ON January 1, the Scottish Government launched the trial of the Baby Box. 

The Baby Box is an initiative which has been used in Finland for many years. Its purpose is to provide new parents with a wide range of items that newborns will require including the box itself becoming a cot. 

Its purpose is to help tackle deprivation, improve health and support parents. It’s estimated it will cost the Scottish Government £6 million each year when fully rolled out. 

I warmly welcome the policy and look forward to its full roll out by this summer.

Next there is the launch of the Scottish Government’s Public Boards (Scotland) Bill consultation. 

Your views are being sought on this bill which aims to ensure that boards have an equal representation of women and men on them.

The bill will set a gender balance in public boards and helps deliver the Scottish Government’s 50/50 pledge by 2020.

The Scottish Government also published its consultation on the future of the Crown Estate. With Inverclyde’s being what I call Scotland’s Marine Tourism Capital, this consultation matters for our marine economy.
Contact my office if you would like more information on these consultations.

Finally, what can I say about the Tory government launching ‘Bedroom Tax 2’. If you think things were bad then the Tory government have just announced a further £2 billion of cuts to the welfare budget.

They will cap the amount people on Local Housing Allowance receive, meaning many people won’t be able to afford their rent. Looks like the nasty party are back.