Budget, Mental Health, Housing

Another week of weather-related travel disruption, with flights to Edinburgh cancelled on Tuesday, meant I was once again forced to join Parliamentary proceedings online. The change meant that the business of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee was postponed and a later date for the Stage Two of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill was set.

On Tuesday evening I joined the Cross Party Meeting on Men’s Violence Against Women and Children. I also took part in the Gender Sensitive Parliament Advisory Group meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

Joining remotely in the Chamber I was able to ask the Scottish Government about its budget proposals and I questioned if its commitments were enough to invest in young people. You can see the clip here.

I also raised the issue of local mental health provision and the impact on young people. Covid-19 highlighted a mental health crisis across the country. You can watch the exchange here.

On Thursday afternoon I highlighted that young people often wish to stay in rural and island areas where they grew up and that a lack of affordable housing is often a reason to leave communities. You can see my question about the Scottish Government’s strategy for this here.