LAST week was my first week back in the office after a family break and the Pipeathon around the country.

Last Monday started with the Deputy First Minister John Swinney visiting Newark Primary School in Port Glasgow to announce a £45m investment in working to deal the attainment challenge.

Inverclyde is to receive over £3.2m of this.

The First Minister has been clear that dealing with the attainment challenge is a priority for this Scottish Government, so any additional monies being invested locally and nationally are welcome.

I HAD a few meetings last week also dealing with local issues. I had a lengthy discussion with someone about our transport infrastructure, in particular the rail network.

I have since written directly to the chief executive of Transport Scotland raising the various points of concern. Included in these is the situation regarding the older trains being used on the Inverclyde lines.

I also met with representatives of Transport Scotland about the A8 and A78 trunk road network.

Flooding was a major aspect of our discussions but we also discussed the condition of the roads and the maintenance programme including the weeding which doesn’t happen often enough.

We further discussed – at length – the situation Inverclyde faced earlier this year when the AP Jess meat factory was destroyed.

The issue of a temporary road or bypass from Bogston to James Watt Dock would have been hugely advantageous at the time.

It would have alleviated the strain on Weir Street through Gibshill and Lilybank, which are built up areas as readers know.

This type of road would be useful when we have incidents of flooding. The representatives have agreed to speak to colleagues for further information and will report back to me.

I have asked for a feasibility study to be carried out on such a road and when it would be used.

I will let readers know how this progresses.

I HAVE this week met with GP’s regarding the local out of hours service, representatives involved in tourism locally, the chief executive of Riverside Inverclyde to discuss future plans and grant funding applications, a representative from the local Inverclyde Pollinator Corridor group and various constituents.

There are other meetings and events planned for the remainder of the recess.

Finally, whilst all my local activities are taking place, the issue of Brexit is causing untold chaos and splits within the UK Government and the official opposition.

So much for strong and stable!