Kate Forbes

MUCH focus is on Scotland’s demographic challenges. It’s been well-documented that our population is growing older and is unlikely to increase significantly over the coming decades. That makes it all the more important that we do our level best to attract and retain families in Scotland. A lot of that revolves around the quality of our public services.

LAST week, I met with Syrian refugees who have made Scotland their home. They are now UK citizens, after making the most hazardous of journeys to get here.

WE live in a representative democracy that is still far from representative. Our Parliament should reflect the diversity of society, across all protected characteristics.

A REPORT last week published by Reform Scotland reveals that too many young people are persistently absent from school.

WITH weeks to go until the Scottish Government budget, everybody is debating tax.

THE SNP conference has agreed its preferred process for pursuing independence. Well, it’s not exactly the preferred process – as Humza Yousaf has said time and again, the preferred process would be an agreed referendum which the UK Government has rejected.

IT’S been almost a week since the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by election, and there’s been a stream of comment, prediction and headline. I’m not going to add to it. Instead, I want to focus on what comes next.

TONIGHT, I will call – once again – for immigration to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament in a debate at Holyrood.

I HEARD a live radio interview about housing a few mornings ago. The storyline concerned eight new affordable homes that had been built by a community trust. The interviewer commended the efforts of the organisation, but asked how it would meet the tens of people looking for a home in that particular community. The short answer is, of course, it was just

A COUPLE of years ago, I cut the ribbon on a new toilet block by the Fairy Pools in Skye. Being an MSP isn’t all glitz and glamour and fancy events!