Last week, the SNP held its annual conference in Glasgow.

In contrast to the chaotic scenes we witnessed at the Conservative Party Conference and to the Labour Party, who completely ignored and avoided debating Brexit, the biggest economic and political challenge facing our country, the SNP debated the big challenges facing Scotland, highlighting our positive vision.

I was particularly delighted with the announcement from Deputy First Minister John Swinney that the Scottish Government will provide bursaries to those working in the science, technology, engineering and maths sector and who complete a career change to train as a teacher.

Scotland has a shortage of teachers who specialise in the STEM subjects and this announcement will go a long way in helping to fill this skills gap.

It was also great to hear from the First Minister as she proposed a series of policies which will take Scotland forward to be the healthier and fairer country we all want it to be.

This was a policy-rich speech, including the fantastic announcement the Scottish Government plan to exempt care leavers from paying council tax.

The financial hardship facing youngsters leaving care is a serious problem but this announcement from the First Minister will help to make life that bit easier for them.

The SNP Conference highlighted that the SNP Scottish Government is getting on with the day job of delivering for the people of Scotland.

While the Tories jostle for position to displace Theresa May and Labour continue to bury their heads in the sand on Brexit, the SNP stands ready to protect Scotland’s economy, jobs and living standards.

On a different note, I recently submitted an Early Day Motion (EDM) in the UK Parliament recognising the fantastic achievement of UWS lecturer Dr Dave Hughes.

Dr Hughes was recently presented with the prestigious Converge Challenge Award by Nicola Sturgeon to recognise the achievements of his company Novosound, which is carrying out revolutionary work to allow parents to see their unborn child with the image quality of MRI.

I also recently attended the Renfrewshire Sports Awards to celebrate sporting success and volunteering in our local communities.

This was a fantastic evening and I would like to congratulate all those who were nominated and won an award at this inspiring ceremony.

The Renfrewshire Sports Awards showcase the dedication, hard work and achievements of local coaches, volunteers, officials and school pupils.

The majority of these people give up their free time to benefit others and help them to access sporting opportunities.

As such, it’s only right we take an evening to recognise the fantastic and selfless work they are doing.