslop, MSP for the Linlithgow constituency, nominated Vicky Dunnett for her work at the Boghall Drop-in Centre. Vicky was instrumental in coordinating and organising the efforts of the team at the Centre, which supported many people in Boghall, and further afield throughout the lockdowns. The small team at Boghall Drop-in Centre, supported by Vicky, coordinated efforts between chefs, delivery drivers and those able to give donations to allow thousands of meals to be distributed to people who needed them.  The small team…

The Scottish Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to support cancelling the Tory UK Government’s planned £20 cut to Universal Credit next month. Following the vote, Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, condemned the Scottish Tories for backing the cut which will rip over £1,000 from 13,689 families in West Lothian. The pressure for the Tory Government to scrap their plans has been building up for a number of months. The Scottish Government has written to the UK Government on eight occasions throughout the pandemic asking for them to make the uplift permanent and to extend it to legacy benefits, and hundreds of anti-poverty campaigners, human rights experts, cross-party committees and the devolved Governments have all urged the UK Government to keep the lifeline. The Tory’s planned cut has also…

Local Linlithgow Constituency MSP Fiona Hyslop has praised the work undertaken by West Lothian Food Train, particularly in the last 18 months when they have helped significant numbers of older people live well at home throughout the pandemic. Food Train is the charity which helps older people live better lives at home and who operate a home shopping delivery service in your constituency. For 26 years volunteers across Scotland have ensured people aged 65 and over have not gone without critical shopping supplies while also enjoying life-improving social contact. The services provided by Food Train support individuals in remaining at home by providing essential items and social visits. Commenting after her visit, Fiona said, “West Lothian Food Train has responded to unprecedented demand since the outbreak of Covid-19 supporting around…

Local MSP, Fiona Hyslop has blasted the Westminster Tory Government’s decision to strip 13,689 families in West Lothian of the £20 Universal Credit uplift as “a crime against decency”. New research from the Scottish Parliament’s independent information service SPICe reveals 176,935 working households, 104,536 single parent households, 33,143 carer households, 11,887 households with disabled kids and a further 66,143 households with disabilities across Scotland will lose more than £1000 a year. And the figures expose the appalling scale of misery that this callous Tory decision will inflict on 13,689 hard-pressed households in West Lothian. Local MSP, for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop commented; “This Tory government’s choice to inflict the biggest overnight cut to social security since World War II - hammering people both in and out of work –…

Local MSP, for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, welcomed the payments which Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison highlighted during a debate on the commitments in the SNP Scottish Government’s Programme for Government which aim to create a fairer society. Low income families in West Lothian will benefit from a £320 uplift before Christmas as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty. Families eligible will receive payments of £160 per child in October and again in December. Two Bridging Payments of £100 have already been made which takes the total to £520 this year. The cash is equivalent to the Scottish Child Payment - a £10-a-week benefit to assist with the costs of caring for a child aged under six years old. The Scottish Government will extend the…

Local Linlithgow Constituency MSP, Fiona Hyslop, has secured a commitment in writing from the Scottish Business Secretary Ivan McKee to keep in close contact with Valenva as the situation at the Livingston based plant continues. Fiona commented, “I am pleased that having raised the issue in the Scottish Parliament last week, requesting that Business Minister Ivan Mckee meet Valneva to discuss world markets for the company, that he has now done so. “In Mr McKee’s letter he informed me that a meeting took place on September 15th and that he and Scottish Enterprise will keep in close contact with Valneva. He also agreed that the inaccurate comments from the UK Government have been particularly damaging to the company and highlighted that the MHRA clinical trials are yet to be concluded.…

Local MSP for the Linlithgow Constituency, Fiona Hyslop, has welcomed the announcement from the Scottish Government and Sports Scotland that West Lothian Cycle Circuit in Linlithgow will receive £636,011 funding to develop an accessible and inclusive 1KM cycle loop.   The West Lothian Cycle Circuit will be a world class facility for the whole community giving everyone in Linlithgow and beyond the access to a safe, traffic free cycling facility. The circuit will include a 1km, tarmac traffic-free circuit which will be floodlit for all year use and made up of 4 loops that are fenced in. It will be available for individual drop in sessions, club use and organised activities. Fiona who was instrumental as a Government Minister in securing the first ever UCI World Cycle Championships in Scotland…