I had a busy first week back in Parliament, attending two committees, hosting a drop-in session with the Poverty Alliance on Wednesday, asking a supplementary question during FMQs, and speaking in two debates on Thursday.

The drop-in session formed part of the Poverty Alliance’s preparation for Challenge Poverty Week 2023 (2-8 October) to highlight the purpose of the week and engage with MSPs about this year’s policy asks.

On Thursday, I asked the First Minister about the draconian proposals being put forward by the UK Government’s Transport Commissioner in relation to football supporters’ buses. I'm glad the FM strongly agrees with all those who’ve spoken out about this that these proposals need to be shown the red card.

After FMQs, I spoke in a Member’s Debate on ‘Investing in Alcohol Services to Reduce Alcohol Related Harm in Scotland’. I wanted to speak in this important debate following the recent rise in alcohol-specific deaths and because locally, Inverclyde reported the highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland between 2017 and 2021, the majority of which were caused by alcohol-related liver disease.

I hope to bring the British Liver Trust’s Love Your Liver roadshow to Inverclyde in autumn to help raise awareness of the risk factors for liver disease, including excess alcohol consumption, and so my constituents can access non-invasive liver scans and learn more about improving their liver health.

Next, I spoke in the Scottish Government’s debate on the opportunities within the 2023-24 Programme for Government.

I fully support this Programme for Government as it is anti-poverty and pro-growth which will help deliver for every community across the country, including in my own Greenock and Inverclyde constituency.