Dave Thompson MSP

PARLIAMENT is sitting again after its summer recess when I took the opportunity to have a two-week holiday.

The rest of the summer has been filled with a series of visits and meetings to allow constituents and organisations in my constituency to tell me of the issues where I or the Scottish Parliament can be of assistance.

Sometimes this involves attendance at one of my regular constituent advice surgeries held around the constituency and advertised in the local press or sometimes it involves a visit to a particular organisation or premises to learn more about the work carried out there.

That is why in late May I found myself in a former school house at Killen near Avoch for an Open Day at the Children First family resource centre, where I spent an enthralling afternoon with members of staff who help families that have experienced difficult times to get back on an even keel. I was privileged to join service manager Les Hood and his colleagues as I learned about the extremely valuable work this charity carries out.

Children First’s ten salaried staff are supplemented by several local volunteers who selflessly give their time to support the service in roles such as driving, gardening and handiwork to make the experience of visiting the centre a more enjoyable one for children and relatives whose lives are often chaotic and the pleasant surroundings at Killen can help introduce a less frenetic element to their lives.

But, as always with such charitable enterprises, even the voluntary help generously offered by the local community does not cover everything that needs to be done and the organisation is still keen for more to get involved and offer their time to this worthwhile cause.

I am also pleased to let you know of my recently-discovered links to the Black Isle. My daughter, Tracy, was doing some research into our family history and discovered that my wife, Veronica, has strong Black Isle roots.

Tracy uncovered the fact that Betsy Dingwall, Veronica’s great-great-grandmother hailed from Killearnan and latterly Avoch, where her son, John MacLeod, was a baker in Avoch for many years.

As a native of Lossiemouth, visible across the Moray Firth from the Black Isle, I was pleased to find concrete evidence of a familial link to this important part of my constituency, especially with the strong fishing connections.

If anyone can shed more light on Betsy or John, we would be delighted to hear from them.

While being your MSP at Holyrood means that much of my time is taken up with specifically local issues, each unique to the local area where they are raised, other matters of more general import also occupy much of my time.

One such general issue I am sure you will have heard about has been a proposal to merge the country’s various Police and Fire services to form a single national service.

Last year when rumours of this proposal first emerged I attempted to pre-mpt the change and made my own proposal for the country to be covered by four larger Police forces. This would have involved an expanded Northern Constabulary to encompass Moray and Argyll; areas with a similarly rural focus. Sadly this was not accepted but I have always kept an open mind on the issue and am pleased that the Scottish Government has responded to the concerns raised during the consultation.

Assurances have been given that the number of officers will be maintained in every community, right across Scotland and that the 1,000 extra Police we have delivered since 2007 will remain. Other benefits will be the improved delivery of local services while giving all parts of Scotland access to national expertise and assets whenever and wherever they are needed. There will also be a clear separation from Ministers to ensure the continued operational independence of the service.

There is also an opportunity to gain new high value jobs in the Highlands and already this month I have asked the Cabinet Secretary for Justice whether he was planning to base some of the back-room services like Finance, IT, Personnel and Legal in the Highlands and Islands.

I was very heartened by his positive response that it was in the best interests of Scotland and the services for some jobs to be spread around the country and that he will ensure that jobs in the police and fire and rescue service are not centralised in one place but are shared across the country.

I will do my utmost to hold him to this promise and ask Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to get on board and make the case for as many jobs as possible to come to the North.