I WANT to begin by wishing my constituents and Tele readers who celebrate a Happy Easter. Please note that my office is closed today for Easter Monday but reopens as normal from 10am tomorrow.

Last week, Ronnie Cowan MP and myself hosted drop-in surgeries at our offices to help The Wise Group distribute fuel vouchers and energy advice to those who attended.

Almost 80 people came through my office’s door on Tuesday, with many more people calling for advice and looking to attend Ronnie’s office’s drop-in. I understand similar numbers attended Ronnie’s office, along with various people emailing for support.

From my office alone, over £4,000 will have been paid out to local households to help with energy costs. Therefore, between both our offices, a potential almost £10,000 may have been provided to local people. This is hugely welcome and demonstrates how your parliamentarians are working with each other and with local organisations to help constituents.

Finally, I want to welcome an extra £146,772 for Inverclyde Council in 2023-24 through the Scottish Government’s Care Experienced Children and Young People Fund.

Launched in 2018, this funding is provided to local authorities and aims to improve the educational outcomes for care experienced children and young people, supported by the strategic goals of The Promise and the Scottish Attainment Challenge.

The fund has so far provided more than £60 million to deliver initiatives such as mentoring programmes and out of school support.

This fund demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to Keeping the Promise – that every single child should grow up loved, safe, supported and respected, as well as being given every opportunity to flourish and reach their full potential.