It’s going to be a creative week at the Pittenweem Arts Festival with lots of new, young talent featuring alongside the traditional. You’ll still enjoy the tiny studios tucked away up closes, garages & lofts with music & local food on the streets. 1st-8th August. www.pittenweemartsfestival.co.uk

I visited the St Andrews Environmental Network last week to see one of their projects which involves repurposing surplus items from local businesses and distributing them to people in need. If you think your business could get involved then please contact the charity.

It was wonderful to attend the Falkland Festival and St. Monans Sea Queen Festival with Wendy Chamberlain on Saturday. These great events show the vibrancy of North East Fife's communities and they are valued summer traditions.

I was glad to meet the new leadership of the University of St Andrews Students' Association last week and to discuss the priorities they want to address during their term.

It was fantastic to visit Native Aqua in St Andrews last week to learn about their work to restore the oyster population off Scotland's shores. They have spawned native oyster larvae, one of the few times this has been done in Scotland, representing a significant milestone in the project.

It was fantastic to welcome Richard Tough to the formal opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament as North East Fife’s 'local hero'. He has done a substantial amount of good work for his community and good causes, and I hope that being included in the opening ceremony goes some way to... 1/4

I joined an open letter of MSPs to the UK Government, calling on them to intervene and pause the decision to remove Coastguard Rescue Officers' paid renumeration for call-outs and training. CROs are highly-trained volunteers and do vital work to keep people safe along our shores and in our waters.

There are real challenges facing the country. We need to address the cost of living and grow the economy, support people into employment and improve education. But we won't solve problems by stoking division in society, as Reform try to do.

I convened the first evidence session of the Transport Committee in this session of the Scottish Parliament, scrutinising the decision of Loganair to cut Inverness flights to and from the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland.

While the Scottish Government complained that it wasn't involved in the UK Government's new legislation on the steel industry, the business minister was completely unaware of developments at the Dalzell steel plant in Lanarkshire, despite the Scottish Government having an outstanding... 1/2

Staff at the University of Dundee who are at risk of losing their jobs are facing terrible uncertainty. They have been living under that uncertainty for years now. 1/3

I questioned the education secretary about the provision of support for children with additional support needs. The headline figures include a great variety of different needs, and the availability of skilled professional support staff has not kept up with demand for their services.

The substantial contracts which are being tendered for dualling the remaining sections of the A9 must include real community benefit and supply chain benefit along the route. I asked the business minister what lessons the government has learned from previous projects to achieve this.

Frequent changes to bus routes or the withdrawal of services altogether is disruptive to people's lives, making it difficult to get to work or to take up educational opportunities. That's why I want to see greater use of powers to franchise local bus services... 1/2

Sir Ian Boyd's report into the future of SRUC at Elmwood has been submitted to its board. While the report and his recommendations have not yet been published I hope that this will be a real opportunity for SRUC to commit to a long-term vision for the site, which has... 1/2

The SNP need to understand the damage that the scandal surrounding Peter Murrell has done to people's trust in politics. It is a personal tragedy for those involved but it is also a professional failure for the SNP leadership. 1/2

Businesses need predictability from the Scottish Government so that they can get on and grow the economy. Too often in recent years Ministers have disregarded the role of the private sector and have been quick to offer spin instead of change which will benefit people in Scotland.

I have received a reply from the government to my letter about the Lower Melville Wood fire. I raised the concerns and questions of the local people that I have spoken to and asked for the government to commission an independent investigation into the causes of the fire and how it was... 1/3

Wendy and I visited Craigtoun Park at the weekend to see the fantastic progress which has been made on the the renovation of the Dutch Village.

📣 Nature Champions News! 📣 @willierennie.bsky.social is the #NatureChampion for Lowland Raised Bogs! Willie will be working with @scotwildlife.bsky.social to champion these irreplaceable habitats in the Scottish Parliament. Find out more: www.scotlink.org/species/lowl... 📸 ScotParl | Leah Gray

The Scottish Government lost public trust in its taxation policy in recent years and has failed to manage the challenges facing the public finances, all while many public services are not delivering the outcomes that they should.

The government's announcement that it will bring in legislation to restrict the use of mobile phones in schools is welcome. I previously called for a national approach with legislative backing, and at the election the Scottish Liberal Democrats supported a national policy... 1/2

I questioned the First Minister today about the Lower Melville Wood fire and called for the Scottish Government to commission an independent investigation into the causes or the fire, the way it was handled and the future of the site.

If the government is serious about valuing the childcare workforce, it needs to fix the gap in funding faced by private and voluntary nurseries. Staff end up paid less than those in council-run nurseries because of unequal government funding.

I have been a longstanding supporter of expanding funded childcare provision for families, giving parents flexibility and choice, but we need to fix the foundations of the system in Scotland before moving on to further expansion.

We need pragmatic action to tackle the housing emergency, but the SNP's proposals risk being a subsidy for people who can already afford to buy their own home rather than a targeted measure to support those who can't, like a previous government scheme which was abandoned.

The Scottish Parliament needs to work better than it has in recent years, and that is why the Liberal Democrats, with our group of ten MSPs, will hunt for agreement and do our best to deliver results for our constituents. 1/2

I was glad to attend this year's Fife Show with Wendy Chamberlain to meet with farmers and others involved in the rural economy.

The fire is still burning

Update on the Lower Melville Wood fire